Here is exactly what you say to make my head explode

Me: "I just wanted to come in for a checkup on his leg because his limp just never goes away and by the end of the day he doesn't put any weight on it."

The wonderful vet whom I love dearly: "Hmm...it looks like he's torn both sutures all over again."

Me: *blink blink* "um...what?"

The wonderful vet whom I love dearly: "Wow, in 26 years of doing these, I have never seen a dog tear BOTH sutures after surgery."

Me: *trying to decide whether to cry or scream* "Please don't tell me that."

The wonderful vet who I love dearly: "I'm so sorry. After all you guys have been through, I hate to see this."

Me: *trying to think as the bells and whistles intermingle with the spinning dollar signs in my brain* "What does this mean? What can we do?"

The wonderful vet who I love dearly: "At this point I would have to recommend the TPLO surgery."

Me: *heavy sigh*

Jerod: *heavier sigh*

Me: "So what happens to him if we do nothing? No surgery. Just make him live with it."

The wonderful vet who I love dearly: "Well, you know, dogs do just fine on three legs. But, you have to realize that with all that weight on his right leg, his chances of tearing the ligaments in his other knee go up dramatically."

Me: *tearing up while looking down at my little puppy staring up adoringly at me* "Goober, don't look at me like that. You are NOT my favorite person right now."

So, here we are...back at square one. No, not even square one! We are at freakin' square negative fifty!
Here are our three options we are left with.
1) Re-do the cruciate ligament repair with the same doctor (which she VERY generously offered to do at cost for us. See? LOVE HER!) and risk him doing the same flippin' thing again and tearing it all up. But, only after a hell of a recovery where he chews up his cast again and shortens my life a little bit each day.
2) Pay for the more expensive TPLO surgery, which involves an even MORE extensive hell of a recovery and where we would be forced to sedate him for four to eight weeks to keep him from being his idiot self and hurting himself. This surgery involves an actual fracture of the bone, so the healing would have to go perfectly....but the results would be the best we could hope for.
3) Leave him to fend for himself on three legs. My three and a half year old PUPPY would be forced to be on pain medication for the rest of his life and face hip and knee arthritis while all the while making us hold our breath and hope he doesn't tear the other knee out.

It's just not fair. My little puppy that loves to run and jump and play and chase bunnies and kitties and tennis balls is left with this quality of life. I can't justify spending money on another surgery, but I also don't think I can bear to see him live a life with restrictions on what he can do just so we protect his other knee and perhaps the inevitable.


*sigh* This just sucks.