When Arthrex Engineering Manager Jonathan Knopf tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) more than a decade ago, he never would have imagined his beloved dog, Kiwi, would one day suffer the same injury to her cranial cruciate ligament (CCL), the canine equivalent of an ACL, not once, but twice.
“I remember well how traumatic the experience was when I got injured playing in an adult basketball league,” Jonathan said. “I wasn’t even working at Arthrex yet, but I later learned that I had an all-inside ACL reconstruction with our products.”
From surgery to rehabilitation, Jonathan said it was challenging both mentally and physically. So, when his Dutch Shepherd mix tore her CCL in 2025, he couldn’t help but project his experience onto her.
“Watching her struggle to walk and seeing her in pain, it was incredibly difficult,” Jonathan said.
Managing stairs with an 80-pound dog was nearly impossible, so he and his family moved out of their condo and into housing that had an elevator for a few months. They then took Kiwi to the University of Florida in Gainesville for surgery with Arthrex faculty surgeon Stanley Kim, BVSc, DACVS-SA. Dr. Kim repaired Kiwi’s CCL with Arthrex 3.5 mm TPLO plates and screws.
“The surgery was a success and she recovered well,” Jonathan said. “But almost exactly a year later, she tore her CCL on the other side. We don’t really know what happened, but she immediately went lame.”
This time, however, Nina R. Kieves, DVM, DACVS-SA, DACVSMR, MBA, had recently joined Arthrex as Vet Systems Senior Director and was available to perform Kiwi’s surgery in Naples.
“In a dog her size, it was very likely inevitable that Kiwi would tear the other side, too,” Dr. Kieves said.
According to a study published in the Public Library of Science One, up to 54% of dogs develop a CCL rupture in the opposite knee within approximately 6 to 17 months.
“Up to 80% of dogs will also have a meniscal tear, along with the CCL rupture and Kiwi had a partial tear,” Dr. Kieves added.
Dr. Kieves repaired Kiwi’s injury using the 3.5 mm TPLO locking plate and screws. Kiwi’s family immediately connected with a certified rehabilitation therapist to help her regain her mobility.
“Jonathan and his family are incredibly dedicated,” Dr. Kieves said. “We know that committing to weekly physical therapy speeds up recovery and gets dogs back to normal more quickly.”
Today, at 10 years old, Kiwi is healthy, strong and happy.
“She is fully back to herself, and I am so grateful for all the support we received from Arthrex,” Jonathan said. “Having lived through ACL surgery myself, I have a new appreciation for what resilience looks like in humans and animals. I am proud to say Kiwi and I both have the best products in our knees, too.”
