Foo - Rough day today

I'm in Philly for work. Normally when I travel, my two dogs stay with a friend. However, she's been traveling the last couple of weeks so I had to board them.

I've been pretty happy with my kennel in the past. They do really take much better care of the dogs than other places. They are good with giving medications, taking care of special health conditions, etc.

The dogs usually get to go to play areas during the day. These are confined areas, they are divided up by personality and supervised.

Because of other (relatively minor) health reasons, Grover was segregated into a separate play area by himself. This morning, I got some frantic voicemails from the kennel.

It seems that he wanted to play with the others, so scaled and jumped a 10-foot fence. They rushed him to the vet, but he has multiple fractures in both front legs and wrists. :(

His only option is to have the bones fused together with plates. He will no longer be able to flex at all at the wrists. Furthermore somehow I will have to keep him completely inactive for 4+ weeks. He will not take this at all well, especially with me taking care of my other one, Watson. His surgery won't happen until tomorrow as he is too swollen right now for them to do it.

The kennel was very apologetic, they feel terrible and will be paying all the vet costs. I am upset (especially since they know he has a history of jumping 6-foot fences) but it's not worth pointing fingers as long as he gets the care he needs. It's too late for anything else.

Everytime I think of my pup I start to cry. He's 11 years old, I've had him since I rescued him at 3 years old.

Here is a picture of the two of them relaxing at the kennel from last week. Grover is the one on the right.

http://paularickert.net/albums/userpics/petcamp08.jpg

Aww beautiful dogs, MsIncredible.

I'm sorry to hear of the misfortune but I have to tell you something that really stuck with me.

When my coyote/lab scaled a barbed wire fence, her leg got caught up and the skin was pulled down from her thigh down to her ankle. It looked like a knee high boot that was falling. She cut her artery as well.

After being all fixed up, I was very distraught. I didn't want her to walk or move. She got up and tried to jump around and I scolded her.

I was upset, and I expressed to the doctor that I had no clue how I was going to keep her from rough housing with the other dogs and running/jumping around.

He said to me: "I have to remind you of something. Us humans think too much. We will look at our injuries, concentrate on the pain and how it hinders us. We think 'poor me, how am I to function?'. But do me a favor. Look at Sooty. Just look at her. She is wagging her tail, she wants to play. She completely forgot about her injury until something reminds her of it. Because of this, they will heal faster. They aren't stressed over it like you and I would be."

You might hurt right now because of what he is going to go through. You may wonder about how he will be able to function normally. They don't think about those things. They really don't. He may have to readjust to walking but he will manage.

Try to remember that although they are our babies, they are a lot more resilient than we can ever believe. :)

((hugs))

I'm so sorry to hear that Paula. It must be awful to be away and receiving such bad news.
I hope Grover gets better soon.

Cheer up

Angel.

I feel so bad for your puppy. I hope he's not in too much pain and discomfort and I hope he gets better soon. Take care!

Oh that's terrible, really sorry to hear that Paula. :( Yeah it's gotta be tough being on the road trying to concentrate on work when you have other things on your mind. I hope Grover will be able to run again after he's all healed up. He won't be happy if you only go running with Watson.

I hope you don't mind me posting this portrait of you and Grover, you both look really good in this shot!

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/tacksharp/People/Paula_Grover_060702_0646_small.jpg

Ouch, poor baby :(. Hope he heals fast.

Poor Grover. Heal well, little buddy.

Wow- I'm sorry to hear this- how terrible that you have to deal with this while you're away. I'm glad the kennel is stepping up, though- it's the right thing to do, and they should be commended. At first I thought they were greyhounds, but looking at the pic of you and Grover- are they whippets? Either way, they're so sweet!

All the best for a speedy recovery- for you both, and safe travels back to CA.

Aw, sorry to hear about that Paula. It must be really tough to hear this being on the other side of the country. Hope Grover heals quickly.

Sorry to hear about your dog's mishap, Paula. But like Siu said, Grover will not notice and think about his injury at all. With luck he will be able to recover and move around without too much hindrance.

A few year ago, one of my sister's ferret got in an accident and its left hind leg had to be amputated. She was crying and was very upset. She started worrying about how the ferret will not be able to play with the other one and such. Well, a few days later they were very surprised to see both ferrets running around and chasing each other.

