My Chesapeake Bay Retriever ruptured his cranial cruciate ligament in his hind leg. He could scarcely walk.

He had surgery yesterday morning. It was a partial rupture, but they make no effort to repair the rupture, instead they mill out a section of the "elbow" (we would call it a "knee") and insert a metal plate the changes the geometry of the joint and thus stabilizes it.

I had to take him to a special hospital for the operation. The surgeon said that the operation was successful.

The dog is home and in horrific pain. The pain meds I gave him an hour ago seem to be working. He is asleep now.

The vet says that after 5 days he should be able to put some weight on the leg.

The dog weighs 112 pounds and is in "show" weight. "Field weight" (working dog) would be about 10 pounds lighter (102 pounds). He is definitely not fat. They want his weight to go down to 80 or 90 pounds maximum to reduce the strain on the ligaments in the other leg.

So instead of milk bones and chew treats, he is supposed to eat carrots and ice cubes for snacks. (He tells me that the ice cubes are OK, but the carrots are going to have to go.)

Thanks for listening.


Regards,


Packard & Cooler