Surgery today

No, not me, worse. My dog, known in our family as my "son" is having surgery on his knee today. He hasn't run any marathons, but apparently those sprints after rabbits, squirrels, deer and such have caught up to him. He has a torn CCL (ACL in people terms) and hopefully no damage to the meniscus. He's getting a metal plate and screws put into his little leg. Poor thing. And worse, recovery is 8 weeks of limited activity followed by gradually increasing physical therapy and activity for another 8 weeks. I am somehow supposed to keep a border collie from doing anything except going out to go to the bathroom for 8 weeks!

I have to say when I asked the doc what he meant by limited activity/leash walks, I was disappointed to hear, "You can take him out in the backyard on a leash to do his business then it's back inside." Willie is used to walking 4 miles a day. There's going to be some serious withdrawls, depression and overall moodiness in my house for the next few months. Just like there would if it was MY knee. The worst part is after a few days, he's going to think he's fine and I have to be the bad guy. How do you explain to a dog that he can't go for a walk?

And it's not like he can drown himself in ice cream and french fries. To add insult to injury, he has to go on a diet. He needs to lose 5 or 6 pounds and he's not going to be getting any exercise. YOU do the math! That's going to make for one unhappy puppy! Well, two if you count me. No more trips to the neighbors for treats. No more licking plates. Not even full serving sizes of dog food for crying out loud.

It's going to be a long summer.