I've stopped putting Maya into her crate at night. It's just too small for her now that she's wearing that big plastic cone on her head again after her latest surgery—and she's definitely entitled to some creature comfort. Her preference is the futon couch in the TV room. Her crate's in there anyway so it's sort of "her room."
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| After: The pin |
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| Before: Plate with screws. |
Last Thursday the poor girl went in for another procedure on her leg, this time to take out the metal plate that was supposed to remain in to help support the fused ankle. But the wound just wouldn't heal and kept opening. If I understand it clearly, it's her long, narrow legs, which aren't all that meaty to begin with and then she lost a good bit of muscle and tendons when she was hit. The hospital vet said he could try closing the wound again, but wasn't optimistic since it has failed to heal over twice now. Instead he removed the plate and those huge screws and put a large pin down the bone to give it some reinforcement. It's ghastly to look at in the X-rays and was even more so when the vet described inserting it from Maya's knee down to her ankle. The good thing is that now the wound should heal over just as it did right after the accident. He also said the bone will continue to build up and strengthen as she grows, since bone will reinforce where there is stress (Wolff's law, he says). That would be good since I worry about her over-exerting herself when she's better and doing what she loves best, running free through the woods. I have to say the vet, who—according to our regular local vet—is one of the best in this area of animal orthopedics, has been very caring and generous with Maya, comping her stay during our vacation and now not charging to remove the plate and put in the pin. His compassion for Maya is obvious, as it is with all the staff at the hospital. The vet's assistant always boasts about Maya being their best patient, always behaving herself and as docile as can be. Smart of her to ingratiate herself with the staff and fortunate for us that she's so little trouble for them!
I'm not sure how long it will take before she starts putting pressure on her leg again, but I'm letting her baby it all she wants for now. Letting her sleep outside of her crate is part of that babying. If she wants to curl up on the TV room couch, where she can stretch full out, roll over on her back and just plain sack out free and comfy, I figure it's the least I can do for her—along with the tramadol she gets at night to help ensure her a painless night. She's not getting TV privileges though.
This is been an ordeal for Maya, but her spirit is good and she's actually bounding back with a fair bit of energy. The other evening, Meche and I took Maya out for a short walk and got caught in a sudden downpour. Maya left no doubt that she preferred to get home quickly and was grabbing the leash in her mouth and pulling me. I didn't really want her running but she wasn't using the leg at all so I don't think it was much of a problem. She's always been a wimp in the rain. I know, it doesn't make sense for an Irish setter to have issues with rain. Just like with the kids, I'm going to have to start emphasizing more the Irish heritage of this family! No more Spanish and everyone's going to have to learn Irish—including Maya. In Spanish, dogs don't go "bow-wow" or "ruff-ruff" but more like "wow, wow" but spelled I think like "guau guau." I wonder what the onomatopoeic word for dog barking is in Gaelic?
