Saturday 5 March 2011

The Tale of Indy's Paw


This week Indy started limping and when he wasn’t limping around he was holding his paw up and looking pathetic and generally miserable.

This week I hurt my foot. I could barely walk, but you didn’t hear me complain. I waved my paw at her occasionally and she told me to stop playing the old soldier. Old? That's me on the right with my pet spider when I was just a child (poor spider - he went to pieces, literally). I still am. I will never grow up.

He’s also got a very runny eye again.

It made me cry.

So off we went to the vets.

So she took me to the Chamber of Horrors.

In the waiting room was a beautiful Rottweiler, a dear little Border Terrier and a gorgeous border collie. They were all so good too sitting quietly and waiting patiently. Indy behaved perfectly.

In the waiting room was a massive Rottweiler that licked his lips and said I looked tasty, a Border Terrier that laughed at my sore paw and a border collie that said I was too inferior to bother with. I was too scared to move so I sat like a statue - except when I climbed on her lap but she called me a wuss and made me sit on the floor.

I had visions of operations for Indy as I hadn’t been able to find anything in his paw and was worried he’d cracked a bone or something. You know how it goes. Your imagination starts running riot and before you know it you’ve got them hobbling round on crutches with their legs in plaster.

I had visions of operations for myself. You know what it's like. She keeps looking at you with a worried expression and you start to think she knows something you don't. Apart from that she kept poking round in my paw and looking at it through her magnifying glass. I mean what an insult - suggesting you'd need a magnifying glass to see my injury. The pain was terrible, although I hid it well.

I’d even made contingency plans with everyone in case I had to take him back the next day for an operation – that’s how bad it had got in my mind.

When we left home I told Tilly that if I didn’t come back she could have my green rubber bone and I asked her not to forget me.

He has been known to overdo the running about at times and he gets a little stiff after, but this was different.

She has been known to overdo the tennis ball games which results in me having aches and pains and her having achy arms. It’s her fault.

Our lovely vet, Elena, took us outside and watched him walking up and down. Did he limp? Did he hell. And here’s the amazing thing – he came back in without a fuss! If it had been Tilly, I doubt I would ever have got her back through the doors once she’d been out of them.

I like Elena. She asked me to walk up and down so I bravely put my best foot forward and tried not to limp. I was keen to get back inside – some of the vets give me treats.

She spent ages looking at his paw and found a tiny scabby spot deep up inside. Something has pierced it – a thorn perhaps. Elena is almost certain there’s nothing in there, but if it flares up again when his tablets have finished, she’ll know there is. So he’s got antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory. That was Thursday and he’s already a lot happier and limping less.

She spent ages looking at my paw and finally found the sore spot. Since I’ve been on the meds, I feel so much better. A bit spaced out at times, but happier.

Next came the eye examination. Luminous green dye was put in and it didn’t appear down his nose so his tear duct is blocked again. He’s got drops for that which hopefully will do the trick, but if they don’t he’ll need his tear duct flushing and I don’t even want to think about that.

She put something in my eye and then looked up my right nostril and said something about a duct. A viaduct maybe? What that has to do with the price of Bonios I don’t know.

Tilly was ecstatic when we came home. I had to get the appointment when I knew someone would be home with her. I knew she’d be upset with Indy not there and she was. She really does love the bones of her brother.

Tilly went mad when I got home. “What are you doing here?” she said, trying to shove me back out of the door. “If you think you’re getting that green bone back you can think again, Buster.” See, she’d already forgotten my name.

He goes completely limp at the vets. He flopped down on the examination table, draped his head over my arm and just relaxed completely. He always has. Even as a little puppy I used to put him on the table for his vaccinations and he’d just go boneless and sprawl. It’s like he’s giving up.

I relax completely at the vets, especially if it is a lady vet. They make such a fuss of me and are so kind, what else is a boy to do?


34 comments:

  1. Aaah! I laughed and (almost) even shed a little tear. Having kept dogs most of my life I could picture every moment of this.
    Wonderful.
    A short story here, surely?

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  2. I dread having to take him back to have his tear ducts flushed, Gail - but he's such a stoic when it comes to the vet, perhaps because of all the visits and tests when he was a pup. He's actually much braver than me when it comes to visits to the vet.

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  3. Aw, that's such a great way of telling us Indy's story, Teresa! Such a cute wee dog.

