Dumb Dog

I love my dog. He was my wedding gift from my husband; a very unexpected gift because My Love always said he liked dogs but "not in the house." Our pup is definitely an in-the-house dog. He's 2 1/2 years old now and thoroughly part of the family.

He started limping a couple months back and we didn't think much of it. It had happened once before and got better, like he had pulled a muscle or something. You see, he's a beagle. Beagles are not big dogs, but he doesn't know that. He runs and chases and plays just like he was a big dog.

Well, the limp didn't get better and he was overdue for a distemper vaccine, so I took him in to the vet. (The good chic vet, the one that I like. Not the other guy we saw last time that is just Ok.) My dumb dog has gone and torn a cruciate ligament in his knee. The first limp was probably a partial tear, but he did a better job the next time and completely tore it. It's not getting better because ligaments don't have their own blood supply, so they don't heal by themselves.

Now, I love my dog. I do. And him having a bum knee, watching him limp, makes me very, very, very sad. But... he's not my child, he's a dog.

If he was my child, of course, I would pay the $1100 to have his knee surgically repaired. Ms. Vet said it's not a question of "if" he'll get arthritis in the knee, but when and how much - even with surgery. And the surgery is not a permanent fix. It's basically a figure-8 suture that holds things together internally, with the hope that by the time it breaks, enough scar tissue has built up to mostly stabilize the knee. We put him on a doggie anti-inflammatory and joint complex to hopefully decrease the inflammation and minimize his symptoms/discomfort.

So I am coming to grips with the fact that my pup wil probably have a much shorter life than I would like. Beagles usually live 12-15 years if they are kept healthy and trim. He still likes to exercise, but he heavily favors his bad leg after even short walks - a couple square blocks. He loves to run (which now hurts him), but he doesn't like to swim (which would be the easiest on him) so keeping him trim is going to be a challenge. He eats anything and everything he can get his little chops into. If he gets overweight, the joint problems will just get worse. My poor puppy.

Dumb Dog.