What can you tell me about bone reconstruction dog surgery? (possible foster)

The local SPCA has a med sized dog, part Collie, who came into the shelter with a broken leg. Somehow it fixed itself in a very painful way and they had to operate. They sent out an urgent email on Friday asking for an immediate foster home, saying this dogs chances will be slim if she does not get one soon. My boyfriend was away this weekend so we discussed it yesterday and we are going to make a meeting to find out more about this dog.

They say it will take 8 weeks to heal. She also needs an ice pack on her wound for 15min 4 times a day and 20 min stretches 4 times a day. I need to know what I am getting myself into. We may not be able to foster due to Bruno, this dog has to stay calm and quiet, but since they told me no one but me has called they may make an exception as long as I am careful.

I am not sure what I am asking, I always do this when I am insecure about something lol. Apparently she whimpers when you do the stretches, that is going to be very hard on me.

Has anyone had this type of experience, with any dog? Can you let me know how it went, any scary experiences, any surprises?

Thank you in advanced

PS this will be my first foster, people are telling me I should start slow and shouldn’t get such a hard foster for my first time. Is this true? I would think trying to save this girl was more important then “merging” into fostering. But I’m a noob, should I forget this one?

If you decide to foster this dog, I advise you to buy a crate and put the dog on strict crate rest. A crate will make it much easier on you to keep her quiet. I would also keep my current dog away from her until she is healed so that he won't excite her.

I also advise you to please stop by Chazhound Dog Forums - http://www.chazhound.com/forums. There are plenty of people there who have dealt with similar injuries in dogs and they have a wealth of knowledge they can offer you.

Great! Thanks so much for the info and link. We actually did not get the dog, it would just be too hard with Bruno and she has found another foster home. To be honest i am a little relieved. I have had a dog with leg surgery, replacement of his ligaments and i remember how hard it was and this would be even worse then that.

Now that i am in the foster mode my boyfriend and i are discussing fostering rescued racing Greyhounds. We have an interview sometime this week and we will see how it goes. Hopefully i will get approved. I made a huge mistake by implying i was going to put Bruno and the foster in the same crate during the day. I wondered all night why the girl sounded so horrified LOL until my boyfriend told me exactly what i said. I meant i could use Brunos crate for the foster, but didn't like the idea, but not have them in there together... LOL hopefully i can explain myself later on.

Sorry I didn't catch this earlier, but I did have bone reconstruction in my Greyhound (coincidence, eh?). Recovery was more like 9 months in total. The 8 week part is to get over the immediate hump for the surgery and it's a long haul before they are fully healed. You probably made the right choice by not accepting him.

Concerning fostering Greyhounds though.......I had 2 Greyhounds at 1 time and you really need to be very, very careful with them around your cats. If they come straight from the track or the breeder, you don't know if they can adapt to cats. I was ignorant when I adopted my first Grey, and was very fortunate that it worked out (he was oblivious to cats). The second Grey I adopted was much more difficult. He was fine with the indoor cats, but it took me a very long time to get him adjusted to the outdoor feral cats.

Basically it comes down to this: Greyhounds are one of the older breeds of dogs and they have been bred for 1000 years to chase down and kill small creatures. If a cat bolts and their instinct kicks in, your cat will most likely be killed. You can't mix Greys with small dogs for the same reason sometimes. When they catch their prey, they shake their heads to break their spines and it happens immediately. There is no stopping them and unfortunately I witnessed this one time with a feral cat.

Just be totally aware what you are getting yourself into before you agree to do this. I absolutely LOVE greyhounds, and even after having lived with them for 10 years, I would be reluctant to adopt another, for fear of my cats. And I consider myself an outstanding dog trainer so its not like I don't know how to control them.