Our Other Little Girl

Our friend, Dixie, is the sweetest dog in the whole world and about the craziest, most active girl we've ever met. She goes nonstop and greets people with her whole body. (This is a positive post so let's not mention the piercing barking that goes along with the greeting.) She is only about 6 and loves to swim and play fetch a million times a day if we let her. We noticed last year that she wasn't moving quite as fast anymore and that she'd yelp sometimes when she'd go get the ball. We took her to the vet and they said it was just hip displaysia but not severe enough to do anything about. I was heartbroken because this hasn't slowed down her enthusiasm to play and I couldn't explain to her why I wouldn't throw the ball for her anymore. Now things have gotten so bad that she won't even put any weight on her left leg and will hop around on three legs. Even still it doesn't slow her down and she brought me the ball again today. Well, the bad (and good) news is that the problem is actually a knee problem (Avery calls it Dixie's "ouchie knee.") and it's going to require surgery. The vet (where we went for a second opinion) said she's actually torn the ligament in her knee and her bones rub together when she puts weight on it, causing her pain. It requires an 8 to 10 week recovery time which will mean that she's kenneled for that entire time, at home, and taken out to pee on a leash. That's going to be tough for us (just cause we'll be sad) but Mason and I have both agreed that we'll do that for her, of course. The good news is that, the surgery, which requires a metal plate, a few pins in her leg and one night away from home, is 85 -95% effective, so by summer she should be back to her old self! I CAN'T WAIT! I've felt so terrible for her not being able to play and I'm so relieved that there's a solution and an end in sight. We'll keep you posted on the surgery so you can say a little doggie prayer for her.