Yep, poor girl can't catch a break. I have been waiting to post about this since Sat. but was waiting till i had all the answers. That hike we did 2 weeks ago, well she tore her CCL, found out this past Sat. what happened. Last night i got home and she would not put her hind left leg down.
Vet this morning, she completely blew out her CCL (ACL in us humans). We are doing surgery on Tue. to repair it and to have 1-2 (need to test 2nd one) new masses removed that we found.

we are doing the Extacapsular repair for cost and recover time.

Please keep her in your thoughts as we do surgery and recover.

I have been a emotional wreck over this, Ken and I both feel at fault for what happened and all we can do is try to make it better.

Thank you all for the ongoing support, i know i have been MIA lately.

Oh Jenn, i am sorry for y'all, and for precious Sierra........don't blame yourselves, it can happen to any dog, young or old. She was doing what she loves to do and being with her happy humans, doing what they love to do. Fingers crossed on a successful surgery, and all will be better within a short time.

So sorry, Jenn! Dakota's vet told us that his CCL has a very high chance of tearing. I guess the vet could feel something in his leg so she warned us it was a good possibility...no idea if it is age or activity related as she said this...oh some 7 years ago I believe. I worry all the time about it but so far we've been lucky. Wishing you and Sierra all the best. Don't blame yourselves, Sierra just enjoys life and this stuff happens. Please come back and keep us updated on her progress and recovery.

Poor Sierra. She will bounce back though. She's in great hands to get her through the recovery needed to get back out there. As everyone has said, she loves being out there with you guys. I doubt she would give up the adventures for anything.

Hoping for the best possible outcome for Sierra.
Going through these medical events with our dogs is hard.
We will be keeping you in our thoughts and prayers.

thanks everyone, if she was not so active and alive we would have just treated it with shots and meds, but there was no option of not doing the surgery given her "young" behavior, we will just figure out paying for it later, after all, that's what credit cards are for!
just need to keep her calm till tue. i just bought a ramp for the Element today, hope it ships fast. we have been putting the ruff wear harness on her and carrying her up the steps to bed

Poor Sierra I can only reiterate what everyone else has already said, these things happen, you can't blame yourselves. I wish Sierra a speedy recovery! she is a strong lil girl, she's proved that over and over. Keep us posted, please.

Awww man, Sierra girl
As others have said already, don't blame yourself. Best wishes and let the recovery begin.

Poor baby, best of luck.

so sorry for Sierra, as everyone has said don't blame yourself. send some healing wave your way and prays for a great speed recover for her.
there is this page that my trainer referred me to to help with body awareness called Canine Conditioning and Body Awareness Exercises they have a Facebook page and can give your some good advice for help with her recovery.

Ronin,
thanks i will look into that. I was at our pet expo this weekend and talked to some massage people about post op care, i know that is the most important to getting her back on her feet.


one more day....

One more nerve wracking day.  Here's prayers that it all goes well.

Best wishes for a speedy recover for Sierra tomorrow. WIll be thinking of you guys, Jennifer!

Will be thinking of you guys tomorrow.

I have been sitting at work a nervous wreck all day as they should have started her around 10am, i think they might have started late as i just called and she was just waking up! i could hear her crying in the background

She said it went well, removed 2 masses, one on her face and one on her chest and worked on the knee. She said the meniscus was not torn, she checked it 3xs cause she thought it would be, so healing should go smooth, fingers crossed.

I pick her up at 5:30pm.

thanks for all the good thoughts, I am staying home with her tomorrow to make sure she is ok.

That's a relief!

I am right there with you on the high anxiety factor when they are hurting.

Paws crossed for a quick rehab.

Well it was a long night of her crying and no sleep. Glad i took the day off to be home with her. At one point we were laying on the deck for 2hrs in the middle of the night cause she calmed down.
She will not get up on her own and when i do get her up i have a towel under her for support. She will walk some but not put the leg down. I have gotten her to go potty twice since we have been home last night at 7pm. I also could not get her to lay back down so i had to help her with that to.
She is not eating much but drinking water, she has stopped crying and is finally sleeping.
Jack is really upset over all of this

Now to make use of my day off, off to do some baking i think i have bananas and zucchini that can be used!

Thanks for the update Jenn......I hope tonight is better for y'all. Hugs

I agree with Renee, Jenn - but I'm not sure I'd have been in the mood (read tired, frustrated, concerned, etc) to post anything but you know how many of us are hoping / praying for a quick successful recovery.
Thanks for the followup.

Thanks for letting us know.
Like Al, I am impressed that you could post.
Hoping you get some sleep today.

Like everyone else, I appreciate the follow-up, so sorry it's been tough on all of you though itll get better though with each passing day, I'm thinking the drinking lots of water/not eating much is pretty normal after surgery. Hope you all can get a bit more sleep tonite! Give Jack an extra hug, poor guy

here are some pics of my sad girl


coming home on Tue night


Jack really missed her


this was last night when i took the bandage off


her leg this morning, you can see the scar on the right from the one they just did a few months ago.  that fur hides so much


so sad

We did go to the vet this morning for a check up and she said its looking ok, we did laser treatment and some acupuncture as well to help with the muscle bruising.

We have a long road to recovery.

Ouch!! Considering the overall length of her leg, that's a major incision!! In that last picture she's looking more alert so that's a good sign. I found the connected stitches odd, but in that picture the healing already really looks good. My compliments to the 'tailor'.

Glad that it's at least okay. Will be happier to hear when she's healing great. Poor girl. Keep in good spirits. It may be a long road to recovery but the destination at the end is at least a good one.

Get well soon, Sierra!