Tuesday, September 26, 2006
House repairs or dog repairs?
We finally took Maverick to a surgeon. The verdict: Maverick has a bum left hip, and as a result favors his right leg. While favoring his right leg, he overdid it, and tore the cruciate ligament (doggie equivalent of an ACL). Now he has to use the left leg more, which is making his hip worse. Both joints have damage from arthritis. Our options:
1. TPLO surgery to repair the knee joint. The outcome is usually quite favorable. With his right leg fixed, his left hip should stabilize, and give him a few more good years. Downside is that the surgery is quite expensive.
2. Leave it as is. The outcome here is that his right leg and hip will both get worse. He will have to be a house dog with virtually no exercise. The damage from arthritis will get progressively worse and more painful.
Seems like a no brainer, right? I am ashamed to say that we took a long time thinking about this. There are so many other things we'd rather put that money toward: crown mouldings, a buffet for the dining room, some artwork, a play structure for Chloe, a new lawn... It's an awful thought, but we could get a new dog (several actually) for much less than the surgery.
But then I flashed forward to a conversation I would be having with Chloe in a few years:
Chloe (age 5): But Mom, why CAN'T we take Maverick with us to the beach?
Me: His legs hurt and he can't walk.
Chloe: Can't the vet make him better?
Me: Actually, we looked into that a few years ago, but you know, we decided we'd rather get crown mouldings and artwork for the living room.
Lesson: Material things come first.
Right. Well, that's not exactly the example I want to set. I'd rather her be able to play with Maverick, go to the park together, and take walks through the neighborhood. I want her to have happy memories playing with her dog. I want her to have compassion for other people and animals - not choose to put her pets in pain.
So, he will have the surgery on Thursday. He'll stay over night and come home to spend 8 weeks in his crate, which has a new spot in my office, so that he'll have easy access to the backyard without having to go up and down the stairs.
We said we'd never spend this kind of money on a pet. But we think it will be the best thing for all of us.
1. TPLO surgery to repair the knee joint. The outcome is usually quite favorable. With his right leg fixed, his left hip should stabilize, and give him a few more good years. Downside is that the surgery is quite expensive.
2. Leave it as is. The outcome here is that his right leg and hip will both get worse. He will have to be a house dog with virtually no exercise. The damage from arthritis will get progressively worse and more painful.
Seems like a no brainer, right? I am ashamed to say that we took a long time thinking about this. There are so many other things we'd rather put that money toward: crown mouldings, a buffet for the dining room, some artwork, a play structure for Chloe, a new lawn... It's an awful thought, but we could get a new dog (several actually) for much less than the surgery.
But then I flashed forward to a conversation I would be having with Chloe in a few years:
Chloe (age 5): But Mom, why CAN'T we take Maverick with us to the beach?
Me: His legs hurt and he can't walk.
Chloe: Can't the vet make him better?
Me: Actually, we looked into that a few years ago, but you know, we decided we'd rather get crown mouldings and artwork for the living room.
Lesson: Material things come first.
Right. Well, that's not exactly the example I want to set. I'd rather her be able to play with Maverick, go to the park together, and take walks through the neighborhood. I want her to have happy memories playing with her dog. I want her to have compassion for other people and animals - not choose to put her pets in pain.
So, he will have the surgery on Thursday. He'll stay over night and come home to spend 8 weeks in his crate, which has a new spot in my office, so that he'll have easy access to the backyard without having to go up and down the stairs.
We said we'd never spend this kind of money on a pet. But we think it will be the best thing for all of us.
