my sad story

For those of you that don't know about Maestro's history, he has had three surgeries in the past year (which have all been on the same right back leg). Lucky for us I found a really cheap vet which has made these surgeries very affordable. However, with a surgery also comes a recovery and every time I underestimate how trying this would be on Maestro and myself-every time. Maestro seemed like he was very well recovered from his most recent surgery. However last week I noticed he was limping every now and again on his good leg. This had me worried. Then last Thursday he hurt it pretty badly running. He was crying and whining like crazy! I felt like I could barely touch him without making things worse. He later got everything figured out on his own and was walking normal. Not wanting to put off getting him looked at I took him to the vet to learn that he has hip dysplasia. Which means that the bones in his hip can separate at any time. He told me this only happens in about 6% of puppies. Why Maestro has to be in that percentage just kills me but that's where we're at right now. There is no surgery that can help fix this problem. So when he's in pain we can give him medication which he will most likely be needed every day, eventually. He will also develop a limp and then not be able to walk on his leg which will be there for the rest of his life, which is heart breaking. Travis and I got a dog to run and play with our kids. To take him to the park and play fetch, take hiking and camping with us, etc. Maestro can no longer do these things. When taking him for a regular walk the other day I had to correct his leg twice and we had only been out for ten minutes. It breaks my heart but with lots of thinking and tears Travis and I have decided to give Maestro up. I said 'give up' because I feel like I've completely failed with Maestro. I hate that I feel like I can no longer take care of him because he can't play with the kids that we don't even have yet. But this is how it is. The more I have thought about this decision the better I have come to feel about it. We have found Maestro a good family and I feel much better taking him there than putting him down. I will truly miss Maestro. I hate thinking that he is no longer going to be around keeping me company throughout the day and helping me watch over Cason. I am going to miss him so much but like I said, I'm comforted knowing that he's going to a good family that can take care of him.We are taking Maestro to his new home on Tuesday evening so if there is anyone that lives by us that would like to come say goodbye you are more than welcome to. I'm not sure how I'm going to explain this to the kids that live around us and that associate me with him. I know they love him so very much so maybe you parents can let them know before they see me with no Maestro.

Love you Maestro!