[bethi]

In August I adopted an 11 year old Golden Retriever (along with his 7 year old buddy) from a rescue group. Wonderful dogs and I want to give the older boy some quality of life even though he does have some arthritis and seizure issues and has been on heavy meds apparently for quite some time. Three days ago he pulled up lame with what has now been diagnosed as cruciate ligament injury. I know that surgery is the recommended treatment for this but with his age and other health issues he is not a good surgery candidate, especially as the recovery is lengthy. After much research on the internet I am thinking that maybe a soft brace of the type that humans use for this same type of injury in combination with restricted activity might be the treatment for him.

My question is: Does anyone know of a readily available canine soft cast of the velcro-wrap type that humans use for this kind of injury? Everything I have seen so far involves custom prosthetic devices with hinges and such. My thought is that something lightweight that will provide some support used in conjunction with restricted activity will give him some time to heal to the point where he can resume some "normal" senior sedate-type activity.

Any advice? Thanks in advance.

[Daveyo]

For this type of injury, SURGERY is the only clear remedy and this can restore your dog back to near normal activity. Good therapy after surgery can shorten the recovery time if you are determine enough. Just make sure there are no hidden holes in the ground. This is what causes most injuries to occur. The success rate is very good. So do that for your dog OK. When you find a VET that does this ask him about how many he or she has done and if you can get names of their former customers so you can ask those people how well the Doc did for them. If not good, then keep looking for a VET that does the job right and is successful. You need to find a specialist in this field and there should be enough of them around.

Good luck