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Dam

thcri

thcri

Gone But Not Forgotten
My close friend Annie tore her ACL on one of her back legs. I was afraid of something happening with all the snow and ice we have. You mention squirrel or rabbit and she goes nuts. She always is looking out the window and she sees the dam things and then begs and whines until we let her out. Last Friday she was limping pretty bad and on the hard wood floor the bad leg would just fall out from under her and she would fall down. Off to the vet today and she tore it pretty bad.

Two surgery's, one is $1500 and the other is $2700. The Vet told us the cheaper one is not very successful for larger dogs. We are going to call around to other Vets and see what they charge but right now people I don't have the money. I just don't. I am getting choked up as I write this as she has been a close friend now for ten years.
 
Is the dog 10+, do the docs think she will do ok with anesthesia? Hey, set up an Annie fund on the fourm.
 
Oh man! I was where you are about two years back. My Golden Retriever got hip dysplasia to the point where she could no longer function. We had to make the same painful choice you do. The money wasn't there to put into any surgeries, so we had to have her put down.
I wish I could say something magic, but I don't have the words. Though a trite saying; "I feel your pain" is exactly how it is, my friend.
The more I know people, the more I love my dog. Tears over a dog are just fine. I shed mine, count on that.

With Sympathies;
TNutz
 
HEy Tnutz, it aint over yet. Put you money where your mouth is. Seriousuly can we set up a dog fund?
 
That's terrible Murph. I'm really sorry to hear that.

Is a torn ACL for a dog similar to that for a human? I tore mine and got around OK (after a period of recovery and PT).
 
Wow that sucks murph. A lot of you know what I have been going through with Buddy. His seizures, Auto-Immune Hemolytic Anemia, skin issues, arthritis and so on. His bills just seemed to grow over time unlike Annie's condition. Mine seemed to be $800 here, $900 there. Daily meds and monthly checkups. I don't know what I'd do without his big ass around here to get in my way.
 
Hey everyone thanks for your offers. We will make it work. I just can't put her down. Couple of sacrifices here and there we will make it.
 
thcri said:
Hey everyone thanks for your offers. We will make it work. I just can't put her down. Couple of sacrifices here and there we will make it.
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I know I ain't a dog ,though the wife has called me one at times but I torn my muscle completely off my rotator cuff in Sept . Hurt like a SOB ,but I am doing a lot better now . I needed surgery and then they told me my weight and heart could not handle it so I started losing weight and exercising my arm as best I could . Its been almost 6 months but I am getting around pretty good . I have no strength in my right arm but I am glad I did not have the surgery . The success rate for repair was pretty lousy too .

My point is can your dog adapt over time as I did without surgery ?
I sure wish you the best . I got two old mangy mutts that are barely hangin on but we sure luv em ..
 
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thcri said:
Two surgery's, one is $1500 and the other is $2700. The Vet told us the cheaper one is not very successful for larger dogs.
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I understand how you feel. The dog that we lost in 2008 did the same thing to one rear leg chasing a squirrel. That was about 2 years after we spent a small fortune having her back fixed by fusing 3 vertebrae together. I think the ACL operation cost about $1200. The recuperation was long and hard on both my wife and me. Her rear end had to be carried in a sling for weeks and weeks. It screwed up my back again. Lifting a 70 pound, low slung dog around all over the place gets tough. It healed but she was never 100% again but it gave her another good 3 years of life along with painkillers and anti-inflamatories for her back. I tell everyone that she was the most expensive $10 dog that I ever bought. I still miss that ugly little sucker. She was the most loving and trusting animal that I've ever known. If I was inside she spent her whole life within 10 feet of me. If I was outside, she lay by the back door until I came back in. I'd spend every penny all over again. She was special.
 
Murph. My now deceased Lab/Weimaraner blew out both his rear knees. He did the first one when he was 12 and got around fine on it for at least two years. The other one went in his last year and he had other issues by then.

If she's older then just let her rest (force her for a while) and give a few months. She may never be 100% but she will be fine and happy. Old Spud still chased deer and coyotes with his bad knee and had a lot of good days. Occasionally, it would go out on him and he had to take it easy for a few weeks.

If she's young then it might be worth the investment.
 
Sorry to hear that Murph.

We had a dachshund who hurt his back somehow. Vet suggested surgery with a 50% chance of success. It was expensive and we had teenage daughters at the time. We simply could not afford it, so we babied him and helped him along. He recovered and had 5 good years after his injury. The vet was going to fuse vertebra and do some other stuff, but nature took care of the issue better than any vet could have.

