Hutch~

Sir Hutchinson Braveheart, more endearingly known as Hutch or Bones, was a college graduation gift to me from Clyde. He got Hutch from a town in Minnesota called Hutchinson, hence the first part of his AKC name. Braveheart stems from Hutch's fierce battle with Parvo Virus as a young puppy.

We took Hutch to see Dr. Stark today, because he hasn't been using his back right leg. The news was bad, Hutch tore his cruciate ligament in his knee. As Dr. Stark put it, "Damn, double damn, triple damn!" He did go on to tell us that it is completely fixable, but both cost and Hutch's age will play a part in our ultimate decision. Hutch is a 12 1/2 year-old Siberian Husky that is not new to the veterinarian's office. Along with the Parvo, Hutch had a rod put in his front left paw due to a fracture he received after running into a moving car. At just over a year of age, Hutch was showing the signs of juvenile cataracts in both eyes. We opted to have a rather costly surgery to replace his cloudy lenses with artificial lenses, enabling him to see again. So, since he was a puppy, he's been an expensive dog...I sure wish he would have qualified on our health insurance policy, since he is after all, part of the family.

So we're faced with deciding if we spend the money on the surgery to repair his knee and hope he's still got a few years in him, or if we feel he's just too old and may not recovery well, then we need to put him down. I have to tell you, I don't want to have to make this choice, it's just tearing me up.