Afoot again

After more than six months, Maya is out of a bandage and beginning to return to her old life, as much as she can anyway. In the photo, she's got all four paws planted on the ground and while she continues to baby her damaged leg a lot, especially around the house, she is using it more and more on walks. Tonight she was using it consistently on our walk around the neighborhood, the best she's done in the week and a half since she got her bandage off.

On Monday, I let her off leash on the mountain for part of our three-mile hike. Initially I kept her on leash so I could let her pull uphill and thereby force her to use her injured leg. Then I let her go on flatter terrain. Until tonight she tended to resist using her injured leg on the initial part of our walks, but after 15 or 20 minutes she would get used to it and start walking sort of normal with it. Let's hope tonight is a real turning point.

Her vets have indicated she should pretty much regain use of it, except she can't bend the ankle. So, we'll proceed working her leg and hoping eventually she'll have sufficient strength so that it really supports her. Now, it's almost more for balance than her putting any real pressure on it. On our walk Monday, she took a spill making a turn at a run when apparently she inadvertently relied on the weak leg too much. I think she needs to learn what she can do and can't.

Still waiting for her hair to grow out over where she was shaved for surgery, but all and all for what she's been through, she's looking pretty good.