Brenda Mader, Mader poses with her 7-year-old service dog, Max, who had successful surgery after his left knee gave out, in Lewisburg, Pa. While dogs are living longer and becoming bigger parts of people’s lives, more pet owners are getting the surgeries for their pets. Max has been with Mader five years, helping her keep her balance, shop at the grocery store and do laundry.LOS ANGELES – Dashing after a ball or tumbling off a couch make dogs up to 10 times as likely to get surgery on a key knee ligament that is similar to the one athletes often injure.
Playing sports like soccer, basketball or volleyball can lead people to traumatically tear their anterior cruciate ligament, more commonly known as the ACL, during games or practices. Dogs can get hurt that way, too, but it’s more likely their subtle tears will grow over time from an everyday strain to a painful obstacle because of the animals’ high level of activity.
“I think the average dog is infinitely more athletic than the average person,” said Dr. Ross Lirtzman, a veterinary surgeon at Arizona Canine Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Group.
While dogs are living longer and becoming bigger parts of people’s lives, more pet owners are getting the surgeries for their pets, Lirtzman said. But with increasing interest in the operations comes potential pitfalls. Veterinary care isn’t as well-regulated as the medical industry, so heartbreak can follow if pet owners fail to get a qualified surgeon for the operation.
The surgeries worked for Molly, a 3-year-old, 65-pound pit bull, who lives with her owner in the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale. The dog got her first surgery after being injured in December 2012, and just as it was healing, the ligament in her other knee gave out and she underwent a second operation, owner Leonard Sands said.