Dustie, a pure bred Labrador retriever is one special girl. At just 9 weeks old, this well-behaved beauty was in a commercial for Select Quote Life Insurance. At 6 months she had already earned her AKC Canine Good Citizen title and was a registered Service Dog, helping her disabled “mom” get through life. By 13 months old Dustie had earned her AKC Novice Therapy Dog title.

“One day in class I was stacking her and noticed she was sensitive with her knees,” stated her pet parent, Joanie Shugar. “We immediately saw Dr. Holsworth for an evaluation and learned that Dustie needed surgery.”

Dr. Holsworth determined that Dustie had juvenile cruciate ligament tears in both knees. He performed a bilateral stifle arthroscopy &a corrective osteotomy TPLO surgery when Dustie was 15 months old.

Dustie’s surgery went very well. Upon successful completion of her rehabilitation and dedication from her owners, Dustie has made a full recovery from her surgery. She is back to work visiting local nursing homes and adult day care facilities as a therapy dog.

When Dustie is not working she is happily running around, chasing balls, doing what Labradors love to do. Naturally, Dustie couldn’t stay away from the limelight long and her recovery story can now be seen in Labrador Quarterly magazine.

Dr. Ian Holdsworth is an excellent Orthopedic surgeon who took such intricate care of diagnosing Dustie’s knee problems. The post op appointments were excellent and informative. On a scale of 1 – 10 we give Dr. Holsworth and his staff a 10. We are thankful for VetSurg.

– Joanie Shugar