my poor dog

We've been noticing for quite sometime that our big puppy, Dutch, has a hard time climbing stairs and and getting up after he's been laying down for a while. Well, 3 vet visits later and a couple of cortisone treatments, we finally had some x-rays taken. I wish we'd done it sooner, but the vet didn't seem to think it was anything other than inflammation since Dutch is so young. Turns out my poor dog has a completely dislocated hip on his right side, and he has severe hip dysplasia (abnormal hip formation) on his left side. My heart is breaking for him. The vet said she was totally shocked that he was even walking and she would have never suspected this. She said he was born with the dysplasia, and there's a good chance he may have been born with his right dislocated and just learned to work with what mobility he had. Anyway, we'll have to see a canine orthopedic specialist (who knew there was such a profession?) to find out what kind of surgery he'll need. I have to wait for a referral from my vet to see the specialist. Hopefully we'll know something by the end of the week. I never thought I'd be this upset about something like this. I guess I'm officially one of those "crazy dog people!" So, please pray that he'll come out of this ok and we won't have to take out a home equity loan to finance his surgery.