22-089 Nela  came in at the end of 2022, the last rescue of that year. At that time, she was just 11 and 1⁄2 months old and was already spayed. The owner had gotten this pretty Golden as a private adoption. They noticed right away that the dog's hind legs did not seem to be working well. They tried unsuccessfully to return her but were unable to make contact. They  could not afford any medical care for the dog, so they surrendered this lovely girl to  AGR . After some initial vetting, she was evaluated by an orthopedic vet, who determined that  Nela  needed both hips replaced – arthritis was already developing in both joints and the hip sockets were rough. Ow! Poor girl had to have been in pain, so it was our job to put her right. The adopter wrote: 

Nela  came into our home as a foster since we had previous hip replacement experi ence and she needed both hips replaced. We knew from the first day  she was meant to stay and have loved every moment with her. 

The adoptive couple both observed relatively quickly that they should never foster, as the dog never leaves. They changed  Nela’s  name to  Mila  (pronounced MEE-lah) and did end up adopting her after her first hip replacement, which was done on February 17, 2023 at  VetMed . After 12 weeks of relative inactivity (just try to keep a 1-year-old Golden quiet and calm in a household of 5 other Goldens!),  Mila  was healing well and her surgery was pronounced a success. Her second hip replacement was done on September 6, 2023, followed by 12 weeks of confinement and only brief leash-walking. She is now fully healed and as boisterous as the other Goldens in the household. The adopter said: 

We call her "Ms . Mouth" since she never hesitates to let us know when she wants something. For a relatively little girl, she has the deepest voice of all our Golden pack. We love her dearly, as do all her fur siblings, and are so happy to have her as a part of our family.