Heavy Heart for Sage

I come to you with a sad heart today. Yesterday Sage and I went to the vet for her 1-year-old checkup expecting a clean bill of health...unfortunately that was not the case.  Recently I've noticed Sage holding up her left leg and limping occasionally. I didn't think too much of it because shortly after she would run and play like nothing was wrong. I mentioned this to the vet yesterday, thinking it was nothing serious. The vet thought it might be hip dysplasia, which is a common problem with labs. However, while she was checking Sage's hips, she felt Sage's knee cap pop medially out of joint. "Oh, she has a luxating patella," the vet said with a sigh. She informed me that luxating patellas are a common problem in miniature dog breeds, but are rare in large breed dogs like Labradors. Fortunately Sage is a grade 1 (out of 4) which means her symptoms are minor right now. Last night I did a lot of researching online and read up on the general information and treatment options, then today I called another vet to ask some more educated questions. From him I found out that surgery was probably inevitable and that Sage's symptoms would mostly likely get worse. As I drafted this blog post, I got pretty emotional about the whole situation. She's my baby, and she's hurting. It's my responsibility to make these tough decisions and watch her go through this. I hate it. No one said choosing to be a dog owner (I feel more like a parent) would be easy.

So in the mean time, Sage and I will be taking it a little easier than we're used to. I will be watching her closely and recording how often her patella seems to come out of joint. We'll see what happens...keep Sage in your thoughts and prayers.