Dosha, now known as Murphy, is a handsome 9-month-old puppy who found himself in need of a new home. He also found himself with several medical issues that we are continuing to work on. The most obvious of his issues was his bilateral cryptorchidism – neither of his testicles descended into his scrotum. During puppy gestation (and people gestation), the testicles start life in the abdominal cavity. They migrate to the scrotum and should be in place by birth. If they are not, doctors get a little concerned. Cryptorchid testicles do not function properly, as sperm require a cooler temperature to develop, which is why testicles are found on the outside of the body. Also, if left in the abdomen, they can become cancerous. Because his testicles were in his abdomen, Murphy’s neuter surgery was a bit more complicated than a typical neuter. He did very well, though, and, after a short recovery period, he was ready to go home to his forever family. After he healed from his neuter, the adoptive mom noticed that Murphy was limping some. Murphy went back to the vet for an exam with Dr. Pullen at AMSC, who does most of AGR’s orthopedic work. Imagine our surprise when we found out poor Murphy had an old fracture in his left femur that hadn’t healed properly. The bone had healed with some rotation and angulation and was causing his patella to slide out of place. Murphy was going to need more surgery. While awaiting his knee surgery, Murphy developed a nasty tummy bug which resulted in another overnight trip to the vet, IV fluids, and lots of TLC. Fortunately no surgery this time! He has since recovered from both his tummy upset and his knee surgery and has returned to fairly normal activity. But oh, by the way, he started to have some ear irritation, so the adopter took him back to the vet and, when they cleaned out his ear, they found he had ruptured his ear drum! Poor Murphy! It is a good thing he is such a sweet, loving dog. I don’t know many dogs who would have tolerated quite so much medical intervention. Murphy’s new family adores him and has seen him through all of his medical needs.