Time, and natural healing might help Annie along as good as the surgery. I'm glad we decided not to have the surgery, it worked out best for Spike.
 
Hope everything works out for Annie. It's a tough decision to make. Don't give up on her just yet. Like Al said...he's been hobling around with an injury for a while now and no one has put him down yet.

You just never know what these animals can go through. When I was a kid, we had a cat that got run over. He crawled home on his two front legs with a broken back for 1/2 block. We took him to the vet and they suggested we put him down. We took him home and he crawled in behind the wood stove and barely came out of 3 weeks. His back healed itself and he lived till he was 17. He was full of arthritis in his later years but still got around ok. He was 5 when it happened.
 
Thanks to PG's link we decided we are going to give the injury the 8 months it deserves. So last night we decided it was not good for her to run up and down the steps. The dog that is not PG :hide: She runs up and down them trying to get outside to get to squirrels. So last night my wife put some heavy boxes in front of the steps so she can't go up and down them. This morning the dog was downstairs and the boxes have been moved. Annie must have pushed the boxes to the side to get downstairs. With the medicine we got she is moving around much better. We will just have to get use to using the leash a lot more than normal so she don't go barreling around after things.
 
That's a good idea.
Let it rest, and hopefully heal on it's own..
One time Gretchen went diving off the sofa and was hobbling around with one of her back legs held up.
She didn't cry out in pain or anything. She walked around like that.
The vet said she probably didn't do any real damage, so I gave her a small dose of pain med, and let her swim/paddle in the warm bath water with my hand supporting under her tummy.
After doing this for 2-3 days, she was back to normal.
She knows it makes me mad when she dives off high places. grrrrrr

All the best for Annie :flowers:
 
thcri said:
Thanks to PG's link we decided we are going to give the injury the 8 months it deserves. So last night we decided it was not good for her to run up and down the steps. The dog that is not PG :hide: She runs up and down them trying to get outside to get to squirrels. So last night my wife put some heavy boxes in front of the steps so she can't go up and down them. This morning the dog was downstairs and the boxes have been moved.
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Would baby gates for the stairs work for you?
 
OhioTC18 said:
Would baby gates for the stairs work for you?
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Baby gates are what we used and they worked great !

Murph ,
Let me tell you a story about my old mangy mutt.

My wife is in Panama and me and the daughter are taking care of business here in the states . I go out to check the dogs in the kennel one morning and I find our Queensland Healer has attacked my old mutt and done severe damage to her spine . She is dragging herself around the pen . Her back legs and anything from the shoulders back will not move .
I call the vet and he tells me $1100 to get her repaired . I did not have the money back then . So we put her in the garage on a blanket and each day we care for her .She is not in pain unless she moves , My daughter and I decide that we will give her 1 week to see if she can make it without surgery . On the sixth day she moves this the tip of her tail ! On the seventh she trys to stand up and falls over . Each day she keeps trying . That was about 10 years ago . That dog can now outrace any dog we have . She runs funny but boy can she move . She still is a little tender but Thank GOD . we decided to give her that week to she if she could adjust .
I hope you have the same luck !!!!
 
Dogs are tough little beings.
They can overcome a lot of things without medical intervention.
But, it's always better to be safe than sorry, or to have some knowledge and a good vet too.

By the way Al, did you ever see about getting the dappled dachshund?
Or was it a piebald?
 
OhioTC18 said:
Would baby gates for the stairs work for you?
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Round spindles and poles. I am sure I could make it work but do I want to? Each of them baskets weigh about 35 pounds each and she moved all three of them to get downstairs.
 

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pirate_girl said:
By the way Al, did you ever see about getting the dappled dachshund?
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We want one ! But with looking at moving to Panama full time I think we may wait a couple months . Of course the wife can override any decision I make :doh:.
Our two old dogs are on their last legs and I will not put them through a move like that , The cats can handle it if they are willing to meow in Spanish . :wink:
 
thcri said:
Yeah but I have this phobia about scratching up the poles. If I do it right it should work out ok.
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Ok Murph ! I'm about to get ugly ! That dog loves you and you love it so get that gate set up . Whats a little sanding and paint or varnish for the best devoted love you will ever get ???:unsure::flowers:
 
Is downstairs the basement?
If you all don't go down there that often, why not consider covering the whole thing in something like a tarp?
She needs to know it's off limits and a no no from Daddy and Mommy.
 
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