Meet Saffy. Isn’t she gorgeous?

Saffy lives in Albany with her very caring family, and unfortunately, she suffers from arthritis.

When Saffy was only 2 years old, her owners started noticing a mild limp in her hind legs, as well as some soreness when she first got up in the mornings. X-rays revealed severe hip dysplasia (or severely ‘loose’ hip joints resulting in joint inflammation and arthritis formation), and Saffy was started on both anti-inflammatory and disease modifying treatments, as well as a special prescription diet for arthritis sufferers.

One year later she seemed much improved in her mobility, when all of a sudden she was running in the backyard and ruptured her cruciate ligament in the left hind leg. Surgery was performed to stabilise the left knee joint and Saffy recovered well. It is a well known statistic that many dogs will often rupture the ligament on the opposite leg, and that is just what Saffy did, 2 years later! Surgery was again performed to stabilise the right knee joint, and again Saffy recovered well.

Saffy is now 7 years old. It has been 2 years since her last knee surgery, and she is moving very well for a dog with known arthritis in 4 of her hind leg joints! She is being maintained on daily anti-inflammatory medication as well as the prescription diet for joint health and regular injections of a disease modifying treatment.

We think Saffy is the perfect example of how well arthritis can be managed with a combination of known effective veterinary treatments as well as an ongoing attention to weight control and exercise. We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Saffy’s owners on their diligent care over the years. Saffy is certainly a very special dog!