Tuesday I wrote about the Conservative Management program we had in place to keep Sampson from totally tearing his ACL.

For those of you who follow me on Facebook, you know that went out the window Tuesday night.  Less than 24 hours after I posted it, Sampson completely tore his ACL.

What happened?

Sampson and Delilah were playing, they were running in the house with a squeaky ball.  I went and started a load of laundry and when I got back, Sampson wouldn’t put any weight on his bad leg.  Less than two minutes.  I was gone less than two minutes and when I walked in and saw him with his leg lifted, I knew he blew it out.

I called the vet and thankfully got the last appointment of the night and brought him in.

The Diagnosis

After checking him out thoroughly the vet looked at me and said, “You’re going to kill me.”

“Why?”

“I think he completely tore his ACL, but I’d like one of my colleagues to check him out as well”

She brought her colleague in and she examined him and agreed he’d fully torn it.

What is it they say about mom’s always knowing?

The Treatment

We added an additional pain pill of Gabapentin to his existing Carprofen and upped his Tramadol (anti-inflammatory) back up to two per day.  I was advised to ice it if possible.  As you can imagine, that didn’t go over really well.

After speaking with my vet yesterday afternoon, she is definitely recommending surgery.  I can’t tell you how much this terrifies me, but she really thinks this is his best option to get him mobile once again.  I’ve scheduled a consultation for tomorrow morning at 9:00 am.  Oh and I cancelled his physical therapy appointment.

What we did wrong.

As far as I can tell, nothing.  We knew going in that despite conservative measures there was still a possibility of the ACL tearing.  Dogs will be dogs and there is only so much you can do to keep them quiet.

We kept him from tearing for over two months.  Any dog can tear their ACL, we could have had it heal completely and he could have been running in the field and blew it out.  It happens.

While I was sick to my stomach and a bit shaky and weepy on Tuesday night, I’m better today.  Not much, but talking about it helps me, so thanks to all of you who have engaged me in one way or another.

I really appreciate it.

Regrets, I’ve had a few.

People that say things say that hindsight is better than foresight.  This is probably my one and only regret.  Had I known he would have blown his ACL anyway, I would have gone ahead with the surgery right away.  If we had, we’d be half-way through his recovery period by now.

How we’re managing.

Right now it’s hard.  He’s still trying to figure out how to function with three legs.  Since he refuses to use the stairs to get on and off the bed and I can’t guarantee that Delilah won’t jitterbug all over him, I’m making him sleep on the floor.

And of course he can’t go outside without being on leash.  Which really pisses him off.  I’m worried about his pooping.  He hasn’t pooped since Tuesday morning.  Any ideas on how to help a dog without use of one of his back legs to poop?  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert on ACL tears or conservative management, I am not even a vet. I am not advising you as to what will or will not work should your dog have an ACL injury. I am simply sharing our story.  If your dog has an ACL injury, it is important you discuss your dog’s recovery with a vet that you trust.

Oh and please forgive me for not reading blogs yesterday, I just couldn’t concentrate.

And yes, today is Thursday’s Barks and Bytes Blog hop, hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs and Heart Like a Dog, feel free to grab the badge and join the fun!