We lost our “mascot” today.
Sweet Dorothy, our next-door-neighbor dog who loved to hang out at our clinic succumbed to old age and arthritis today. She was but one month from her 15th birthday, and quite spry for a 70-pound dog who had a human-equivalence age of 109.
Dorothy was named after the writer, Dorothy Parker. She is survived by and sadly missed by her owners, Richard and Joan, as well as all of our staff, Richard and Joan’s children and grandchildren.
When Dorothy was about three years old her family’s Christmas letter included a story about her namesake, along with Richard’s sentiments regarding their love for Dorothy. It was incredibly touching.
You can imagine the quantity of tears that flowed this morning on both sides of the examination table.
Dorothy’s is an innovative orthopaedic surgery success story. Her first visit with us was March 31, 1995, at only 17 pounds. By October of that same year she began to show pain from hip dysplasia. Her owners didn’t hesitate to take her to a surgeon for triple pelvic osteotomy (TPO). The surgery involves cutting the pelvic bones in three places, then putting them back together in a way that causes the head of the femur (ball portion of the joint) to sit into the acetabulum (socket portion of the joint) more securely. Without that surgery Dorothy would have been crippled within a couple of years instead of approaching her 15th birthday.
Vaya con Dios, Dorothy. We miss you already.
See you tomorrow, Dr. Randolph.
