Ease on Down, Canine Style

(My family will get the title reference.)

Adding to the craziness of last week, Bitzy had a freak fall/jump from the couch.  She was right next to me and I didn't even see the whole thing happen. She let out the most blood curdling set of yelps and when I looked down, her front right leg was sticking straight out perpendicular to her body.  Needless to say, panic set in.  She calmed down enough to let me pick her up and while I know she was in excruciating pain, she was such a good little girl.  Not even so much as a whimper in the time afterward.  Because it was 9:30 PM I placed a call to the emergency vet only to find out that there was going to be a several hour wait.  She was calm (and her arm no longer sticking straight out) so we decided to keep her home until our local vet's office opened the next morning.

I was certain that she'd dislocated her shoulder. Upon her initial examination, the vet thought it was her elbow as there was quite a bit of swelling in that area.  X-rays soon revealed that she had three broken bones in her right foot, most likely the result of an awkward twist as she was falling/jumping.  Looking at the couch last night, I'm fairly certain that she must have gotten her paw stuck in between the cushions, unable to remove it as she half tumbled/half jumped off.  I doubt we could re-create it if we tried....not that we would ever want to.

Poor baby girl has been such a trooper.  She's now in a spoon splint from her elbow down.  She gets along pretty well with three legs but the vet assures me that in a few days she'll be weight bearing on all fours.  The splint will remain a minimum of 6-8 weeks.

The blue is actually a rubber glove to prevent the splint from getting wet.  My plans for grooming her are on hold so she's going to be one very shaggy pooch for awhile.  She has been such a good sport but being all too familiar with orthopedic pain myself, my heart breaks for her right now.