This is my child... well, as close as I get (for now).

Dear Diary,

I know that I am now practicing for having a family of my own... making tough decisions, worrying, and stress. On Thursday Loki had surgery for a torn ACL. When we first found out, our vet said they didn't do the surgery, but they got us estimates. $1600... $2500... $3500 (and a referral to MSU). Money is tight for us and many would first ask, "how old is he?" Well, I would normally go with that thought too, expcept he is 6 and still has MANY good days left in him. Well, I got talking with my principal one day and he said that his dog had the same surgery and told me how it worked. A couple days later, he said that he talked with his wife and she KNEW that they didn't pay that much. So he told me his old vet's location. I called and the estimate was between 800 and 1300 dollars. I made the appointment.

It was an all day thing... in Ludington. We had to be there by 8:00 am, which meant we had to leave by 6:00 am. I talked with the doctor and finally left by 9:30. I found a coffee shop downtown to begin my day of hanging out...

By 3:00 I could go back to the vet and check on Loki. He was in a kennel on a blanket (as seen in the picture above). He was still out of it but was happy to see me. We were back on the road by 3:45. The vet and a nurse helped get Loki back in the Jeep. He did try to snip when the vet took the muzzle off. He sent the muzzle home with me, just in case.

We got home by 6:00 and when Andrew I went to attempt to get Loki out of the car, I noticed that the incision was showing. The nurse who checked us out said if that happened to get him back in immediately. So of course, I FREAKED. I hit my stress point. I called vets here and there. I was able to get an appointment for our own vet at either 9:00 or 11:40. I had said 11:40 because I thought I would need Andrew to get Loki back in the Jeep. Well, as it turned out we never took him out of the Jeep. A 98 pound dog, still heavily drugged, who might bite, is not easy to get out of a vehicle. We finally decided that he was completely comfortable in the Jeep. I put some garbage bags under his blanket... and called the vet at 8:00 am the next day for that 9:00 am appointment.

Now in there was LOTS of tears, frustration, loss appetite and indecisiveness. Rockstar wasn't quite sure what to do with me.

The next morning, Loki was more with it. He was sitting up and wagging his tail. When we got the vet he was such a trooper. I thought they were going to have to knock him out and put a whole new cast on, but they just ended up adding to the top of what was there. Since this was just a cast out of gauze and on his back leg, it had just settled. We were home by 10:00 and Grandma came over to help me get him out of the car and into his new doggie quarters (aka the guest room).

Since then, he has been up and down, in and out. Well then this morning I could see about two inches of his incision. I started to panic (again). I called our vet and rambled a bit... they said the doctor was gone for the weekend. I called the 24 hour vet clinic in Traverse and the woman who answered the phone talked to the doctor. They suggested not to come in, that because of the casts location this would keep happening. They said to keep an eye on it and make sure it seemed cleaned and not swollen. They also said that they have seen this many times... We only need the cast on until next Friday, but OH MY GOODNESS!!!

This is a lot of stress... I know it's not the same as your child... but for now, this is as close as I get. Oh and the final bill for the surgery, $978.95. A much better price for the same surgery. Now we just some extra puppy prayers for a an easy recovery!