December 2011 Newsletter

Lone Mountain Animal Hospital
December 2011 Newsletter

Pet of the Month
Put your paws together for Rocky, a mixed breed dog, who is recognized as the January 2011 Pet of the Month. He was adopted from LMAH by his family, and found a great forever home. See his photo on our website www.lmah.net.

Ask Dr. Debbie
Q: My veterinarian just diagnosed my 13 month old Newfoundland with torn cruciate ligaments in both his knees and recommends surgery. He's so young that I'd hate to have surgery if he doesn't need it. He is in good weight and otherwise healthy- what do you think?

A: Ouch! Such a young guy to have this diagnosis, but his injury isn't all that uncommon. Other breeds that are prone to cruciate injury under 2 years of age include the Akita, Rottweiler, Labrador, and Mastiff. In fact, cruciate ligament injury is the most common cause of hind limb lameness in dogs. And since the cruciate ligament acts as one of the main stabilizing ligaments in the knee- its injury results in inability to use the leg ranging from a slight limp to being unable to bear any weight on the limb. With time additional ligaments may rupture in the knee and osteoarthritis sets in.

I'd have to agree with your veterinarian- surgery would be your best long term fix of this problem. Having one leg with a cruciate injury is bad enough, but with both affected your big fella wont have a good leg to stand on. And since your Newfie is quite young at 13 months, he has a lot of life to live yet- surgery would give him the best mobility and return to activity for the years to come. Be sure to keep his weight in that fit zone since extra pounds make it harder for pets with orthopedic injuries.

Cruciate surgery repair of this type doesn't come cheap, but can be a lifesaver in a young active dog such as yours. There are various techniques used to correct cruciate injury and some procedures are best performed by a veterinary orthopedic surgeon. For more information on cruciate injury click on this link to the Veterinary News Network about a dog named Jack, and his path to recovery: http://www.myvnn.com/page.asp?id=41