Sun 23 Nov 2008
Destra Goes Home!!!
Posted by admin under Destra's Surgery
1 Comment
Update: 11/23/085: Becky, Destra’s Coordinator, writes: Just got a call from Valerie, she was on the way home with Destra. She said the vet has never seen a dog recover and be so totally oblivious to the loss of a leg. I should mention the vet adopted a Mal some years ago, so she knows how resilient they are!
(snicker) Valerie said the vet told her that she KNEW how impossible it would be to keep Destra quiet and such, so told her to hold down the running to no more than 10 or so minutes per day/RX times twice a day. Valerie says the vet did a great job, and if not for the stitches you would never know she was not born with three legs!
Valerie promised photos soon!
November 24th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Milady Destra came home last night … She almost towed me through the
door of the vet hospital in her eagerness to get out of there! I had
to remind her that I had only two legs to her three, and she needed to
slow down a little for me! Before discharging her, her wonderful vet,
Kathy Batdorf, told me, “I know it will be impossible to keep her
completely quiet, so keep the wound clean, let her run when she really
needs to, and get her to take it easy when you can over the next few
days. And she can’t actually damage anything … The worst she can do
is make herself sore from over-exertion.”
Well … one thing Destra has never been allowed to do is run from the
gate to the house when we get home in the car. I’ve always felt 600
feet of gravel driveway – or even a hard run on pasture, celebrating
the astonishing event of our arrival with the rest of the pack – would
smash up her foot way too much. She’s always had to sit in the back
seat, whining in frustration, while the other dogs ran. So last night
I decided to let her celebrate her return home, and allowed her to get
out of the car when I opened the gate. She was THRILLED! She took off
at a gallop, then turned to look at me in disbelief as if to say, “Can
I REALLY do this?” and then took off again. Needless to say, only
three days after major surgery, she was faster on her three legs than
any of the other dogs was on four.
And yes, she needed a dose of Rimadyl later, and she spent the rest of
the evening on my bed … but it was just so great to be able to give
her that freedom. It was worth a few aches and pains later. What an
amazing girl she is!
Valerie