[Dailydrool] Toby's ACL

[Katie Strobel]

We just got past Watson's 12 week recovery mark for his ACL surgery.
He's finally able to have full activity, though he was trying to have
more than that earlier and we had to sedate him. Watson is 1.5 years
old (2 in November) we were going to have the TPLO surgery but once
the doctor got in there, he discovered that Watson's angle in his knee
is already at what the TPLO was aiming for so he did the other
one...the one where they drill a hole in his tibia (I think) and loop
some prosthetic ligament through there to act as the ACL. The TPLO is
more expensive, but more reliable. The recovery times for each surgery
were the same, and so was the rehab. We got the best of both worlds
because now Watson's knee is at the ideal angle, and he has a
prosthetic ligament in there so he's super reinforced - it's like we
did both surgeries.

Watson did not have arthritis yet when we discovered the ACL tear, but
we were told that if we did not fix it, he would get arthritis in 2
months (which would have been last month) and that it would get
progressively worse throughout his life. With such a young active dog,
we decided that 12 weeks of hard rehab and rest was better than a
lifetime of joint pain and being unable to enjoy life to the fullest.
We couldn't afford the surgery offhand so we had to get the CreditCare
card and put the surgery on that. We're making payments on the surgery
and will be for a while I suppose. However, it was all worth it. We
now have a reinforced puppy who is running without discomfort or pain,
who is so happy and carefree that it makes my heart swell until I feel
like it's going to burst out of my chest. MomPerson is right - you
must treat Toby as your child and do what the vet says. In my
experience with Watson, a vet will not recommend a surgery or
procedure unless they truly feel like it's the best thing for the
animal. Watson has had a lot of emergencies and surgeries for such a
young guy, but to see him now - how happy he is to finally be feeling
100% with all the wonderfully endearing puppy energy makes all of it -
the pain, the stress, the sleepless night, the incredible vet bills -
everything - worth it.

Watson is one of three dogs in this house, and he absolutely loves to
play and run and jump. He is such a high-energy dog, and it really was
heartbreaking to have to put him on crate rest for 8 weeks. However,
it was for the best. Just last week - one week before rehab was over -
he overdid it and strained a muscle. That really taught us to follow
the vet's instructions to the letter. Really doing all of the icing
and exercising was so time consuming - along with the walks and the
medicine and especially that damn cone - but if you don't do it, they
don't heal properly and you risk tearing the ligament and having to do
it all over again. The real motivating factor for us was not wanting
to pay for that procedure twice mixed with the fear of having to start
over. After the second week of crate rest, we had to sedate Watson. He
was just miserable. I think the best way and the most humane way for
you and the dog to get through such a difficult time is to sedate
them. That way, the dog sleeps through basically the whole thing, so
they don't remember much of anything and you don't have to feel so
guilty about crating him and "leaving him out" of all the fun. Watson
also survived with a healthy supply of bones and kongs with frozen
peanut butter in them. One thing that helped us was having an x-pen.
For the first two weeks we absolutely had to crate rest him, but after
that he was moved to the x-pen with a huge fluffy bed in it. That way
he had room to stretch out and be comfortable. After 2 weeks we also
got to take that awful cone off of his head, and really after that was
gone, it was all downhill. The first two weeks are really the worst
part - after that, it just keeps getting easier - especially after you
establish a routine.

I NEVER want to do that again - but I would if it meant that I would
have a happy, healthy puppy on my hands. All we've ever wanted for
Watson was for him to have a carefree life.  I would do anything to
keep that for him.

Let me know if you ever have any questions. Having just been through
it, I know it's incredibly stressful.

Katie and Watson (oh, that sweet basset 500 - how I've missed it lately :) )