Fort Pierce

During our time in Fort Pierce we took advantage of the warm weather and the 5 minute ride to the beach and the Indian River.  

Pat and Jimmy in Jimmy's boat

Jimbo caught a nice trout but released it because they are not in season

The big catch of the day

Pat and the serious Captain

Stormy Weather Surf Session

Meg and this lil guy stayed on the beach

       A few months ago, Penny started limping after an active, full day of running. We thought maybe it was a little arthritis, (she is 7 years old and she has been rough on those years) or maybe some mild hip dysplasia that we thought was common in Golden Retrievers. While I was in Jacksonville I took her to see our favorite, unbelievably talented, board certified veterinarian surgeon, Dr. Kevin Drygas. You may know him from such roles as lead singer from Pelting Penial Rain, Best Man at our wedding, or sensitive vet personality from E Vets on the Discovery Health Channel, Denver, CO series. At any rate, he is one of our best friends and he fit Pen and me into his busy schedule and treated us like VIP's at his surgical center. He took some X-rays and explained that Penny has some damage to her ACL, some signs of arthritis, and has an 80% chance of completing tearing her ACL at some point in her lifetime, which would then require surgery. Kevin explained that when she does eventually tear the ACL, she will completely stop bearing weight on her leg instead of limping on it. So, less than two weeks later after an innocent wrestle/running session on the farm in Fort Pierce, Penny stopped bearing weight on her back, left leg. We were surprised it happened that fast, grateful we had not bought our plane tickets back to Panama yet, slightly annoyed/frustrated that it happened at all, but relieved that it happened while we were still in the U.S. I don't think Panamanian Vets do reconstructive ACL surgery (they probably just amputate the lame leg) and we sure as hell weren't flying Penny back to the States for surgery, we would have opted for a tri-pod pen-dog.

     We gave Kev a call, and as best friends do, he immediately invited us to stay at his house and fix our dog. We piled everyone back into the car and made the trip to Jax. We were able to have one last dinner with my family, (which was a wonderfully happy surprise for everyone) and Kevin fixed Penny's leg. We love Kevin, his wife Amber, and their 3 month old daughter, Lilly so spending more time with them was something we actually thanked Penny for. We made pizzas, laughed, told stories, talked about our future plans, laughed some more, and Kevin performed surgery on Pen Dog Pro Bono. We cannot thank Kevin and his friend, Rod, also another fabulous vet, enough for their help and expertise. We only hope they accept our invitation to meet up for a Caribbean sail/surf session at some point in the future.

M.

Dr.  Kevin Drygas

Kev's beautiful wife Amber and their gorgeous daughter Lilly

the patient post surgery