Yes. Small animal practice in Plano, TX.
If I were your vet, I would recommend the extracapsular repair procedure. I generally recommend it in small dogs, because it tends to hold up just fine and is significantly less expensive than the TPLO procedure. I, generally, recommend TPLO in larger dogs, because I find that heavier dogs do better with it than they do with extracapsular repair. Your dog is in the grey area (weight-wise), where I can see going either way.
But, my thinking is that it probably doesn't make sense to invest the extra money into an older patient, who is not likely to be around 5+ years.
As far as rehab goes, I have seen cases where owners opted to not have surgery and the dog eventually developed scar tissue and stopped limping, but it usually takes 9+ months to get to that point, and I think it would be a very difficult 9+ months for a dog that is geriatric and arthritic. If he can't use 1 rear limb, he is putting extra weight on his other 3 and is probably going to endure a lot of pain. Good chance it results in him rupturing his other cranial cruciate ligament, and you would end up having to euthanize him.
