Riley Needs Surgery

**UPDATE** Pictures of Riley after her surgery: 
^ The day I picked her up

^ Babydog resting after we got home

^ She was so tired she ate her dinner in bed

^ Applying ice to the inside of her leg




Her story below: 


Hello! Riley is a 6 year old female boxer who enjoys being outside, chasing balls, collecting sticks (lots of sticks), sun bathing, playing with her sister Charlie, performing tricks, eating treats, etc.   She is the most loveable and kindest dog I have ever known.  She is literally our "baby dog" and brings so much joy into our lives.  Sometimes I find myself sitting at work thinking, "I wonder what baby dog is doing right now?" Silly me, she's probably just sleeping :) 


In May 2014, while I was away on military duty, I got a call from my fiancé saying that Riley was hurt.  He explained to me that Riley was running in grandma's back yard, chasing her favorite orange ball, when all of a sudden he heard her yelp and saw her collapse to the ground.  When she got up she was limping and not putting any pressure on her right leg.   After a few days of rest, we knew we had to take her to the vet, so I made the call.  We went to two vets just to confirm her diagnosis and both said that she tore her ACL.   The vet was very informative and explained all the different types of procedures that would potentially help Riley get back to her normal self again.  We knew right away that we wanted Riley to be able to enjoy her old life (chasing balls, collecting sticks) as soon as possible.  She's our baby dog of course! We scheduled the operation and the night before I dropped her off, I cried like a baby! I was so nervous for her! The healing process was definitely hard.  We had to restrict her every move.  We carried her up and down the stairs, kept her on a close leash, iced her leg, and put heat on her leg.  We gave her the best healing treatment we could.  She even knew when it was pill time.  I would shake the bottle and she knew she was getting peanut butter.  Definitely her favorite part :) All of her checkups went great and the vet said she was healing wonderfully.  She was back to her normal self-10 weeks later.  I knew we made the right decision but the price tag for the surgery was not cheap.  

Below are some pictures of Riley going through the healing process. 
^ The day she came home

^ Her bald spot :( 

^ Icing her leg with a bag of frozen rice 

^ Time to use heat

^ Pill time

Fast forward 4 months to the end of September 2014. After coming home from a trip to the store, we noticed that Riley was limping again, but this time, it was her left leg.  We knew exactly what was wrong.  I phoned the vet and we knew just what he was going to say because we talked about it before her first surgery.  When a dog tears their ACL, there is a 30-40% chance that they will likely tear the other ACL.   As bad as this sound – we were really wishing that it was a trauma related accident rather than an arthritis issue because it would lessen her odds of it happening again.  I was so hopeful that Riley wouldn’t be the one to experience it twice.  We decided to let her heal differently this time.  We restricted her play, shortened her walks, and made sure she wasn’t jumping around.  She seemed to be doing okay but as the months passed, we knew she wasn’t the same playful dog she used to be.  She plays with her sister mostly lying down, we pick her up if she wants on our bed, she is having trouble getting into her bathroom position and she isn’t putting pressure on her left leg or she is walking with a heavy limp.    
 
It’s hard for all of us and this is why I am asking for your help.  The first operation cost us over 4k and that wasn’t including her follow up visits (x-rays and all).  We are currently still paying off the first operation. This is not a life or death situation but we are trying to provide Riley with the best treatment we can and we know that surgery is her best option, even after 6 months of trying to let the scar tissue build for some sort of stability.  If you are able to donate, great! We thank you! If not, we understand and we thank you for taking the time to read Riley’s story!!