Sir Limps-A-Lot

I've mentioned before that Gabe had ACL surgery on his left back leg about a year and half ago. The surgery was very invasive and his recovery time was about 3 months. The surgeon told us that there was an 85% chance that his right back ACL would tear within 18 months. Back in January we thought it happened, but he had just strained it and eventually he was fine.

Well, on Saturday, it finally happened. Chris and I took the dogs out to the field because it was such a beautiful day. All the dogs were running around and having a good time and then all of a sudden I heard Gabe yelp really loud from across the field and I saw him fall. He tried to get up and as soon as he did, he laid back down. I immediately knew that he blew out his leg and I ran over to him. I helped him up and walked with him back to the car. He wasn't even able to put any weight on his right leg...just like the first time this happened. On the way back to the car, Gabe had to stop a couple times to lay down because his leg was bothering him and Chris had to pick him up to put him in the car so we could go home.

Once we got home I could tell the pain was starting to really bother Gabe because he was crying a lot. Unfortunately, his vet's office was already closed so I couldn't even go there to pick up pain medicine. So I went to the pet store and bought him Aspirin for dogs, along with a new bone and some raw hides (enough for all the dogs of course).

I laid down a big, comfy blanket right in front of the TV for him and he laid there and cried....he didn't even want to watch River Monsters on Animal Planet. This is when I knew he was in A LOT of pain. Poor guy!

That night and the following night, I slept on the big blanket with Gabe and scratched his head and his back until I fell asleep. Neither of us slept very well that night because Gabe was awake and crying most of the night and so that was keeping me awake. I had to wake up early the next morning because my two girlfriends and I were going to do a 5K obstacle course race called the Warrior Dash --this will have a post of it's own so stay tuned!

I can tell that Gabe isn't in as much pain as he was the first day and night because he isn't crying and he's back to watching TV and being happy like he usually is, but it still makes me sad to see him walking around on three legs. It makes me feel sorry for him too when he gets really excited to see me and excited to eat and he starts trying to go fast, only using 3 legs.

Gabe is set to have his surgery on May 17...I know it's still a month away, but it was the first opening available. I'm really hoping that there will be a last minute opening before his scheduled appointment so we can get the surgery over with and start his recovery. The upside to all of this is that once he gets the surgery and recovers, his legs will be stronger than they ever were and he can be my running buddy again! As of now, Gabe is enjoying the extra attention, extra treats, and the big comfy blanket, in perfect view of the TV.

Here's a video of Gabe aka "Sir Limps-A-Lot".