My Dog is Broken

Speaking of weekly vet appointments...

Last night Griffin came in from the yard with a limp.  I guess he had been playing with the big dogs (130 pounds to his eight) and maybe one of them stepped on him.  What ever happened, he was the loser.  For the rest of the evening, he wouldn't put weight on it or bend his knee.  His little tail was between his legs and he was generally pitiful.

I felt on his leg to find the place that was paining him, but no place seemed more tender than anywhere else.  When I bent his knee, it made a popping sound like when you crack a knuckle.  Eeek!  After that, I left him alone for fear of doing more harm than good.

Of course, we were off to the vet first thing this morning.  Diagnosis?  Luxated patella.  (Dislocated kneecap for those of you with healthy trouble-free knees.)  The vet said it was just slipping in and out like crazy.  And would require surgery to fix.  Gah.  The vet gave him a shot for the pain and said to watch him for the next two weeks.  It was possible that the ligaments would tighten back up.

Unfortunately, I know from personal experience that once a patella sees the world, it is very hard to keep it in its proper place.  I dislocated mine at 16 and it has been in and out ever since.  Picture a midnight trip to the E.R. on my twenty-first birthday.  Ouch!

I guess what they say about pets resembling their owners is true.  But in this case it is health related instead of appearance.  First Griff's thyroid pooped out, and now his knee.  Poor puppy!