Maddie came home late last night. She has a splint on the left leg, covered by a bandage and the green wrap. The doctor is concerned about how the leg will heal, because there was a lot of ligament damage, which she discovered the night before when she operated. Right now we will have to see how she heals over time. Tomorrow she returns for a bandage change and a look at the wound.
Luckily, she seems to have escaped with this one major injury. That's much much better than the 15 minutes or so when I thought she was dead. Last night was like having a baby, or, for that matter, like having a puppy. No way she was getting up the stairs, so she slept downstairs on her bed. She has pain medicine and a pain patch, but she still must hurt. There were long stretches of quiet, and then outbursts of loud wailing. It was just Katie and me; Joe had gone back to college to get some stuff, and Ben had returned to New York.
So we ran downstairs, took her out once or twice, and got her back in. The first time out she had to be carried; after that she got out herself and walked back. A couple of times she just stood there whining, looking dazed. I looked back at her. I wished she could tell me what she wanted. Eventually I got her settled, went to bed, slept for a good couple of hours and then heard the whining again.
Katie sat outside in the grass for a while today, reading while Maddie slept next to her. Now Joe is in the den watching the Celtics, the dog stretched out next to him. Ben and Jim did so much already.
It's a good team.
Go Maddie go.
6 comments:
Is Maddie's nighttime whining from loneliness, disorientation, pain or some combination of the three? I'm glad you have a tag team going to keep her company during the day.
So happy she is home. Sorry that she is in any discomfort. Go Maddie.
Hi Susan,
I think it's from pain and disorientation. As for loneliness, she seems to like sleeping downstairs by herself. I've invited her upstairs, but she doesn't want to come. She likes to sleep on the couch, but she can't get up there, so maybe she's whining about that.
it is SO hard with animals---they can't tell us exactly what is going on, and that makes it hard, especially when they are mentally and physically compromised, as in Maddie's condition.
She's probably in pain, wondering why she can't bounce around as usual (until she moves and the pain hits again) and she may, if she remembers, be kicking herself for running around as she did to get hit. She may also just want cuddles from you to make the boo-boo better.
Keep listening to her carefully and remind her she's going to be ok---and don't forget to tell yourself that too!
I'm so glad Maddie's back home and on the mend. Will she need additonal surgery? It's tough when they're in pain and can't relay the problem in a way we understand. She's got a great team to nurse her back to health.
I'm glad to know she's home. We're real pet people in our house and empathize big-time. Good health to all creatures under your roof.
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