Dixie

[mrdreamjeans]

I took our dog Dixie to the vet this afternoon here in Pflugerville. She's a mixed breed, part Chow, part Golden, ours since she was a puppy from a shelter in Kingsport, TN. She's 14 now, but has the spirit and agility of a much younger dog. The diagnosis was that she's torn a cruciate arterial ligament in her right rear knee. We don't know how she did it; but according to the vet, it's not uncommon in older dogs, sort of like a human tearing their ACL.

The usual recommendation is surgery to replace the torn ligament. It costs about $1000. The vet told me it would be a no-brainer if Dixie was younger; but in her case, he believes use of an anti-inflammatory and pain medication, taking her home where she mostly lies in the sun, will eventually allow her to recover and put weight back on the foot. She most likely will get arthritis in the joint, if she doesn't have it already.

Otherwise, Dixie is in pretty good health. Her heart is strong; her hearing is fine; she's not overweight; she doesn't have cataracts, though her eyes are getting a bit "smokey" (eyesight is getting worse due to age). It isn't my decision whether to do the surgery or not, but I doubt that Mom and Dad will put Dixie through such a procedure at her age.

In my lifetime, my family has had four dogs ... Carmel Lady, a cocker spaniel who died at 14, Kelly, a greyhound/terrier mix who passed away at 16; my Lhasa, Spritz, who passed away at 11 and Dixie. So many important moments in my life can be marked by our wonderful dogs. I'm not ready for Dixie to be past tense. May she heal and thrive ...