Monday, Cole was referred to Dr. Horne, a premier orthopedic specialist. The front desk at Tuskegee University's Small Animal Clinic informed my vet that he wasn't taking any referrals until after the Christmas break.
The Hornes are past clients of my cleaning service. I placed a call to Mrs. Horne and she got the ball rolling. Within 24 hrs, Cole was in surgery to repair a torn ACL (pesky knee ligament). What had been previously diagnosed as arthritis in the hip was actually a complete tear of the ACL and meniscus.
They kept Cole overnight, but they couldn't keep me from stopping by after the surgery to comfort him.
The method used to repair his torn ligament is Dr. Horne's customized extracapsular ACL repair. Guaranteed to provide up to 95% mobility of the joint and natural range of motion, compared to the two other commonly performed ACL repair methods.
The catch: 8 weeks of complete bed rest. One false step and the repair work can snap. No jumping, no steps, minimal walking, no chewing on the bandages. Got it.
My solution: have him in my sight all day long, which involves taking him to work with me and setting up his collapsible crate (XL, thank you very much) everywhere.
Day 1 at work with the kid and the toughest part is shoving the crate and all my cleaning supplies back in the car 4 to 5 times. We'll manage.
It's 6 AM on Thursday, I'm enjoying coffee in bed with Cole. Not our usual snugglefest, but I can scratch him through the bars of the gigantic crate that's taking up half the king size bed!
I keep reminding myself that if I want the pleasure of owning a Maserati, I'd better be prepared for the expensive maintenance. He's worth every penny, my Million Dollar Baby.
