The Place Where Ludington Talks

A slip to ruin the day

Two weeks a go my baby dear puppy who is not even two years old yet slipped getting off the recliner, he limped and it seemed to be getting better, then worse. I have had a feeling something wasn't quite right like if it was a minor sprain or pulled muscle.

Well, the vet told me after an exam this morning that my 95.5 lb baby boy has a torn ACL or Anterior Cruciate Ligament. Which, I knew being a ligament will not heal without surgery. If not operated on he will always be lame and in pain and have early onset of Arthritis from the knee moving in an improper motion. "This ligament, which also is called the cranial cruciate ligament in animals, connects the back of the femur (the bone above the knee) with the front of the tibia (the bone below the knee). The ACL is responsible for keeping the tibia in place beneath the femur and stabilizing the knee joint." from ACL at pets webmd

So the estimate is $650 to $1100 for the surgery depending on whether doing pre-op lab panel, post-op pain meds and length of time to do the surgery. The cost isn't even the bothersome part though, the thing that breaks my heart is that he will always have a torn ligament, they can take part of a different ligament and move it to stop the incorrect sliding motion of the knee joint but he will always have sutures holding that ligament in place and have a limited range of motion.

But we will be in surgery in a few days and have 8 weeks of restricted movement until he heals.

I am so sad for my boy:( At least he has a good dog mom like me though, I get way more sad thinking about all those poor dogs out there who have sucky humans who would not do the right things and have the surgery.

The date is incorrect this was summer 2011, He's grown quite a bit since then.

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Permalink Reply by Willy on March 4, 2012 at 12:33am

He looks sweet. He's lucky he has you. I once forked over $1000 for surgery for a cat. As far as I'm concerned pets are family and it's a small price to pay [if you have the money]. I truly dislike cruelty to animals.