Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Ailing Animal

On Friday night we had settled in, and eaten a marvelous meal of barbecue from a local church. Okay, Matt and I thought it was great, Jacob thinks slaw is "disgusting." But, I digress...I had settled in for a rousing game of Jeopardy, Matt was in the backyard throwing the ball for our 2 one-hundred pound dogs, and Jacob was in the dining room still pondering the spoonful of slaw he was required to finish before leaving the table.

Alex Trebek and I were well into Double Jeopardy when Matt came in the house to announce that Scout (my dog before marriage) was injured. Now, for those of you who don't know, Scout has a tendency to crack/break his toenails. So, I pulled my pregnant self up off the couch to go check on my precious Scout. I walked in the kitchen only to see him ferociously licking the injured paw. Matt pulled his head away to show me the delightful sideways pointing toenail that was almost completely pulled out of the paw pad. This was obviously not just a cracked/broken toenail. Being the great pet parent I am, I called our vet, got the emergency vet number, called them, loaded the big guy in the back of the SUV, and we were off...much to Jacob's great relief, as the slaw was still sitting there staring at him.

When we got there, the vet tech took him back, he was given some really good drugs, and the toenail was removed. (There's a story here about the free coffee offered in the waiting area and the really great one-serving coffee maker, but I just don't have time for it right now). They brought him back out and he was wearing the lovely e-collar to protect his injury from his compulsive licking behaviors. With much coaxing--really good drugs, remember--Matt got him outside and had to pick up said 100 pound dog and put him in the back of the SUV, while I handed over the plastic to the smiling office lady. We drove home with our drugged dog and got him inside to rest.

It's now day 6 of the e-collar (which can't be removed because of previously mentioned compulsive licking behavior and the fear of God the vet imposed on me of the possibility of a very scary bone infection). The collar has become a source of humor at our house. Apparently my dog is not nearly as adept at maneuvering around the house in an e-collar as Matt's precious Eva has been. Now, in Scout's defense, let's not forget that Eva has had much more experience with the e-collar having had multiple surgeries and recoveries for mast cell tumors.

Poor Scout bumps into everything...door frames, table corners, the stairs, walls, Eva, us, and we won't even discuss the dog door. He just can't seem to figure it out. Don't' feel bad buddy, some days I feel the same way and I don't have the e-collar to blame!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Poor baby. He looks so little with that big collar. I know Eva is laughing on the inside at him. Bless his heart,
Amanda (:0)

Anonymous said...

Poor puppy! Hope Scout gets better soon.
Love, Sammie

Amy said...

He is precious. Poor guy!