Sampson's Story - ACL Surgery

On April 2nd, 2010 My big, goofy, Marmaduke like, 4 year old rescue dog named Sampson came bounding the stairs on Good Friday to let me know how excited he was that he found me down there and he would be ready for his walk very soon. As he and one of the smaller dogs [Olu] fought to make it to me quicker by jumping on the couch simultaneously I heard "the cry". I had never heard him whimper or cry like that before and my stomach sank as I knew immediately what it meant. He knelt down at the edge of the couch, ears back, looking at me with big eyes as if wondering if he had done something wrong. Olu even became nervous with the sound of the cry and stood by his brothers side until we were all calm.

I knew what had happened because two years earlier in the spring of 2008, almost to the date, Sampson had his left ACL repaired. In that situation it was a slow tear that resulted in weeks of occasional limping until we finally realized that this was more than just too much time on the trails. After a visit to our amazing vet we were given our options and with an incredible amount of information he told us we could and should get a second opinion as well as do our own research and compare that to the information he had given us. Ironically some good friends of mine had just begun the process with their Australian Shepard mix. He was going in for TPLO and so we shared information about the pro's and con's of the whole process. Luckily I was working from home so I would be able to attempt to keep things as normal as possible during his recovery. The surgery was quick and he did really well during the first stages of recovery. Short leashed walks, ice packs and motion therapy, he showed lots of patience and seemed to be doing well with all of it. It was with in the fourth week that I started seeing him limp a little more than normal on the bad leg, and within a few days he was back to only touching his toe to the ground. It was at that check up that we discovered that the surgery did not take, and we had to reschedule for another within two weeks and start the whole process over again. To make a long story not quite so long, this happened another time leading us to three surgeries within a five month period. It was agonizing for all of us, mostly the dogs that were missing their normal summer activities and the ability to play freely with each other. We are a three dog household so the hardest part was just keeping them from playing with each other in the normal way that two year old puppies will do. The whole process had started in mid March with snow and ice still covering most of the ground and we did not achieve a comfortable routine with Sampsons new knee until late September. From that time he recovered beautifully and we eased him into the longer walks, swimming in the lake and a little more open play in the yard. We thought we had seen the last of the vets surgery room.

When the initial tear happened this year I thought that there was no way we could go through it again, that I could attempt to contain his energy as well as the other dogs, keep him confined and separated from the rest of the house all over again. The vet had told me he had an opening within the next week and that we could get in right away but he knew of our concerns from the previous surgeries. Let me add here that this veterinarian is incredible! He is personable, sincere and leaves the decision making to you with all the information you could possibly want. He felt so awful about the previous surgeries failing to take properly that he did the last two surgeries at no charge. And let me add that to this day that whenever I turn on the road that leads us to the town where the vet office is located Sampson starts letting out little barks and by the time we pull up to the office he is jumping out of the car to run inside! Even the staff can't believe how much he likes it there after all he has had to go through, so clearly they are treating him well and providing care and compassion in what otherwise could have been a horrible experience.

After some very serious thoughts on every aspect of it I decided to go through with the surgery.

He went in on Thursday and I was able to pick him up on Friday. Your heart just breaks when you see the shaved leg and the stitches and the fragility of an otherwise happy, bounding dog. We have turned the living room into "Camp Sampson" with dog beds at every corner, and baby gates set up to block off stairs and other temptations.

I had some great advice given to me through the blogs that were posted two years ago when he had his first surgery and I was so grateful for that information. I hope this blog will help anyone else going through, or considering this surgery for their dogs.