Back to page

Helping Rafiki to play again

  • Rafiki update and how funds raised were used

      19 March 2023
    Main image

    It’s been a little while since our last update and Rafiki is doing ok. Rafiki’s had enough time now for the medications to all start working and he’s responding well to them. For the most part he seems happier and is walking a lot better. He still has the odd bad day and can be a little stiff and sore when he first gets up in the morning but overall he’s in a much better way.

    We’ve decided that for now the best route forward is to hold off on the surgery for the time being. It’s not been an easy decision to make, weighing up all the factors. We’ve gotten information and advice from two different vets and an orthotic specialist. And basically it comes down to, at the moment, medication management is working so we keep going with it. Rafiki likely will eventually need to have surgery for his luxating patella. But the surgery will increase the likelihood of his arthritis worsening more rapidly, so we’d be helping one problem by making the other worse which isn’t ideal. So holding off on the surgery will hopefully help him more in the long term.

    We’ve also been trying different dietary supplements. Unfortunately Rafiki was allergic to flaxseed with hoki oil, so he’s now back to just flaxseed on its own. He managed for a few days with green lipped mussels powder but then also had a bad reaction to it. He’d probably be ok eating it two or three times a month, but that wouldn’t really give him the benefits of it so wouldn’t be worth risking him getting all itchy. The cats, who have previously turned their noses up at mussels (except Astoria) have changed their minds about it and are all only too happy to eat the leftover mussel powder for him 😂 So onto the next thing to see how Rafiki goes.

    Since we delayed surgery, we just wanted to give an idea on how funds raised from both givealittle and helping paws bow sales have been used:

    • 6 veterinary appointments (excluding the one for X-rays) ranging in price from $0 - $75

    • Appointment for X-rays and ear infection: $947.98

    • Cartrophen injections: $27.95 each (Rafiki needed 4 in the first month so that’s $111.80. From the second month onwards it’s just one per month)

    • Previcox 227mg pills: $74.66 for 10 which Rafiki needed to alternate between a half and full pill everyday before he started getting his cartrophen injections

    • Previcox 57mg pills: $57.62 for 20 which Rafiki needs to take everyday and he began taking after starting with the cartrophen injections

    • Supplements for Rafiki to trial: $60 (green lipped mussel powder and flaxseed with hoki oil)

    • And as a little way to give back to the community, a $25 donation to HUHA to help the animals affected by the floods and cyclone.

    Thank you so much to everyone for all the incredible help, kindness and support. Rafiki wouldn’t be where he is without you. Words can’t even begin to express how grateful we are and we shall be forever thankful. Sending so much love and Rafiki cuddles to you all 💛💛

      0 comments  |  Login to leave a comment

  • Update on Rafiki

      18 February 2023
    Main image

    Rafiki’s doing well. He’s learning to tell us when he’s feeling tired or sore on walks and needs a break by riding in his pram 😊 We’ve all missed going on adventures and playdates and can’t wait to get out again.

    The orthotic specialist has looked at his X-rays and says he could do the surgery for Rafiki’s luxating patella but like we already knew, there isn’t anything that can be done for the arthritis 😔 What the surgery would achieve is reducing pain caused by his luxating patella but he would still have the pain from the arthritis and hip dysplasia, so regardless of having surgery or not he’d still need to be on painkillers. And taking painkillers will be minimising pain caused by the luxating patella as well.

    So the plan for now is to delay surgery for a bit while we get other aspects of his treatment plan sorted since his pain is now being managed. We want Rafiki to lose a bit more weight to take pressure off his knees, and it would be better for surgery recovery if he lost weight beforehand. We also really want to introduce some new supplements for his joints into his diet, but since Rafiki is so prone to allergies it’s going to be lots of trial and error while we find what does and doesn’t set off allergies. And the last thing any of us want is a dog who should be taking it easy while recovering from surgery to have an allergic reaction and start scratching like crazy 😣 So we’d rather get the food stuff sorted first and also give the arthritis medication time to start working because it takes about 4 weeks before it begins being effective and he’s still got 2 weeks to go. So after we get all that sorted we’ll then reassess with our vet again for when and if to do the surgery.

