It’s probably great to be a fast dog, cruising along at 40 miles per hour, until you stub your toe, which is what Phoebe did last week. At greyhound speeds, a stubbed toe dislocates and becomes what the vet referred to as “the greyhound injury.”
The specialists hope that keeping it splinted for a few weeks will allow it to heal on its own without surgery, of course that means we have to keep her supervised so she doesn’t eat her bandage and splint. The whole contraption has her leg immobilized so that when she walks she thumps along like a peg-legged pirate. Of course, she can still sort-of run on three legs.
Three-legged running is too easy for Phoebe, though, so last weekend she decided to somehow slice open a back paw necessitating a midnight trip to the animal emergency clinic. They know us well there. It went something like this:
ER Vet: Hello, Phoebe, what can we do for you this evening? Would you like to hear the specials?
Phoebe: No, thank you, I’ll be having the usual tonight.
ER Vet: Very good, then, two stitches coming up.
We’re hoping she can keep the other 2 paws intact while she heels.
The amazing thing is that she doesn’t seem to mind. In fact, I think she likes going to the vet, and none of this really slows her down. They’re such little heroes.
[saveagrey]
James Brush is a teacher and writer who lives in Austin, TX. He tries to get outside as much as possible.
Poor Phoebe, poor checkbook.
Funny title, though, the “cone of shame,” which comes from one of my favorite movies!
Good catch. Up is great movie. They totally nailed dog beha–SQUIRRELL!–sorry, dog behavior 🙂
Awwwww! Poor Phoebe.
Then again, it kinda’ sounds like she enjoys the attention.
Oh, she does. She even loves the vet.
Awww, poor Phoebe. I think she’s just looking for excuses to spend more time stretched out on the couch! (I love her pretty green wrap, by the way!)
She doesn’t need excuses for that! She used to have a blue one, but she removed it.
It’s amazing to us the kinds of things these dogs can take in stride. Broken toe? Whatever. Oh look, a squirrel! Probably the thing that bothers her the most is that the cone screws up her aerodynamics.
We don’t make her wear it when we’re around for just that reason. Plus she crashes into things. They certainly have a lot of bouncebackability.
I had a 3-legged tabby cat that could outrun any domesticated animal on the block. I’m glad to see that Phoebe isn’t slowing down. Thanks, too, for your message.
Sometimes a third leg can just slow you down. Nice to see you around the internet again.
[…] It wasn’t long before she was eating windowsills and a giant hole in the middle of the wall. She even tried to eat Daphne once, though it’s clear they were just playing. Phoebe has always been a rough and tumble dog: she’s well known at animal emergency and even owns her own cone of shame. […]