My baby tore her ACL!

[crazyforkate]

Okay, I mentioned Fera on the other thread, my sweet golden retriever. Last summer she stepped in a hole in the ground, tore her ACL and had to have an operation. $2000 and a lot of pain and misery, poor thing. Well, the day after I left after spending a lovely Reading Week spoiling her, my mom called to say that the other leg just went (she jumped out of the truck and caught her leg in the seatbelt), and the vet thinks it's the other ACL! This means another operation, more money, and the cancellation of a trip to Colorado my dad has wanted to do for forty years.

I know it's really silly. We're the type of pet owners who will do anything for a sick/injured dog, and she'll be fine eventually, but it's really disheartening and I'm just so sad about it. Something set me off. Happy thoughts please?

[SamuraiKatz]

Okay, I mentioned Fera on the other thread, my sweet golden retriever. Last summer she stepped in a hole in the ground, tore her ACL and had to have an operation. $2000 and a lot of pain and misery, poor thing. Well, the day after I left after spending a lovely Reading Week spoiling her, my mom called to say that the other leg just went (she jumped out of the truck and caught her leg in the seatbelt), and the vet thinks it's the other ACL! This means another operation, more money, and the cancellation of a trip to Colorado my dad has wanted to do for forty years.

I know it's really silly. We're the type of pet owners who will do anything for a sick/injured dog, and she'll be fine eventually, but it's really disheartening and I'm just so sad about it. Something set me off. Happy thoughts please?

I hope Fera is on the mend soon...that it is just a little sprain and not a tear. Good thoughts to you!

[Curious]

Okay, I mentioned Fera on the other thread, my sweet golden retriever. Last summer she stepped in a hole in the ground, tore her ACL and had to have an operation. $2000 and a lot of pain and misery, poor thing. Well, the day after I left after spending a lovely Reading Week spoiling her, my mom called to say that the other leg just went (she jumped out of the truck and caught her leg in the seatbelt), and the vet thinks it's the other ACL! This means another operation, more money, and the cancellation of a trip to Colorado my dad has wanted to do for forty years.

I know it's really silly. We're the type of pet owners who will do anything for a sick/injured dog, and she'll be fine eventually, but it's really disheartening and I'm just so sad about it. Something set me off. Happy thoughts please?

Aww poor Fera. Hopefully, it's not a tear and won't require surgery after a little rest. The good news is Colorado will be there next year :)

[crazyforkate]

Aww poor Fera. Hopefully, it's not a tear and won't require surgery after a little rest. The good news is Colorado will be there next year :)

Trip didn't get cancelled, my aunt offered to take her for the week. As for the tear, the vet is going to have another look at her in a few days (she has painkillers until then) and we'll proceed from there. She's pretty sore but doing okay. Poor beast.

[Mango]

Oh, that sucks. :( (Bad news, if you don't already know? Usually if one's gone, the other will go at some point too. :( )

[Chowder Head]

Warn happy thoughts for your furry kid.

[Curious]

How is Fera doing, CFK?

[crazyforkate]

Thanks for asking, Curious! She's learned how to compensate for her bad leg, and is managing all right. Short walks, avoiding stairs, that kind of thing. The vet said it was all right to leave it for a bit, but she's going to go back tomorrow to determine how bad it is and what course the treatment will take. Good spirits though...it's hard to keep a dog down.

[dawbs]

aw, I'm sorry.

We just recently dealt w/ this at my house.

(FWIW, we 'shopped around' the surgery and found that all vet prices aren't created equal. That doesn't mean a more expensive vet is 'bad'--hell, my primary vet said that he doesn't do the surgery, period. He just doesn't do enough of them to be good at it, he'd refer us to someone else. His referral was the local University and...zomgs. Mr. Dawb's family still uses his childhood vet, who actually was literally 1/10 of what the U charged--and did an awesome job)

I hope you get good news!

[NovemberRain]

Sending good thoughts for you and Fera! Hope you have good news!

[crazyforkate]

The monster just got back from the vet and, true to what we all though, it is a tear. However, there was also some cartilage damage beyond that. It's going to be a more involved operation than we thought. So, not good news, but not unexpected. She'll be fine eventually, but it does suck to be her for the next few weeks.

[Curious]

The monster just got back from the vet and, true to what we all though, it is a tear. However, there was also some cartilage damage beyond that. It's going to be a more involved operation than we thought. So, not good news, but not unexpected. She'll be fine eventually, but it does suck to be her for the next few weeks.

aww that's too bad. Dogs do handle stuff like this SO much better than humans do, on the upside. I'm sure she will do great and feel much better once it's fixed. Good thoughts to your family and Fera for the surgery and her recovery!

[dawbs]

mostly yay...best of luck

[crazyforkate]

Fera had her surgery today. She likes the vet, and was in fact so eager to get into his office that she ran away from the receptionist and nosed the exam room door open. Such a good puppy :)

Surgery went well, apparently there was less cartilage damage than expected. She'll be at the vet's overnight but from then on it's just rest and painkillers. At least she doesn't have any other knees to ruin!

[dawbs]

yay for successful surgery

[Curious]

That's good to hear, CFK :) I'm sure she will be up and around in no time.

[crazyforkate]

Somehow I think she's going to be just fine. The local squirrel population might want to watch out, though.

[PennySycamore]

Fera is just beautiful! That purple-bandaged cast looks lovely, too!

[Curious]

Good luck keeping her on rest for the duration! She looks wonderful and I agree, her cats looks very nice with her beautiful coat color :)

[crazyforkate]

So my mom sends me an April Fool's text telling me that Fera had to be rushed to vet after chewing up her cast. I fall for it and she laughs at me. The next day...Fera has to be rushed to the vet after chewing up her cast. Bad karma, mom. And stupid dog. But animals in the Cone of Shame are extremely cute.

[dawbs]

boo!

The cones are hilarious.

Especially (please note, I expect to be told how mean this is) when they fail to realize that it makes their heads wider. Dawgus gets stuck in doorways when she wears hers. Also, gets stuck about 1" away from the treat that rolls under the couch when wearing hers. It's hilarious. (no, I don't INTENTIONALLY open the door to narrow for her--it's just, it's instinct, one of the cats is an escape artist)

If it's helpful, for many dogs, the inflatable cones work well--like this: http://www.amazon.com/Nutri-Vet-Protect ... e+dog+cone

(unfortunately, my dog is able to get around them so we can't use 'em)

[Curious]

But animals in the Cone of Shame are extremely cute.

I am somewhat of a cone of shame expert. I have a dog that is allergic to...the planet (he's even allergic to cats :roll: ) and had to wear a cone every day for about 3 years or he would cannibalize himself. I think I have tried every cone on the market.

I highly recommend the comfy cone: http://www.petco.com/product/108491/All ... -Cone.aspx

This is far and away the best cone we ever used with him. He could eat and drink in it, he did not run into walls and doorways, he could even play with the Tequila when she was a puppy with it on (and was probably thankful for the protection lol). He slept in it comfortably. In fact, he got to the point where if we took it off for any reason, he got stressed out and was all HEY that is MINE, give it back!!

Thankfully, his allergy shots have started to work and he's been cone free for about the last 6 months.

Here you can see he can carry on normal activity pretty well, even with the cone on, playing tug with the baby.