Thursday, May 21, 2009

The Happy Devil

That is what Dr. C. called Guinness today. He always has quirky nicknames for him. Dr. C. determined yesterday that he does have a torn crutiate ligament(s). He wanted to x-ray him today to see how bad the damage is.

I left him at the vet's at 8:00 this morning to be sedated for his x-rays, then I returned this afternoon for the results and to take an eager boy home. The x-ray showed that his thigh muscle has atrophied, so he has had this knee problem for a long time without any visible difficulty. It certainly has not slowed him down from being crazy! It also revealed some damage which has happened to the joint. He needs surgery to stabilize his knee. Our vet had two recommendations for an orthopedic surgeon. When we decide which way to go, he will book an appointment for us.

It is going to be very difficult to keep him off flights of stairs. There are stairs to the garage on the lower level, stairs from the deck to the yard, and stairs to the bedrooms. Thank goodness we have the ramp Hershey used to get into the back of the SUV. Getting Guinness to wait for me to set up the ramp before he jumps out is going to take some practice...

At least, now we know the problem and are moving towards a resolution, though it will not be quick and easy or cheap!

No comments: