Too Much Information

About a year ago, Elliott and Sadie were flying at a thousand miles an hour in the dog park. It was a cold and icy day and Elliott slipped and fell at one point but got right back up again. Afterwards he had a little bit of lameness. We took him to the vet who thought it was a soft tissue injury. The mild lameness, that he would walk out within a minute, continued off and on during the year. We took him for chiropractic treatments which helped a lot. We also did warm up and cool down routines before and after exercise and training which helped a lot. We saw good improvement but not a disappearance of the problem. In the summer time I even asked our vet if it could be a cruciate injury but there was nothing to indicate that.

About 2 weeks ago, Elliott's cousins Libby and Tom were over to visit and the four of them were flying at a thousand miles an hour in our icy cold backyard. Elliott came in on 3 legs. After about 3 or 4 days he still was lame and would not bear weight on the sore leg. We went to the vet and this time there was ample evidence to suggest a cruciate injury. X-rays showed the beginning of arthritic changes and the vet did a test on his leg called a "drawer" test which shows if there is too much movement in the joint.

So, now we think that the injury a year ago was probably a very tiny tear to his ligament. These ligaments cannot heal themselves. They cannot regenerate or grow back together. In a very small dog the joint may stabilize to the point where the dog is not in too much pain and can function pretty much ok. In a dog Elliott's size, and in a dog who competes in some sort of sport like obedience, you have to repair the joint.

We have visited a canine rehabilitation specialist, and had a surgical consult with an expert in these repairs. We have chosen a method of repair and arranged surgery. Elliott will be having his operation tomorrow afternoon.

I would be so thankful to anyone who would keep a good thought for our boy during this time. The most challenging part of all this will be the recovery period of eight weeks during which time he cannot have any uncontrolled exercise in case he re-injures himself.