Animal Welfare Professionals

I'm really curious what course of action is typical for CCL tears, especially complete ones. I am NOT A VET nor am I in charge of the budget. I'm just a staff member who wanta to know how we compare to other shelters. We see a lot of CCL tears, and if they're partial, we typically just give pain meds. The adopters talk to a tech about follow up care, and I'm not sure what that instruction entails. But for a complete tear that requires surgery, we are not currently able to repair it, so we pass that responsibility and financial burden onto the adopter. This obviously lengthens their LOS, and requires pain management in the meantime. What really made me wonder about this is an extremely sweet, very behaviorally sound middle aged pittie we have with a complete tear. Not only is it dissuading adopters - she won't eat her meds. Not hand fed, not in anything we put in it. She's limping around and waiting for someone rich to adopt her and get her surgery, so I can't help but wonder if this is really the best path we could take. I know things like this depend on a lot of factors, and there are times we have gotten a specialty surgery for an animal because there was a funder for it or it was an emergency, or stuff I don't even know about.  What do you all do?

Handling complete CCL tears in shelter dogs can be challenging due to resource constraints. In similar situations, some shelters partner with local veterinary clinics or rescue organizations to offer discounted surgery or establish a medical fund for special cases. Exploring grant opportunities and community fundraising efforts are also potential solutions to manage these costs. Additionally, fostering programs can help ease pain management by placing the dog in a home where individual attention can be provided, and the dog's personality can be showcased to potential adopters, potentially increasing adoption chances. For medication refusal, trying different types of medication, using flavored treats, or consulting with a vet for alternative pain management solutions might be helpful. Sharing stories and updates on social media or the shelter's website can also raise awareness and attract potential adopters or donors interested in supporting the dog's care.

Thank you for your reply! I'm happy to share that in this case, funding mysteriously came through and the pup is now recovering from surgery in a foster home! They do seem to have some way of getting funding in special cases along the lines of what you talked about, it's just never a sure thing and so I'm not privy to the details.