So, try not to be too upset. These guys are tougher than they look.

Sorry to hear this, Ms. I. But I think Siu already gave the best response here. I certainly can't do better than that. Give Grover a hug and scratch his ears. He'll be okay.

XOXO for Grover. Heal up well.

Thanks everyone for your kind words. Got in another bike ride this morning, helped to clear my head a bit too.

I'll post when I have an update from the surgery. It will be quite complicated, as every bone is broken and they are quite small, so there is not a lot for them to attach things too.

Dave, thanks for the picture of us, that's a nice shot.

:( That's so sad, poor puppy. Hope he recovers soon!

Poor puppy. :( Let us know how the surgery goes.

Oh noo...hope he gets better soon. I hate sick puppy stories....:(

OMG..that is really sad news. I had four retired greyhounds and one had some health issues that made me very sad, but nothing like this. I hope the surgery goes well Ms. Gio...keep us posted. Poor Grover.:(

sorry to hear that, are you sure that dog isn't part goat...that seems pretty high for a dog to get over

Good on the kennel for doing their best to rectify the situation. Bad on them for allowing it to happen.

Best wishes to both you and your baby!

Sorry to hear about your dog, hope he recovers soon.:)

Thanks everyone, Grover is in surgery now, I'll post up when I have more news.


sorry to hear that, are you sure that dog isn't part goat...that seems pretty high for a dog to get over

LOL, I think he probably is. ;)

I have seen him jump a 6-foot fence at the top of a hill, no running start, he landed at the top and balanced there for a few seconds. He's a bit older now but still very active (well, until this accident). He also used to jump up and pick apples and plums out of trees. Considering he only comes up to my knees that is quite impressive.

And yes MTBLover, they are whippets, good guess!

Hope Grover doesn't turn into Grouch after his surgery...:p

Everything went well with Grover's surgery and he is just waking up now. They said he was an excellent patient. :)

good for him, hopefully it won't be long before he's running around....

Us dogs gotta stick together. :D

He'll be back!

Awesome! Glad to hear your baby pulled through.:beer:

Any news on how flexible he'll be?

I'm sorry to hear about your dog. He's gorgeous btw. Sound's like the kennel is trying to make the situation as good as it possibly can. That's good to hear that they're not trying to weasel out of the responsibility.

I will be going to New Zealand on a business trip for about a month. My wife will be travelling with me and likely staying for a couple of weeks. My concern is for our two Jack Russells who are still pups. Our only options are a kennel or my wife's sister who lives 5 hours away. We're really hoping she can take them for the 2 weeks.

So sorry to hear about that, msincredible. I am so glad to hear that Grover came out of the surgery all right, and even more important, I'm glad to hear that the kennel is accepting the responsibility. That's going to be some expensive surgery :eek: .

Positive thoughts to both you and Grover.

East Hill

Good to hear surgery went well. :beer:

I hope Grover gets to see Watson soon. They must miss each other already.

Thanks all for your well wishes. :)


Any news on how flexible he'll be?

He has two permanent plates in his front legs. He won't ever bend his wrists again. Hopefully he will be able to adapt ok.


I hope Grover gets to see Watson soon. They must miss each other already.

They should both be home on Friday. I'm sure they do. Watson gets very upset without her "brother" around.

The hard part will be keeping him inactive for over a month, which basically means in a crate 24/7 except for potty breaks. He won't be too happy about that.

Glad to hear Grover is all patched up. :)

Hope you are okay too~ ;)

Grover went home with my boyfriend this afternoon. :)
He is on morphine and is resting comfortably. He even had an appetite.
Apparently he is not taking well to all the confinement however.

I can't wait to get home (tomorrow).

Them eating is a real good sign. Wait till he sees you. Oh boy. He's gonna be haaaaaaaaaaaaaappy!

Thanks again everyone. I'm doing much better. It was stressful being away, nice to be home with everyone and see Grover doing better than expected.

He is doing pretty well, all things considered. He is relaxing in his bed right now.

He does get frustrated about not being able to go for walks, but is being a good patient.

This morning I walked them with Watson's leash attached around my waist, and me carrying Grover. My forearms and biceps will be getting quite a workout this way!

