Sunday, August 7, 2011

The leg


I received a number of comments on my beach blog post yesterday applauding my farm pup Roxy's use of her left rear leg following the nasty ACL tear injury (and subsequent surgery) she had in June.

Because a great many of you have supported Roxy through this whole ordeal and then commented on this one, specific thing yesterday, I feel the need to share a bit of the "behind the scenes" story from yesterday with you....

Roxy is doing better. She is using her leg more. She is, however, for the majority of her day, still a three-legged dog. To our delight, she does, at times, have joyous bursts of energy, enthusiasm and capability that enable her to use all four legs - just like she used to. Unfortunately, these don't last long and they are what they are: bursts. And she always feels the pain afterwards.

Jim and I miss her former joyous energy so much, we are guilty of taking her to the one place we know she will have such bursts of joy: the beach.

There are people who don't believe dogs can smile, but our girl sure can. And she was, as she always does, when she was running on the sand:


Her entire body was smiling, in fact:

But she also knew when to stop. One moment she was running:

And then she was done. Right there, in the water, she decided that was it for the day:

And then she was a three-legged dog again:

She definitely overdid it yesterday, but believe it or not, this is part of her healing process, according to her vet. She will stress the leg and then need a day or two to recover. This stress and recovery cycle supposedly makes her injured leg stronger.

So after yesterday, today was a recovery day:

The look on her face this morning told me she was feeling more than the usual, slight discomfort:

So I pulled out her Rimadyl, an anti-inflammatory kept on-hand for just such a purpose:

She is such a good pill taker. It helps that this one is chewable and tastes like a doggy biscuit:

Then she rested some more. In her crate:

And under our bed:

But just so you know, we totally wore Enoch, our visiting dog, out, too:

He whole-heartedly supported Roxy's healing process by sleeping most of the day away himself:

In Roxy's dreams - and mine - this is how she'll spend next summer:

Until then, we'll make do with the joyous bursts.

18 comments:

  1. Hard to believe Enoch sleeps! Tee hee.

    We were very impressed by Roxy's progress too. It will improve. Our Kezia is recovering from her second femoral ostectomy and has days like this. Dr. has my lady encouraging Kezia to trot on leash like a jogger to strengthen those hips and then she can play and zoom. I think Kezia wishes she had a beach for zooming too! xoxoxo

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  2. oh, this is so sweet! i hope she continues to get stronger. :)

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  3. I believe what you described in humans is called physical therapy. lol As much as it hurts the next day in the long run it's good for you.

    Glad she at leasts has bursts. :)

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  4. What a touching post with fabulous pictures that tell the tale. Roxy is the cutest and her expressions, even in pictures are darling. I'm betting you are right about next summer. Roxy's leg will get stronger. We had a pup with a torn ACL and it seemed to take forever, but one day we realized that he was using it, all of the time, and there was no limp and seemingly no pain.

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  5. omg.....this is my most favorite post ever! those two are too cute together and the pic of enoch sleeping is too funny. it makes sense that roxy would need to strengthen the leg gradually. she sure is happy on the beach! teddy gets the cone off tomorrow! you are a great grandpuppy sitter!

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  6. Poor Roxy! May she have more and more joyous bursts until she can have them all pain free!

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  7. Oh, it's so painful to see our animals struggling with anything. Roxy seems like a smart girl who knows when to stop and rest. We all do that - go like mad when we feel good and then pay for it later. Enoch cracked me up with the shot of him laying half on/half off the bed. Too funny, the both of them.

    Big healing hugs for Roxy. And you.

    xoxo
    Carolynn

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  8. You're such a goodie. Roxy is so lucky to have a special human to understand and care for her. It's hard to see our furbabies have to go through things we wish we could take away...just like our kids. Rest up for more fun romps Roxy and Enoch....all of you on the bed okay?????

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  9. Thanks so much for the update. Physical therapy is hard work, but rewarding in the end. A hug to the pup.

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  10. This too shall pass Sweet Roxie, and soon you'll be romping down the beach pain-free!

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  11. This is such a sweet post Danni. I need to catch up with my blogging friends. I've been remiss. Didn't know about Roxie's damaged leg and operation.... but this post... it's wonderful. The joy a dog can show.
    As for Enoch.. that is the greatest photo of him sleeping. That dog is napping hard.

    What fun for them at the beach. Great pictures...

    Heal Roxie... life is good and you have people who care.

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  12. Oh, sweet, little Roxy! Who wouldn't love a little beach zooming, even if a little pain is the price to pay? But she has her loving Momma to help her with that afterward! :)
    She did indeed look like she was smiling zooming down that beach! :)

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  13. What an uplifting post....That little doggie Roxy has the spirit of 10 Great Danes by the looks of it...Sending healing honks from the Bronx Zoo to Roxy for a speedy recovery !! Oh, and how do you know the Rimadyl tastes like a doggie biscuit ?? Stay off Roxy's Meds Danni!! Haha !! ;-)

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  14. Thanks for the update on Roxy. Hopefully with every trip to the beach (physical therapy) her leg will get stronger. She is such a cute little girl.

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  15. That is one beautiful beach and a pair of beautiful dogs! Roxy looks so happy. I wish her continued and speedy healing.

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  16. Enoch looks like the definition of "dog tired." All my love to Roxy.

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  17. Awwwww. Sweet little Roxy. The recovery sounds long and painful, but it's wonderful that she enjoys "bursts" and those beach pictures just make me smile. I totally love the picture of Enoch spilling off his bed. He's such a lucky pup to have such fun grandparents :)

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  18. Me again...I didn't mean that Roxy only has to suffer "a little pain" even though that's what I said. I know that it must be way more than a little pain she has to endure for her bursts of fun so I need to apologize for sounding like it's not that bad for her.
    I hope her recovery is swift and that she'll feel better every day!

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