"True "Friend

It is with a sad heart but with hope that I relate some health concerns about my daughter's German Shepherd , True , and brotherly littermate to Karma . For several months now he has had panosteitis , a temporary condition of fast growing large breeds in dog 6 to 16 months . It is normal for the German Shepherd pup, predominately in males , to get pano which causes an arthritic lameness that travels to different limbs on the body. She knew what this was and limited his exercise , knowing he would out grow the problem . She leash walked him at 6 in the morning and again at night and gave him all the love and attention her first dog deserved . At obedience class last week the trainer suggested an x -ray just as a precautionary measure .As it turned out the results showed not only pano but early stages of degenerative bone disease caused by an OCD lesion in his shoulder joint . They are traveling down to Toronto to have specialized surgery on him because there is no vet up north qualified for this joint operation . We are not sure if he will able to run like a normal dog for fear of a fracture . His life span could be shortened to 5 to 7 years . There is no answer to the why of this ..the breeder is an excellent one and no one could have foreseen anything like this . After the tears , my daughter rose to the challenge of her pet's limitations and will do whatever it takes to make his life a comfortable one . This morning , it touched me when she said "...he was so anxious to be with me that his shoulder joint became a place where his wing was meant to be ." There is nothing quite like "True " love .