a friend of mine at work had to have the acl surgery on her dog - it's a Rottwieler but it cost her $3500 so I would think $800 sounds good. Maybe it's the size of the dog? Or maybe we just live in an expensive part of the country. But in any event, she was told that it had to be done and it is extremely painful for the dog. Dogs are expensive when things like this happen.
Wish I had some good advice for you... Things do have a way of working out and I really hope they do for you.