You would never know that she just recently had major surgery for the second time in a matter of months except for the very visible stitches on her shaven leg. Mahli tore the cruciate ligaments in both of her back legs: one in December last year, and another only recently. 

After having her second cruciate rupture, Mahli’s family did not want to commit to the care required to rehabilitate her after surgery and to avoid further injuries. After consultation with our vet, they decided to surrender her into our care.

At just three years old, Mahli has to start her life again – learning to walk again and this time without her family’s support.

Cruciates are the ligaments on the inside joint of the knee (anterior cruciate ligaments or ACL), and are the one most common injuries, particularly on larger breed dogs. Nevertheless, it’s often considered a disease rather than injury, as the ACL is rarely acutely torn through trauma or sudden twisting movements in play. 

Instead, they are more likely to become worn down over time, slowly tearing and degrading. Because of this, owners rarely observe an acute limp from this disease, but rather a slow onset of lameness or stiffness until the ligament fully ruptures. Like Mahli, once a dog tears the ACL in one leg, the other leg is predisposed towards tearing in 30-40 percent of cases and generally within two years. 

Our RSPCA ACT Vet Clinic has had to perform three of these surgeries in the past few weeks, and a busy public veterinary clinic often sees multiple per week. These operations aren’t cheap, and are becoming more commonplace mostly because of the increasing rate of obesity in dogs. 

Contributing factors for ACL issues include age, obesity, poor physical condition, genetics, underlying problems such as hip dysplasia, and breed. However, many of these risk factors can be mitigated if the animal’s weight is monitored carefully with plenty of exercise and an appropriate diet. 

Many dogs can regain good use of their legs following surgery but need appropriate rehabilitation and ongoing monitoring to reduce the likelihood of arthritis later. 

After surgery, most dogs should be able to live a good quality of life and still enjoy walks. Mahli has recovered well and should be running at full speed again in no time. In fact, her favourite time of day is during lunch when the veterinarian who performed her surgery, Dr Wye Li Chong, brings her out in the yard for gentle exercise.

The rest of our staff come out to watch because, despite having a whole yard to explore, one of her favourite things to do is to pretend she’s a small lap dog and curl herself onto his much smaller lap.

Mahli is available for adoption at our shelter at 12 Kirkpatrick Street in Weston.