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  4. I do hope Indy's poor paw is OK. I hate when anything is wrong with the dogs. I'd really rather be suffering whatever it is myself, then at least I can understand what's going on. Whereas when it's the dog you can't explain to them why you're putting stuff in their eye, or making them take tablets against their will.

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  5. Thanks Rosemary. He is a little dear - most of the time (when he's not rolling about in rotting corpses)!

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  6. Me too, Joanne. And they seldom make a fuss do they, bless them. He seems to like having his eye drops in, so I think they must be soothing.

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  7. Beautifully written. Idea for a book, with alternating human and canine viewpoints?

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  8. I hope Indy's OK. They can be such a worry can't they? I love your tale though from Indy's point of view!
    I do that all the time, I'm one of those owners (cats in my case) who says things like 'aw look at her, she's saying 'feed me foolish human' I sometimes wonder if she's actually thinking 'stop trying to read my mind, it's way to complicated.'

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  9. So lovely to read this. I enjoyed it so much. And Indy is gorgeous. I'm sure you could write a book about him.

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  10. Thank you hydra. I enjoyed myself doing that, so maybe I should take it further!

    He's getting better all the time, penandpaints. His mind is very easy to read really, usually along the lines of "Hungry, gimme, hungry, gimme." But don't tell him I told you that.

    THank you, Joanna. He is a very special little chap having come so close to death as a pup and he's never really lost that fear of being cold and hungry.

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  11. LOL, It's like you're Johnny Morris or something (only better looking... creep) X

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  12. That was just brilliant. Brightened up a murky, dull day! We've had two cats and it's so horrid when they are poorly. We are now pet free and although I miss the little head round the door then up on my knee for a fuss I do not miss the traumas! I have a chocolate coloured labrador and a black and white cat courtesy of my daughter's pets. That'll do for me!

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  13. Carry on creeping, Jollyoaks :-)

    I don't have cats any more either, Sue so like you I have to get my cuddles from my daughter's cat! "The little head round the door" ah I miss that too.(I love chocolate Labs)

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  14. Aw, lovely, and glad there was nothing seriously wrong with his paw.

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  15. I do really love stories told from the point of view of the animal. I am very pleased that he is OK.

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  16. THank you, Womag. He's not limping at all now.

    Thanks, Pierre. He is very pleased too.

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  17. How cute. Hope he's back on his feet soon and running along like the picture on your blog.

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  18. Glad Indy is O.K. Can really identify with this one, as my own beloved dog had to have an operation last week. He's on the mend now though! x

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  19. Indy's being a typical boy/male. He'll recover soon!

    I remember the difference between my Mum having a bitch spayed - the female dog just carried on on got on with all her usual things, perhaps sighing a bit. The male dog made at leart six Sunday family meals of his plight, sighing loudly, whimpering, looking weak and helpless every time a human female entered the room.

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  20. Sorry for the typos! It's 4.42 am here and I've had no sleep yet. Whimper, whimper...

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  21. He is, Suzy - running around all over the place!

    Glad Dylan is on the mend, Lydia. They're such a worry!

    So true, Jac. THey do like their sympathy - and I had to read yours twice to find a typo (which just goes to show why reading out loud is so helpful!). What on earth were you doing up at that time?!

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  22. LOVE it. :o) Hope he feels better soon.

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  23. Thanks Diane. Even his eye is starting to look better - I so do not want him to have to have the tear duct flushed. My toes curl up to painful proportions when I think about it.

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  24. This post has just won you a second Stylish Blogger Award! I know you've already had one but I think you deserve it.
    Hope Indy is feeling better now.

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  25. Aaaw, Indy is adorable. Hope his paw and eye don't give him any more trouble.

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  26. Thanks Patricia :-)

    Indy thanks you Patsy and he agrees that he is indeed adorable!

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  27. Loved that. I really do think you can take that further.

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  28. Thanks Keith - I just might :-)

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  29. What a lovely story, Teresa - thank you so much,I did enjoy reading it and I'm glad Indy is much better now! I feel sentimental every time I see a picture of a springer, even though it's nearly 6 years now since we lost our old Sophie. They're such gorgeous dogs!

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  30. They are, aren't they Olivia. I think he's going to have to go back to the vet about the eye, but so far so good with the paw.

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  31. Great post, Teresa. Bless Indy - give him a big cuddle from me.

    XX

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  32. Cuddle delivered, thank you Suzanne :-)

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