Here’s an update on the Dance Safari post, “ Love That Dog – The Story of Cheyenne and Dollar”. It’s about my daughter, Cheyenne and her dog, Dollar. Dollar dog is a big guy and he’s getting on in years. But, he loves to run around and play. One evening they were at the dog park and he hurt his ACL. In dogs, the injury is called a CCL rupture.
The next day Cheyenne took him to the vet. The best way to treat his CCL injury would be surgery. However, one of the tests showed there was possibly an issue with his kidneys. If so, he wouldn’t be a candidate for the surgery. As a result, they’d only be able to manage his pain with medications.
Take a look at this post describing some signs to look for to determine if your dog has a CCL rupture.
To Cut or Not to Cut…that’s the question.
Turns out Dollar was able to have the surgery to repair his CCL. But even so, Cheyenne was a little unsure about how to proceed. He was recovering slowly and could get around a bit, but not without a limp. When he needed it, she used a sling to help him walk without putting too much pressure on his back legs. In addition, Dollar began taking supplements including Cosequin DS for joint health support and the antioxidant CoQ10 by Zesty Paws to help with his injury.
Cheyenne would have to think about whether or not to schedule surgery to repair Dollar’s injury.
After a few weeks, she made her decision, and Dollar had the recommended TPLO (Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy) surgery. According to tploinfo.com, the surgeon would “cut and rotate a portion of the bone, inserting a plate and screws to secure the graft while it heals.“. Following surgery, Dollar was on 8 weeks of limited activity so when he had to move, Cheyenne assisted him with the sling. In addition, he wore a cone for 2 weeks to prevent him from licking his wounds.
Dollar’s recovery is very good. He will need most of the year to get back to normal, but he’s doing great and Cheyenne is happy that she made the right decision. This type of injury is very common, especially for large dogs. As a matter of fact, there’s a 60% chance that your dog with a CCL injury will have it occur in the other leg as well. So, keep an eye on your little buddies.
Thanks!
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What a gorgeous looking dog. He makes my two look like toys!
So pleased the surgery went well; I’m sure that both Cheyenne and Dollar are too. 🙂
Thanks, Carolyn. I think he looks like a movie star. So much better than that sad sack when he was hurting.
Barbara
Our dear little ‘Sweetie’ who was my daughter’s puppy-dog for the first five years of her fifteen years of life passed in January this year. Ten years with her seemed to fly by so quickly. We miss her so much; she was the matriarch of our three four legged loved ones.
Our other two are gradually defining their new positions in life, though, this has been a difficult adjustment for them both as Sweetie was such a personable, lively little being; and definitely the guiding force.
They (our little four legged friends) bring us such love and joy. But, darn, their lives are way too short!
xoxoxo
I’m so sorry to hear about losing Sweetie. It’s a terrible feeling to miss your dog when it passes. Maybe their lives are too short, but they never fail to make us happy.
I know you’ll help guide your pup-family to a comfortable place.
Barbara
“Maybe their lives are too short, but they never fail to make us happy.”
Indeed they do, Barbara… Wouldn’t miss any of that for the world. ❤