February this year, my dearest Lulu was simply running in the park when she ruptured the intertarsal plantar ligament of the hock  in her rear leg.   This displaced her joint and bones in that hock and rendered the leg useless.   As dogs do, being the resilient creatures that they are, she coped by hopping on 3 legs from that point onward.   Being a tad overweight, an older dog with medical problems, and had been on cortisone for allergies for many years, I decided not to operate with plates and screws, but rather manage her conservatively.   This meant I had to find a way to support her rear damaged leg, but more importantly, support her rear carriage to protect the functioning rear leg from suffering the same fate.   I had a brace made by an orthotist for humans but it just did not fit correctly and caused many, many  pressure sores and problems for us both.   I was desperate to find a long term solution.  Unable to find any one in Australia who made dog specific orthotics, I turned to Lulu’s physiotherapist, Michelle Monk from Dogs in Motion.   We sent a plaster cast of Lulu’s leg to OrthoPets in America, who deal specifically with dogs.  Two weeks later they sent back the answer to all of our prayers… Lulu took only 2 weeks to become accustomed to the new brace after a stringent ‘break-in’ wearing schedule, and now three weeks later, Lulu is back to running on all four legs just like she used to (and not a single pressure sore in sight!!). With tread made of mountain bike tyres that are replaceable, it is lightweight and waterproof and should outlast Lulu!   A magnificent outcome for us both!!