[Dailydrool] Sister Gracie's Torn ACL

[AWoodrum]

Our dear sweet Sister Gracie (ATB) tore her ACL one day when she was 12.  To
this day I have no clue how it happened, she was a big girl (68 pounds) and
didn't jump or play or anything like that.  The Vet first suggested taking
her to a specialist for surgery that would cost around $10,000.00 and there
was no way I was going to spend that kind of money on a 12 year old doggie.
We discussed it and he mentioned that he had several doggie patients who
were permanently on pain meds for a torn ACL, and we decided to go that
route with Gracie. 

 

I had her on pain meds for probably a couple of months, very slowly cutting
back on the amounts she took.  Wanted to keep her from hurting, but wanted
her off prescription drugs if possible, and fortunately we were able to
achieve this after a couple of months..  At first I had to carry her outside
to potty using a special sling (thank you Debbie Winchester for sending it
to me), we built little ramps for her to use on the front porch and out the
pet door in back.  Once she was able to walk a few feet by herself, she
started begging to go on our nightly walks.  So we started walking, the
first week I let her go from the front porch to the driveway, then picked
her up and made her ride in the little (okay big) red wagon, which I pulled.
Next week she got to go half a front yard further, and so on, until
eventually (I'm guessing about 6 months, maybe a little more) she was
totally rehabbed and could do our regular walks again (about a mile to a
mile and a half).  Took quite a while.  I would let her walk and watch her
injured leg, when it started to quiver a tiny bit, that was it, in the wagon
she went.

 

So to answer the original question, you definitely do not have to do the
surgery, start with pain meds and rest, and see how it goes.  Just be sure
to not allow a sudden surge in physical activity once the dog starts feeling
better.  Go slow, very slow so there are no setbacks, and your pooch will be
fine.

 

Anita Woodrum

awoodrum at clear.net

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.dailydrool.org/pipermail/dailydrool-dailydrool.org/attachments/20140808/615ba7ab/attachment.htm>