cinco

My dog has been looking very sad and depressed lately. I think my dog always seems depressed because we never really take her out much. I haven't taken her out for a walk in over four years. I know i should take her out but I never really have time on my hands anymore.I always try feeding her but she is never hungry. This is probably why she is never hungry because she never does any sort of activity that takes up her energy. In research that I made, past president of the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, John Ciribassi states that, "Dogs will become withdrawn. They become inactive. Their eating and sleeping habits often change. They don't participate in the things they usually once enjoyed". This explains why my dog has been so lazy and never eats. I learned that dogs can get depression just like humans do.

So from all of this i have decided to take action and take her for a walk. When I took her for a walk I saw a side of her that I haven't seen in years. She was so happy and full of life. She was running as fast as she could on her three paws. By three paws, I mean exactly three paws. She walks with four paws but when she runs she likes to run with only three paws. For some odd reason she runs on three paws and she keeps her rear right foot in the air while she runs.

These weird actions of her caught my attention so I decided to research it. So it turns out that if a "Chihuahua hopping while holding one of their back legs up, chance are they are suffering from a knee condition known as "patellar luxation". This is one of the breeds most common health problems, as Chihuahua experts and health professionally estimate roughly 10% of the population suffers from it."

From observing my dog walk like this, I thought it was just a cute little habit of hers but it turns out that it can be something bigger and serious. From research that I made, patellar luxation is a condition in which the kneecap (patella) slides out of its normal place, which is frequently off to the side. In a healthy canine, there are grooves at the base of the femur where the kneecap gently slides in and out of as the canine walks and moves about. These cartridge grooves are necessary to create a smooth surface for the knee to move back and forth."

I talked to my mom about this and told her that we should take her to the doctor and check her knee out. My mom did not agree with me. She thought that our dog was to old anyway and that it would be way too much money. She said that my dog has lived her life already and she will most likely die anytime soon anyway. I thought this was very selfish on my moms part but what can I do.

Works Cited:
"Patellar Luxation in Chihuahuas – What You Should Know." Patellar Luxation in Chihuahuas – What You Should Know. Jennifer Mitchell, n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2014.