My dog tore his ACL!

[Jennasis]

My poor Milhouse has been limping around the house for about 2 weeks. I thought he was developing arthirtis as it didn't seem to slow him down. He still ran around the yard, jumps up on the fence to yell at the passing cars and is pretty happy-go-lucky. But in the evening he would walk on his toe on his left hind, and had a pretty pronounced limp. So I took him to the vet yesterday (fully expecting the "oh he's just got arthritis" song and dance) and the vet tells me he has torn the doggie equivalent of his ACL on that left hind. My poor guy! I have been giving him Cosequin (a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement) as well as Derramax for pain (which wasn't seeming to help much).

Apparently the only "fix" for this is surgical...and naturally it is a brand new PATENTED procedure with only a few docs licensed to perform it...for $2500 estimated.

If we don't do the surgery, he'll always limp. The vet said their is no time frame/window, meaning we can wait and save up for the surgery. I am just sick and heartbroken. We are in a really bad place financially. I just want to cry.

 

[ziggystardust]

I'm so sorry. My sister's dog tore a something (don't remember what) and they fixed it surgically too, with a sort of fishing line. She recovered fine and was still running around like normal - and she was older when it happened

 

[Christine]

My dog had this done ON BOTH LEGS!!! About a year after the first leg went, the second leg went.

The surgery was great and it's a perfect fix.

 

[luvwinnie]

I am so sorry. WIll your vet work out a payment plan for you?

 

[RC Fan]

What kind of dog is he?

Please do some research on the internet about this before you make any sort of decision. The surgery requires a lengthy 'down-time' for your dog, and the success rates are not good, especially with larger dogs.

We went through this with our German Shepherd. The vet insisted we have the surgery done ASAP. Since a friend of mine had gone through this song and dance with her dog, I begged my parents to take some time to think about the surgery. We put our dog on some sort of medication for pain in lieu of the surgery, and she has been the very best ever since. The whole thing has made me very leery of vets. Some of them at just out to make a buck at the expense of your beloved pet.

If it would help, I will find out the name of the paid medication.

 

[KristiKelly]

I'm sorry. Are you anywhere near the vet school @ NCSU? We took our dog there for a different reason. They may be able to help, they would have all the latest & greatest technology and it might be cheaper since students would be learning. It's a great place.

 

[Christine]

If we don't do the surgery, he'll always limp. The vet said their is no time frame/window, meaning we can wait and save up for the surgery. I am just sick and heartbroken. We are in a really bad place financially. I just want to cry.

I had to do this surgery back in the late 1980s. It wasn't "patented" then and whatever they did worked very well. The regular vet couldn't do it and I had to take my dog to an orthepedic vet. At that time (1989) the surgery was $1,000 per leg. Probably pretty equivalent to the $2500 you're having to pay now.

We were also strapped at the time (hubby just had gotten out of the military). I believe we put it on a credit card and made payments as often as we could. When our dog did this, she was in a bit of pain and we really could not stand to wait. Hopefully your dog's tear isn't that bad.

 

[Oreo Cookie]

My last dog, a Chocolate lab, tore both cruciate ligaments (hind left and right legs). We did surgery on the one leg, and after he recovered we did surgery on the second leg. The surgery is expensive, and our dog was four at the time. Luckily, we had the money for both surgeries and he went on to live a full and productive life.

My dog had his surgery back in 1998, so I don't understand it being a brand new surgery, so I would take the exays and go check out some other vet hospitals.

Will the Vets office allow for a payment program? Or try seeing what other vet hospitals are close to you that may offer a payment program.

To your dog and your family.

 

[Jennasis]

My vet doesn't do this type of surgery. My dog is almost 90lbs so is not a candidate for the less expensive surgical fix that uses internal sutures or fishing line (as the line has a vast propensity for breakage with a larger dog). Milhouse is a black lab/chow cross.

I'm sure any vet would work out a payment plan..but I just don't know where we would come up with the money from. Our minivan (that is our farm utility vehicle and used for towing our horse trailer) is SHOT. The transmission is just about gone and so is the power steering unit. We need a new vehicle and I have no idea where that money will come from.

We just had a boarder tell us yesterday that she's moving out in a month so our income is about to drop AGAIN.

I know that somehow this will all work out, but right now I'm sad and feeling very bleak and overwhelmed. Milhouse relies on us to take care of him...we don't have kids...we have our dogs and horses and this really hurts.

 

[apirateslifeforme]

This happened to my dog several years ago when she was about 8 or 9. She tore the ligament in one back leg, had the surgery, then 2 months later, she tore the one in her other leg. Each time, we did have to wait for the special surgeon to come to our vet's office (the surgeon was available once a month), but there was no question that we'd do the surgery. I'm surprised at the price you were quoted, though - Tara's was $800 each time. She had to stay overnight at the vet's, and her first day home was always difficult - poor thing just couldn't get comfortable. But within days, she was walking with her foot down; after a week, walking normally, and by her 2-week checkup, she surprised the vet by jumping onto a bench. She does get the cosequin powder every night, mixed in with her food, and sometimes in very cold weather we do notice a slight limp, but otherwise, she is still running around and jumping on chairs (at age 13).

Good luck

 

[horseshowmom]

What kind of dog is he?

Please do some research on the internet about this before you make any sort of decision. The surgery requires a lengthy 'down-time' for your dog, and the success rates are not good, especially with larger dogs.

We went through this with our German Shepherd. The vet insisted we have the surgery done ASAP. Since a friend of mine had gone through this song and dance with her dog, I begged my parents to take some time to think about the surgery. We put our dog on some sort of medication for pain in lieu of the surgery, and she has been the very best ever since. The whole thing has made me very leery of vets. Some of them at just out to make a buck at the expense of your beloved pet.

