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"The stifle joint of the dog is especially vulnerable to injury, because it has no interlocking bones to provide structural support. Instead, a dog&amp;rsquo;s stifle, or knee joint (in its hind legs), depends upon a meshwork of ligaments and muscles for stability. The cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) provides most of this support for the stifle and, when partially torn or completely ruptured, leaves only the muscles and soft tissues surrounding the stifle to hold the stifle joint in place. The cranial cruciate ligament in dogs is called the anterior cruciate ligament in people. The CCL can be damaged from acute trauma or from chronic repetitive injury. Most acute (sudden) CCL injuries in dogs happen during strenuous or exuberant athletic activities, such as romping, roughhousing, running, hunting, playing, chasing, jumping or engaging in other enthusiastic antics. Owners often report that their dog suddenly stumbled, possibly yelped and then &amp;ldquo;came up lame,&amp;rdquo; or held its rear leg up at an exaggerated angle."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.petwave.com/Dogs/Health/ACL-Injuries/Care.aspx>