In our house, it seems like anytime we get a little (and I do mean a little) bit of money in the bank, something happens and drains our account once more. Does this happen to anyone else, or just us??

I graduated college in December of 2005 and even though I had a full time job, it seemed like I had an endless amount of time on my hands. I was used to attending classes every day from 8:30 am until 2:30 pm, then working 3-9 and full shifts on weekends. So I started volunteering at the local animal shelter. And ended up bringing home this:

An adorable pit bull puppy, about 3-4 months old, named Shysie. And don't judge her just because she is a pit bull. She has the most gentle soul of any dog that I have ever met. And that is despite her past abuse. When I rescued her, she had burns on her back and tail. The pads of her feet were blistered and bleeding to the point that she couldn't put her full weight on her front legs. She still has some places where the fur never grew back. And she was TERRIFIED. I have never seen a dog so scared of EVERYTHING.

I couldn't take her for walks because she was terrified of parked cars. She would lie down in the road and refuse to go past them. I couldn't take her to the dog park because she was afraid of small dogs and the people. She would run and hide under the picnic tables if a small dog approached her or a human being tried to touch her.

It took several years for her to warm up to people she saw on a regular basis. And by warm up to them, I mean not pee all over the floor when they walked in the door. She even learned to not be afraid of small dogs. Here she is taking  a nap on the couch with my friend's chihuahua.

Now, almost 7 years later, I am happy to say she has overcome the majority of her fears and is a loving well-balanced dog.

Anyway, back to the original point of my post, money. I have noticed over the past few years that when Shy plays hard or runs a lot, she limps slightly the next day. Well that limp got worse and worse, until she has limped almost constantly over the past week or so. I took her to the vet, and she has a torn cruciate ligament in her knee. The vet explained that pit bulls, bull dogs and mastiffs are prone to these injuries. In fact, his pit bull currently has the same injury and he will be performing surgery on his dog soon as well. He also explained that these surgeries are not cheap. In fact, they are about $1,500 not cheap. And the even better news? The ligament in her left leg is doing the same thing, and will eventually require surgery as well. *Sigh*

Her surgery is scheduled for next Tuesday and she is on anti-inflammatory and pain medication until then. I will post updates on the surgery and recovery process as well. Wish us luck!