If it would help, I will find out the name of the paid medication.

Similar but different here...

Many years ago, my beagle (at 2 1/2 years old) tore all the ligiments in one of her back legs. She was running across the pasture, I heard her yelp, and she immediately sat down. She couldn't walk and had to be carried. She was seen by the vet and treated with rest and medication.

About a week or two after that, she slipped out of the house and took off across the yard. The same thing happened with her other hind leg (probably because she was favoring the one that was already injured).

The vet examined her and told me about the surgery. He said it was very successful in some cases and not in others.

He recommended that I keep her in a playpen in the house and gave her medication. I had to pick her up and carry her outside to go to the restroom. The rest of the time she stayed in the playpen in the living room. I think it was about 8 weeks (may have been 10).

She recovered completely and never had a problem with it again. She had to be put down just before Christmas with liver failure, but she lived to be an old dog.

 

[Christine]

Jennasis--I'm so sorry. I know something will work out but it's very hard, isn't it? Vet bills are SO expensive.

 

[Oreo Cookie]

My vet doesn't do this type of surgery. My dog is almost 90lbs so is not a candidate for the less expensive surgical fix that uses internal sutures or fishing line (as the line has a vast propensity for breakage with a larger dog). Milhouse is a black lab/chow cross.

I'm sure any vet would work out a payment plan..but I just don't know where we would come up with the money from. Our minivan (that is our farm utility vehicle and used for towing our horse trailer) is SHOT. The transmission is just about gone and so is the power steering unit. We need a new vehicle and I have no idea where that money will come from.

We just had a boarder tell us yesterday that she's moving out in a month so our income is about to drop AGAIN.

I know that somehow this will all work out, but right now I'm sad and feeling very bleak and overwhelmed. Milhouse relies on us to take care of him...we don't have kids...we have our dogs and horses and this really hurts.

I can see by your posts how sad you are feeling and just wanted to let you know we will pray for you and your dog. I don't have kids either, so my pets are my kids, so I understand where you are coming from. Hang in there.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

I'm so sorry that your dog is hurting but to be honest I think you need a second opinion. My dog had ACL surgery probably about 8 years ago. He was about 115 pounds at the time. It was not state of the art, nor patented. He did great and was up and running by the end of the week. Surgery back then set me back about $550. The surgery now runs about $700 at the same place. I understand that vet bills are expensive but $2500 for ACL surgery seems a little out of line to me. Good luck with everything.

 

[Jennasis]

I think we will look into a second opinion. We aren't TOO far from NCstate (about 2 hours).

 

[Oreo Cookie]

I'm so sorry that your dog is hurting but to be honest I think you need a second opinion. My dog had ACL surgery probably about 8 years ago. He was about 115 pounds at the time. It was not state of the art, nor patented. He did great and was up and running by the end of the week. Surgery back then set me back about $550. The surgery now runs about $700 at the same place. I understand that vet bills are expensive but $2500 for ACL surgery seems a little out of line to me. Good luck with everything.

I think the price of surgery really varies. When my dog had his surgeries it was $1500 per surgery back 1998. The animal hospital we go to is a full service vet, they have orthopedic vets on staff, plus various other specialists, so I'm sure the cost is probably associated with all of the services offered by the hospital.

Vet care is expensive, and even with the pet insurance many things aren't covered, such as crutiate ligament surgery. It's awful because so many families are faced with a really hard decision because the money isn't there for the pet care prescribed by the Vet.

 

[Tiggeroo]

my sister had a very large dog who was around 7yo when he did this. She, like you, at first thought it was arthritis. Same talk from vet and even higher price, surgery was newer.
She didn't get the surgery. it's been at least 7 years since and the dog still limps. In fact he has alot of other issues due to age.
She didn't get the surgery due to cost, risk, size of dog, distance to take dog to surgeon, etc.
He limps but learned to compensate for it.

 

[Traveller]

I had the same experience as Horseshowmom. My beagle/JRT mix tore her ACL jumping off a ledge when she was about 13. No way did we want to put her thru surgery. Two vets said it was our "only option" and that she would limp if we didn't.

The 3rd one told us to basically confine her for 8-10 weeks, keeping all movement to a minimum. So we bought her a wagon to go on her walks. We would lift her out to go potty. The rest of the time she was in a pen. She is now 18, no limp and no effects from the tear. So rest and pain management definitely can work

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

I had to take in a poodle to get this done - she was walking around on 3 legs with one of the hind legs continually in the air.

First doc saw nothing on xray and thought soft tissue injury - kept the dog calm, carried her everywhere, got acupuncture for pain etc.

The acupuncturist could tell from the way the leg moved that there was a tear somewhere - so off to the specialist.

Torn ACL, surgery, recovery time was about 2 days - $2400. That is not cheap, but just one of the prices of pet ownership.

 

[KristiKelly]

I think we will look into a second opinion. We aren't TOO far from NCstate (about 2 hours).

Might be worth looking into. We took our Dalmatian there for Spondalosys (sp?). He was there all day, they did x-rays of everything, had several specialist look at him. The vet professor would exmaine him & make his evaluation, then students would examine him and they would tell the professor what they thought and why. Throughout the day he had probably 8-10 people examine him. He saw orthopedic & neurologist. THey also gave him some pain med. - (100pills that I paid $1 a piece for at my vet). They did all of this for $180.00. I felt this was a very good price - keep in mind this was also 1999 so I'm sure prices are more now.

I realize it's a long drive but might be worth a shot. At least get a 2nd opinion.

Good luck