DAMN!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm generally a very optimistic, positive person but I have to admit the last couple of weeks have really gotten me down. Its been a long cold winter and I've been climbing the walls waiting for spring. A couple weeks ago we finally got a little taste of spring and I took Lu and Molly out to look for woodcock. I ran Lu first and in spite of laying around all winter she ran well and had a very nice woodcock find that required two relocations. The bird was running well out in front of her and she finally got it pinned on the edge of a bog. I put it to wing and she stayed steady to wing and shot. A great start. Molly was next and was off like a shot at breakaway. After her ACL surgery last September she was so excited to finally be hunting again. She looked great and had two woodcock finds. On her second find I found her standing some 50 yards into the cover. Her tail was at twelve o'clock and she was incredibly intense drinking in the scent. But as I approached her I saw that she was holding up her left rear leg, the non surgical leg. I flushed the bird and she watched it fly away. When I released her she ran three legged. Yes, an ACL tear of the other hind leg. How could that happen! The surgeons at Michigan State assured me that last falls ACL tear was a traumatic accident and not a deformity in her leg structure. They told me that in 50% of the cases they treat, the other legs ACL tears as well but in Molly's case it was very unlikely to happen. So, after $4500 worth of surgery and rehabilitation its happened again. Most of my friends and knowledgeable dog people have advised me to put her down. But when she nuzzles her head in my lap and looks at me with with those loving eyes I just can't do it. She'll have surgery again this coming Wed. April 15th. At least this time her rehabilitation will be during the summer when the pool will be open and she can swim. Damn............ If there is any good news it's that LoBank is open. Lizzie and I drove up yesterday to get my truck to take to the field trials. There is still snow on the ground and the piles from the snow plowing are still waist high. BUT, starting next weekend we'll be going up. Fishing season opens the last Saturday of April and our town of Lovells will be brimming with excitement and the traditional opening weekend festivities! With the market since last October, the cold snowy winter and Molly's leg its been a miserable six months! I think I should be due to win the Lotto or at least catch a 20 inch brown.