Healing Bobo: Surgery for Our Beloved Lab

As many of you know, we rescued our sweet Bobo when I was two months pregnant back in 2019 from a puppy farm situation that landed him as a foster in this area. When my boss came to work one day and asked if anyone wanted a yellow lab, I knew it was kismet and we instantly said yes. We had been looking to add to our pack and a lab was close to home for both Ridge and I as we grew up with labs and my parents’ yellow lab Rilee Jane held a special place in our hearts.

We both are very familiar with labs as a breed. Big, lunky, no sense of too much food, love, or space, and easy to fall in love with. We have always had Bobo on preventative care for hip and joint issues and done our best to keep the weight off. On December 23rd, Bobo started limping on his left rear paw. We kept him calm and relaxed for a few days. There had been no clear incident, no visible sign of injury, and I even trimmed all his nails myself as I thought maybe a toenail had just gotten too long. The limping got better for a few days and he seemed back to his normal self within a week.

On Thursday, January 9th, Bobo’s limping started again and we knew it was time to get him some help. Before we had a chance to get him to a vet appointment, Bobo gave us a big scare on Saturday, January 11th, and had a focal seizure on his entire left side on the kitchen floor. We talked to multiple emergency vets and long time pet owners to get the best advice on what to do for our boy, and the consensus was the same. Keep him home and call immediately Monday morning to get in with your vet as soon as possible unless he has a second seizure.

We were able to get Bobo seen Today, January 13th, and we did not get the prognosis we were expecting. Completely normal blood work and aside from being on the chunky side (we all love an extra thick labby), our boy is strong as a horse with a gentle temperament and in good health. No cause for concern on kidney or liver function or suspicion of a tumor. No need for epilepsy medication now as this was a one time occurrence and likely related to another issue. Our sweet, gentle giant tore his cranial cruciate ligament (basically, his doggy ACL).

Due to improper breeding, his tibia isn’t properly formed, and as a lab, he is already showing signs of arthritis. As a big dog, his CCL is essential for mobility and he will need a corrective surgery to re-stabilize his leg. The doctors were amazed that a part from him limping Bobo gave no indication his condition was this severe. Our boy is strong as an ox. His prognosis is good and his health is wonderful a part from this.

We are not the people who usually ask for help, especially financially. We find a way to make it work, but with the holidays and mandatory lab shutdown, Ridge’s hand reconstruction surgery, a broken dishwasher, and a broken windshield, the “emergencies” are adding up. We just want to give our boy the best possible outcome to be back to his full goofy self. Thank you for any amount and please know you’re helping heal Fe’s best friend.