[HarleyHOO]

Good morning all ~ bear with me, this will be a bit long....

I have to admit I'm a bit of a wreck this morning. For the past 3 months or so, I've been hearing this cracking noise every time Harley gets up from a sitting position or moves too fast. Occasionally, I've seen her lift her right hind leg or skip a little after playing fetch or running hard. This past Saturday, while I was on vacation in New York, my husband called to let me know that while playing fetch, Harley cried out in pain and then began limping worse than he had ever seen. She continued to limp all of Saturday and most of Sunday. Being so far away was absolutely killing me! I arrived home on Monday evening and although she seemed to be herself and no longer limping, she welped loudly several times while in my lap trying to get comfortable. This killed me, so yesterday afternoon I took her into the vet to get it checked. He has diagnosed her with grade 4 LP in her right hind leg. He told me at this point, her knee cap is out of place probably 85-90% of the time and in his opinion, will require corrective surgery. He does not do these procedure as he does not feel qualified, therefore he gave me a referral to go see an orthopedic surgeon in my area and have x-rays done.

I've read several other threads on this topic and although I know its not a death sentence, I am completely out of sorts with this news. She is my baby and it pains me to know that she's hurting. My vet strongly suggested that I not wait on the surgery, but to go ahead and call the surgeon this morning for an appt. My husband and I are considering getting a second opinion although our vet is very good and trustworthy. I want to make the best decision for Harley and be educated before hand.

For any members who have been through this, or are dealing with it now, please help me come up with some important questions I should be asking the orthopedic surgeorn as right now my mind is all over the place. Any help is greatly appreciated and I know that coming to this forum will help my spirit.

FYI ~ Harley is 1 year, 2.5 months and weighs 6 lbs, 11 oz. Can anyone tell me approx. what the average charges could be? I've already decided that I will do whatever and pay whatever, but a ball park figure would be nice to know....

Thanks in advance.... prayers are needed.