Mindscape

Stressful few weeks

Hooooo boy. To put it plainly, I've had a stressful few weeks.

(Animal injury warning)

Sadly, my poor sweet pup Scout got hit by an ATV. My neighbor has a dog, and Scout likes to run and bark as they're passing by on the road. He usually stops right near the end of the driveway, but this time he went too far and my neighbor couldn't stop in time. Scout was aright, nothing major got hit, but it broke his back leg. I was down at the back of our property when it happened, trying to figure out what type of fungus was growing on a tree. My aunt came get me, and everybody was just surrounding him next to the road. He had hopped himself over and laid down after it happened.
He was still in such good spirits though, just wagging his tail and living for all the attention. We think he was high on adrenaline, cause he wasn't whimpering or anything, just grinning like dogs do and flopping his tail everywhere. My neighbor was super upset, even crying, and he was so apologetic, but I don't blame him in the slightest. Scout knows he gets in trouble for going on the road, and we have a perimeter collar that is suppose to beep if he gets too far and shock him if he passes, but it's been malfunctioning lately and only going off half of the time.
So we loaded him up in the car and drove him an hour to the emergency vet clinic cause it was Sunday and his usual vet was closed. We called ahead so they were expecting us, but the part-time receptionist was extremely insensitive and pissed my mom off real bad. My mom told her that we thought Scout's leg was broken and the lady legit went, "well what's wrong with his other three legs?" when we said he couldn't walk. The rest of the staff was extremely nice, and they all were really sympathetic and loving toward us and Scout, but that lady was ridiculous. We had to leave him overnight so they could do X-rays and put an IV to give him pain meds and knock him out to keep him from moving his leg too much.
The next morning we went to get his diagnosis and his femur was fractured really bad. He was still in good spirits though, and was very excited to see us. It was really emotional though, cause the break was so bad that the only options were surgery or amputation. The emergency clinic told us to bring him to his usual vet and that they would discuss the options with us. We took him, and everyone there was so sad about him. He's only been there a few times since we've moved there, but Scouty's the kind of dog that people fall in love with. He's so happy to see people and he's always so excited for everything that he leaves an impression, and everyone was so supportive and sympathetic. His vet discussed our options, and after looking at his X-rays said that he was already showing signs of hip dysplasia (which is extremely common in Labrador retrievers) so if we had to amputate that he probably wouldn't last more than a year. If we went with surgery, we had three options: go to the fancy vet in the capital like five hours away and it would be ridiculously expensive but the board certified surgeon was supposed to be the best, wait for the local traveling surgeon that was less expensive and board certified but was less experienced with surgeries of that scope and our vet wasn't even sure she'd take it on, or take him an hour away to a surgeon that wasn't board certified, but has been a vet since before there was a certification and has been doing this kind of surgery for twenty years and is both the cheapest option and highly recommended. We ended up choosing the third option, and drove that same day to bring Scout. The vet turned out to be one that my aunt had worked at a while back, and she said the staff was really nice and would definitely take care of my boy, which they did.
Honestly I barely slept the first few nights. We left him at the vet that Monday, they had to wait for the swelling in his leg to go down and they did his surgery on the Tuesday morning, and we got to pick him up on the Wednesday. He got a pin and a plate put in his leg, and had to get a few splinters of bone removed. He ended up with 43 stitches. For his recovery, he had to stay inside and in his kennel for bed rest for two weeks, then he would get his stitches removed. That's happening tomorrow. He wasn't allowed to put any weight on it at all, so we had to get a sheet and lift his butt up when he went walk outside. We got him a little harness online but he hates it. It loops around his legs and would work so much better if he wouldn't try to escape it/chew at it. He ends up putting some weight anyway, and developed a bump on his hip joint because the weight caused it to swell, but the vet said it wasn't enough weight to effect the healing process. He also has to wear his Cone of Shame because he wants to lick at his wounds but he's not allowed. Poor thing though, we ended up having to block his view with bedsheets because every time he would see someone he would try to get up. I have to feed him from a plate rather than his bowl, and he chokes if he drinks too fast cause his medicines are making his body work slower than usual. He can't scratch himself with his bad leg at all, or with his good one because of the cone, so I have to scratch for him. He's miserable having to lay around all day when he's usually out and about, but it can't be helped. And I can't sit with him all day like I'd like, cause if I try he starts gettin worked up. It breaks my heart to see him so sad, and I wish it had been me instead of him cause he doesn't deserve to have to go through this.
We had a memorial for my grandmother this weekend, and we had to board Scout at the vet because he would've been overstimulated otherwise. He's getting his staples out before we pick him up though, and he should be cleared to start putting a little weight more weight on it. The first two weeks are the hardest because that's the time when a dog is most likely to go overboard and re-break the bone. The healing process is supposed to be about eight weeks, but now the most crucial part of it is over. The good news is that I'll be with him for most if not all of it because I don't have to go back to school until mid-August.
So yeah, it's been a pretty freaking stressful and sad few weeks. I'm glad my sweet boy is okay, but sad that he's having to go through this. I feel like a bad dog mom, cause I should've been with him and prevented this from happening instead of looking at freaking tree fungus. I can't help but feel responsible in some way, even as I'm telling myself that for my own sake I can't blame myself. I can only hope that Scout will remember this and have no desire to go on the road again. I know I'll be extra cautious in the future to keep an eye on him when he's outside. Here's the poor pup.

But the experience was not all bad. Everyone in my family had a bit of a wake up call, and sort of realized how much they love this little boy. It scared us all, and it reminded us of what we love the most about him and how there's so much more to love than there is to dislike. And it showed us how much everyone who's ever met him has been effected by him. The people that know him love him, and the people that meet him love him by the time he leaves. He really is such a special dog.
He also look hilarious shaved. And he sheds so much, despite how much I brush him. And the softest fur he has is on his ears and on his muzzle, right behind his nose. Just some Facts.