Make some lonely, rich ladies happy?

If the dog is not overweight it will heal up with scar tissue replacing the damaged tissue over time. If your dog is not in pain, this may be the way to go. My dog was only a year old Rotty/Shepherd when that happened to him. He hobbled around at first, then we put him on a diet and he went from 70 lbs. to 55 lbs. and it healed with scar tissue and gets around fine. He can do everything just like normal. At first he couldn't jump on the couch or bed, but now he does. He lives a normal life. Thank God!

Ask the vet if you can make payments, volunteer at a shelter to help pay off the surgery, go through your finances and eliminate anything you don't absolutely need, get a short-term loan, borrow from family and friends. Good luck.

he's not going to walk normally, but it doesn't mean you have to put him down - spend the money wisely on your actual family

Do some research on alternative medicine. I've heard of great outcomes from torn ACLs repairing themselves overtime. However, if it's ruptured, you almost always need to do a surgery. Keep looking online.... there are some wonderful yahoo newsgroups with people taking about injuries like this and have a LOT of suggestions.

Check local universities You may find a Vet program or even a medical program that will do the work a cost for students to practice.

it will heal....but as it heals you need to make sure you move his paw around and straighten it out...or it will heal with it making a perm fist..

My dog suffered from a torn ACL last year. She is a about a 30 lb dog she recovered completely without surgery. I did have to spend 8 weeks keeping her as immobile as possible. Did some serious hanging out on the floor with her. Lifting her into the car, etc. Then slowly we began to exercise. She now goes with me on walks of a mile of more with no limp. If it were me I would ask the vet to show me the severity of the tear. I would ask the vet what if any would be the downside to taking a "give it time approach" to healing itself. Unless there was clear and compelling reasons to do it immediately I would wait. BEARING in mind that you will have to work harder on rehabbing the dog yourself in exchange for skipping surgery. My dog's age made surgery risky so I decided to be very conservative and very attentive and it paid off. She doesn't limp at all. If she had needed the surgery after all I would have done whatever it took to get it. My pets are part of the family and I value their health and happiness accordingly.

My dog is about to have ACL surgery at a cost of about $1300. My regular vet doesn't do the surgery, so I am paying a traveling surgeon $950 to do the work and paying my vet hospital about $350 for bloodwork, xrays, anaesthesia, use of the O.R., etc. My suggestion is that you shop for a better price! A teaching hospital is definitely a good place to start. I did shop this surgery a bit and wasn't able to do better without having to travel, but compared to $2800 I guess I should be happy. (I previously paid $900 for the procedure, but that practice has been sold and now charges $2000.) I'm interested to see that some people say the ligament can heal on its own. My understanding (having been through this before) is that a torn ligament needs surgical repair. But I could be wrong! My dogs who have had (or are about to have) the surgery are older, so perhaps less likely to recover without it.

When this happened to Bossco, I lucked out and got both a professional discount AND a loan from my Mom... I suppose it can heal, as evidently there are several cases here that dogs DID heal up from this. I don't think for a moment that any of these folks would SAY their dog healed up fine, unless they really did...so that's great news! With Bossco, he WAS IN PAIN. So, rather than keeping him on a a lot of buffered aspirin, I opted for the surgery. I do think you could find a better price than this. But, I'm not sure I would opt for students doing this particular surgery. At this point, if the dog is not in overwhelming pain, I would say try the BUFFERED ONLY aspirin, one pill, twice a day if needed. If it is a recent injury you can also ice it...if it is over 3 days old, you can offer heat IF that seems to help, but I would still suggest icing it at least twice a day...the heat should be MOIST, such as using one of the packs with rice or other filler that you put into a microwave...BE SURE that it is not TOO HOT. Heat applied for about 10 minutes...Ice for about 15 to 20 minutes at a pop. Be very careful choosing to use any sort of medication your vet might suggest for treatment. A lot of the typical medications used for canine joint problems have pretty nasty side effects over time...such as liver problems...which retrievers are slightly prone to developing as they age anyway...don't want to add to that kettle of woe! You don't mention your dog's age, but if the dog is not already near the end of his/her time...and if there are no other big health issues...I assuredly would not consider putting the dog down at this point in time. You can't very well end up in the poor house either! So, I would say try what others here found to be successful...and keep this beauty as quiet as possible...Massage would also help as it increases the circulation, which aids in the healing of bone and tissue. Prayers for you and this dear dog...let us know how it goes on!

Hi, have you tried glucosamine supplement it helped my goldie when she tore cruchet ligament. I know a homeopath who maybe able to help he is very good Email:pooleymv@oal.com He uk based but obviously he posts remedies his name is Mark Pooley. Best wishes Gaynor

Oh my goodness! You are getting off cheap. My Golden in 9 years old and it's going to cost between $3400.00 and $4300.00 to have his ACL fixed. Count your blessings dear.