    So for now Rafiki needs to take Previcox tablets everyday for pain relief and gets a Cartrophen injection for his arthritis (once a week for the first 4 weeks then once a month for the rest of his life) as well as continuing with the Cytopoint injections for his allergies. And he’ll also be trying different dietary supplements as added help for his bones and joints.

    Being at the vet almost every week since the second week of January has been a lot and we’re so proud of Rafiki and how well he’s doing with everything but also very ready to get back to only one vet visit a month please 😆

    Rafiki’s lymph nodes were less inflamed again at his appointment yesterday although still not quite right yet so our vet will check again next week if they keep improving, but if not we’ll need to have the tests done.

    Sending lots of woofs and Rafiki cuddles to all our furriends 😘💛

      0 comments  |  Login to leave a comment

  • Update on Rafiki

      10 February 2023
    Main image

    Rafiki is doing ok, he’s still adjusting to all the changes but seems to be responding well to his medication. He has his good days and bad days, like earlier this week he decided he felt fine and did some crazy zoomies at the park, but then the next day he was limping a bit. But we’ll all learn with time and find the right balance 😊

    His ear infection has cleared up nicely. Although the ear drops have made his fur around his ears look all oily and greasy even after a few baths 😅😂 In Rafiki’s opinion he’d rather look oily than have any baths at all 😆

    Our vet has sent Rafiki’s X-rays to an orthotic specialist for us to get their opinion on if he should have the knee surgery or if they agree that the arthritis means surgery wouldn’t really help him. We’ve got an appointment again next week so should hear back about the results then 😊

    Thank you so much to everyone for all the love and support 🥰 Rafiki is so lucky to have so many people care about him 💛

      0 comments  |  Login to leave a comment

  • X-Rays Results

      2 February 2023
    Main image

    Rafiki has had his x-rays done. His cruciate ligament is ok but luxating patella is worse than originally thought. Normally he'd get surgery for the luxating patella. Unfortunately our vet also found that Rafiki has really bad arthritis in his knee. Because of the state of Rafiki's arthritis in his knee, the knee surgery wouldn't really be of benefit to him. Instead he'll now need to start with ongoing medication for the arthritis for the rest of his life and make some lifestyle changes to manage it and minimise pain. Our vet also found that Rafiki has moderate hip dysplasia. There is the option to have surgery for this. Our vet said if Rafiki was a 2 year old dog without the knee problems, she'd absolutely recommend seeing a specialist about the surgery, but since he is an older dog with bad knees for now we're going to start with medical management and go from there.

    Unrelated to his knee, we noticed Rafiki started scratching at his ear a lot over the weekend so we asked our vet to take a look at his ear as well. He has a bacterial ear infection so he's got medicine for that too.

    Rafiki's going back to the vet again next week to check on his ear and get the first of his monthly injections for his arthritis. Our vet also noticed Rafiki's lymph nodes were swollen today so at next week's appointment she'll check them again and if they still swollen we'll get some tests done to see what's causing it.

    Our poor boy just seems to be having one problem after another at the moment and it's a lot to take in. Honestly, emotions are a bit all over the place, but glad to have answers so we can help Rafiki live his best life.

    Thank you so much to everyone for all the absolutely incredible love and support. Rafiki is one lucky dog to be surrounded by so much love and kindness.

      0 comments  |  Login to leave a comment

  • X-rays appointment booked

      20 January 2023
    Main image

    Rafiki is booked in to get his x-rays on 2 February. Here's a rough estimate of the costs for this for anyone who wants to know. After the x-rays are done we'll be able to know more about what surgery he'll need and costs for this.

      0 comments  |  Login to leave a comment