Nothing like a little doggie drama first thing on Monday morning!

My first chore every morning is to let all the dogs out to go potty; first the ones in the house, then I head to the dog house to let that crew out. I open all the crate doors (each dog sleeps in its own crate at night) and out they rush to potty, get drinks, romp and play. This morning I closed the door and turned back inside to clean up, gather blankets to wash and sweep. When I finished, I headed out the door to feed the horses while the dogs had some playtime. But when I walked into the dog yard, there sat Dickens; quiet, not moving and holding his left paw in the air. Uh oh! What’s up?

I scooped him up which prompted whimpering and crying from my boy. Inside I set him on the grooming table to check out his paw thinking maybe he had torn a toenail. Nope, all toenails accounted for! Hmm…maybe he jumped off the camper shell (which we have in the yard for shade for the dogs. Although they like to use a nearby lawn chair to hop on and off of the shell.) and hurt himself. After seeing that his toenails were all intact, I gently set him down on the floor to see if it was a short-term “owie” or we had something more serious. His first step forward with the affected foot sent him crashing facefirst into the ground! I quickly picked him up again and gently put him in his crate. With each touch on the affected leg and paw, he let forth intense whimperings and crying. Now, I was beginning to wonder if maybe he’d even broken his leg. It was that dramatic.

I finished chores and cleaned up waiting for 8:00 am to roll around and the vet office to open. I knew the sooner I reached them the better. My experience working at the vet years ago told me that Monday morning was always a bad time to try to get an appointment. And as a double-whammy, my vet had lost a couple of her employed vets and was down to just two doctors at this point in time.

Thankfully, they found some time a bit later in the morning to fit us in for an exam. (For those that don’t know my vet is about 55 mile and about an hour and ten-minute drive away from us).

He seemed more comfortable when it was time to load up and head down the road and was even using the leg more. In fact, it was so much better, I almost canceled the appointment, but figured we’d at least get it checked out.

After another hour or so resting in his crate, we arrived and I carried him into the clinic. They got me right into an exam room. And by the time, the doctor walked in a few minutes later, I could hardly tell which was leg was affected! Seriously, Dickens?!

(Look how relaxed he is eating his cookie.)

She checked him out, no swelling, no indication of pain or discomfort, no whimpering, no crying, he was walking on it…nothing! Honestly, I was embarrassed at that point for even bringing him in! She suggested some crate rest and anti-inflammatory, but I seriously doubt he even needs it (although he will get some quiet time just to be sure). And thankfully, she only charged me half the cost of a brief visit! I love my vet!

I had even stopped at the store on the way there to get him a special treat!

So if anyone has any Hollywood connections, I’ll be looking for an agent soon for my little “drama queen (king)”.