We also picked up a Radio Flyer wagon to try wheeling him around in, he's not sure about that just yet, but hopefully he will get used to it as he's got to keep his casts on at least a month.

I am so glad to hear that Grover is better than expected. That sounded like such an awful injury. With luck he will love riding in the Radio Flyer, and remain calm for the next month.

East Hill

Or even better, one of those kiddie trailers. :D

Well, we got a bit farther with the wagon yesterday than the day before. Grover was doing quite well sitting in it for a while, then got a bit anxious, rode a bit standing up, and made himself nauseous. Didn't help that it was incredibly windy. Even Watson was not enjoying being out there.

This morning we had no luck with the wagon whatsoever, he was too excited about a cat hiding in the bushes.

I had to take his fentanyl patch off yesterday. Seems like the pain has not been too bad with that gone. At least he still has a good appetite and good spirits! :)

Pictures from this afternoon:

Grover on his "walk"

http://paularickert.net/albums/userpics/grover_casts01.JPG

Lying in bed

http://paularickert.net/albums/userpics/grover_casts02.JPG

Watson in the pillow fort that my boyfriend built

http://paularickert.net/albums/userpics/watson_fort.JPG

It's really good to hear that he's in good spirits and eating well. Is he going to have the casts for another month, or does he get to go in and get x-rayed to make sure that everything is healing properly?

East Hill

The casts are on for another month, with weekly checkups. After that, if the x-rays look good, they should come off and we have PT with more x-rays.

Awww poor Grover! Look at that face!!

When you get the casts off he's going to think that anything is going to better than that. He will be grateful - once he gets used to walking again and all adjusted to it then he's going to be just fine.

The other two pics make me want to cuddle with them, Paula. :)

Here's to a speedy recovery Grover! He looks very cute under the blankie :)

10 foot fence, jesus thats big for a dog of about 19 inches. That injury sounds nasty but don't worry I have heard of plenty of whippets/greyhounds/lurchers here in the UK that have suffered from broken bones and recover well in the end, they are a tough breed of dog.

Good luck.

A little late here but I just want to wish Grover a speedy recovery. Its heart breaking to see a pet suffer. But WoW! 10 foot fence, Grover is the man! Ms. Inc, I am sure your heart hurts more than Grovers legs do.
Heel fast Grover.

Glenn

Ms. I,
Haven't been able to follow this thread, injured dogs break my heart too much.
Glad Grover is doing better.

awww...poor doggie! glad he's okay...

Latest update on Grover :)

He got his casts off a couple of weeks ago, and has been improving rapidly. It is mostly slow walking with frequent breaks, but I only have to carry him down stairs now, and he is re-learning how to do those as well. He does better with a little motivation ;)

I took a little video of him a couple of days ago:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZYFRBEE59A

And the bf continues to torture Watson.

First building a pillow fort around her

http://paularickert.net/albums/userpics/watson_pillow03.JPG

http://paularickert.net/albums/userpics/normal_watson_pillow02.JPG

Then turning her into a pack mule

http://paularickert.net/albums/userpics/watson_blankets01.JPG

She got tired and had to lie down with all that weight on there

http://paularickert.net/albums/userpics/watson_blankets02.JPG

He then tortured the dogs by cooking bacon and telling them there was nothing special going on.
They didn't believe him, though.

http://paularickert.net/albums/userpics/watsongrover08.JPG

They did get some in the end...happy dogs! :)

WOW!! Grover is doing REALLY well in "overdrive"!!

This makes my heart soooo happy, MsIncredible!! :D I was really wondering about him but I just knew that he would adapt well!

Oh, this is fantastic!! ((hugs))

PS. Watson has the cutest facial expressions as a pack mule! :lol:

I thought the motion looked pretty good, especially at speed. Kind of like an old tap dancer warming up.

I thought the motion looked pretty good, especially at speed. Kind of like an old tap dancer warming up.


WOW!! Grover is doing REALLY well in "overdrive"!!

Thanks Siu and Doolally! He is a happy pup. :) Most of the time he seems to be in "2nd gear".

I can't believe that Watson allowed herself to be turned into a pack mule. Such a sweet face...on both of them actually!

It was kind of you to update this thread--I know I wasn't the only one who was wondering how your baby was doing.

East Hill