u/Correct-Mail-1942

Hello! I am at the end of my rope with my pup and would love advice from someone who has been there.

He is a tri, turned 2 last month. We got him at about 6 months of age from a rescue, he was literally rescued from a commercial breeder and saved so I know nothing about his origins other than they clearly were not doing health checks.

Within 2-3 months after getting him he started to struggle with stairs. Took him in for an exam and he has bilateral luxating patella. Got a stupid expensive quote from them, found a specialist and came up with a plan.

Started with his right knee for MPL, surgery went well but he popped his ACL during recovery so he got a TPLO on his right knee and the MPL on his left knee and while the surgeon was in there, he did the TPLO on the left knee all at the same time because he knew his ACL was about to pop on that side as well.

That was last October. Recovery has been slow and steady, with him finally starting to do stairs and jumping off the couch in March.

Cue last week - he's dragging his right leg and not moving as much. Took him in and his patella is luxating again. His left side is totally fine - MPL is holding his patella and he's in great shape.

So he needs ANOTHER MPL on his right knee - I'm hopeful that the TPLO will make the MPL hold this time since the geometry is 'correct' now, like on his left knee.

Before anyone asks - I've had this most recent set of XRays and exam notes reviewed by 2 more orthopedic surgeons and they both agree this is the right path, the next step is a full knee replacement.

So, first and foremost - has anyone been here? This many knee issues on such a young pup? One of the surgeons that did the review suggested water based PT after surgery and the potential of a cart - so his feet touch the ground and he can built muscle and strength but without needing to support his whole weight. Has anyone done water PT or had a cart? How much was the cart?

I love my boy so much but this is becoming very expensive and if this doesn't work we're looking at $10k for a knee replacement.

Hello! I'll try to sum this up as easily as I can - started down the espresso road during Covid, like many of us, only made it about a month with grinding and pulling my own shots before I bought a broken Delonghi Magnifica and fixed it and then I was hooked!

From there I got in on the kickstarter for the Terra Kaffe TK-02. My experience with it has been mostly solid, until about 2 months ago. The screen started glitching out and support and repair from TK has been a pain. It took a month to actually get the machine to them and my repair isn't covered under warranty (I'm out of warranty) but they did it as a courtesy. I expect more than that for a $2k machine so, as soon as it's back in my hands and I verify it's working - I plan to sell it.

So that means I need a replacement. Admittedly, I am struggling to find one that has some of the things I really loved about the TK-02, namely drip coffee, decent iced coffee and the ability to build custom drinks - including shots into drip for example. I also want fully automatic milk - I suck at the wand.

I think I have it narrowed down to one of the following: KitchenAid KF7 or KF8, Philips 5500 or 8000, or Delonghi Magnifica Plus or Eletta Explore.

I like that the 8000 and Eletta Explore can do cold brew, but how good is it? I don't care about switching beans all that much. I'd like something that can easily be adapted to have a hard plumbed water line, the TK-02 was a pain to fill and clean so often. The 8000 has good reviews but lots of the ones on Philips site seem like good reviews for a free product, the 1 star reviews are telling.

In honesty, most days I'm brewing a drip coffee out of this thing. In the summer I like cold brew or iced coffee. On weekends I do a latte or cortado, usually with a mix of 2% milk and heavy cream or half and half, I love a creamy mouthfeel like from a breve. I truly love set and forget and am likely to brew the sam 4-5 drinks 95% of the time. I also think I want temp adjustment, I prefer a decently hot shot/drip because I often do cold protein drinks into my drip coffee or americano as my breakfast. I have no need for a decaf or ground coffee bypass chute but if it's there, that's fine.

My budget is $1500-2000, hoping I can get $1k for my used TK-02. Thoughts? Happy to answer any questions in the comments that might help guide in the right direction! I am in the US, Colorado specifically.