Teddy, the American Akita Dog, Tore Both His ACL Knee Ligaments

When Teddy was 8 years old the issue with his back legs started, he began limping from his hind left leg, I initially thought it was only a sprain and with a few days of rest he should be fine. He’s been having this issue throughout his life since he was 2 years old and it usually happens after taking him for a long walk or coming back from holiday with him. But his limping wasn’t getting any better, so we took him to the vets.

We took Teddy to the vets

Teddy had an x-ray. The vet confirmed Teddy had torn his left ACL Knee Ligament with signs of arthritis, as well as his right hind leg about to snap.

Our options were surgery on both knees which was going to cost us approximately £10K, and unfortunately we couldn't afford it. We decided to stop his insurance when he turned 8 yrs old as the price had gone up so much due to his age, but now we regret cancelling it.

We took Teddy home

The vets initially prescribed strong painkillers which helped it from swelling, then, just a few days later his right hind leg gave up too which we weren't expecting to happen that fast. At that time we were devastated as Teddy was struggling to stand up on his own and had no way of walking at all. We were able to assist him by using a lifting harness just so he could do his business in the garden. We then took him to the vets and they gave us the option of euthanasia, and in the meantime the vet prescribed more painkillers to make Teddy more comfortable and it also gave us time to think and decide what to do.

My wife and I had done some research online for other options and luckily we came across a dog wheelchair and took the leap of faith of trying the wheelchair for him, we did not want to give up on him without trying other options just because we were not doing well financially.

At the start he was finding it weird having the wheelchair. On Day 1 and 2 he was walking but kept stopping every 1-2 metres. But with lots of patience, treats and staying positive he then finally started walking at least 4-5 metres. And now he is used to it, as soon as he sees me or my wife grabbing his wheels he knows it's time for a walk! His daily routine is 1 walk for 30 mins - 1 hour in the morning and the same in the evening. Massive change really from not being able to walk at all without our assistance and just taking him in the garden to going back on his normal routine is amazing. We are really lucky to have discovered your website and products. Thank you and we hope our story would help other furparents who are looking for alternate options for their pet who have lost mobility or about to.