Thursday, April 14, 2011

Walking Wounded

Last night, Maisie got hurt.  Hurt in a way that scared me more than I've been scared in a long time.  When I got home with her yesterday, Chrissy was waiting for us on the deck. While Maisie excitedly greeted him, I dropped her leash to grab my house keys.  As she occasionally does when feeling hyper, she took off to run a lap around the fenced perimeter of the house.  After just a second or two, we heard a horrible cry and Maisie came limping back towards us.  Her right thigh was torn open all the way down to the muscle. Not knowing exactly what happened but completely freaked out nonetheless, we rushed to the car as I called the vet and told them we were on our way.  I simultaneously drove and cried, Chrissy sat in back with Maisie and attempted to console her.

My vet stayed open late to take care of Maisie.  Thankfully, they were able to just use a local anesthetic (combined with morphine) and didn't need to put her under.  It took eight stitches to close the wound and with the exception of vomiting, Maisie was a trooper throughout the whole process.

I was so grateful that they allowed me to take her home immediately afterwards, even in her extremely dopey state (and wearing the E-collar she'll be sporting for the next two weeks).  Maybe they just couldn't bear listening to me cry like a baby any longer.

She couldn't make it down the stairs by herself, just kind of hung out slumped over on the steps until I finally picked her up and carried her.

Maisie woke me at 6:00 this morning, whimpering.  I figured the morphine had worn off. She's on Rimadyl and antibiotics for seven days but can't go to daycare, the dog park, playdates or the dog walker's house until the stitches come out a week from next Tuesday. So we are about to have two very trying weeks.

Once it was light out, I went around the side of the house to see what could have caused such a deep, terrible cut.  I discovered one of the plastic covers for the filters on the air conditioner unit was broken and had a sharp, skewer-like piece of plastic protruding just a bit.  I can only assume that was the culprit.

I am very fortunate that I can bring Maisie to work with me every day for the next couple weeks as she recovers.  I took the cone off for a while today to let her nap more comfortably in the office, though I watched her like a hawk the entire time.  She actually seemed to gain energy towards the end of the day and jumped up on the bed all by herself when we arrived home.

The area in question looks slightly better today, mostly because I cleaned off the dried blood with a little water.

All in all, it was not an experience I ever wish to repeat.  I cried for about three hours straight, convinced it was my fault for letting go of the leash (something I do all the time without incident).  Did I mention that yesterday was my birthday?  :(

11 comments:

Seeso said...

So glad to know that Maisie's okay.

Maisie's Mom said...

It was so so scary...thank G-d Chrissy was with me and remained calm as I lost my mind.

In Black and White said...

Glad she's ok - don't beat yourself up over it, everyone the very best they can and sometimes accidents happen anyway.

rebakay said...

I'm so glad she's okay, but man that does look like one harsh cut. Also glad Chrissy was with you. What a trooper Maisie is. Man, she, and you, have had a rough week.

Of Pit Bulls and Patience said...

Oh my! I have to say, pit bulls are very accident prone, but they are also great at bouncing back. We were at the dog park when Skye ran into a tree and cut up her whole side, but she kept right on playing until I noticed. I'm glad she's on the mend, she'll be back to her old self in no time!

Maisie's Mom said...

thanks B&W and Misfits. the support within our little pittie blogger community for our sometimes problem dogs is awesome. I so appreciate it!

Unknown said...

Oh poor Maisie! I am glad that you were there & able to get her to the vet quickly.Happy belated birthday :)

Anonymous said...

Poor little bunny. I hope this doesn't make her hesitant to run around and have fun in the future! She'll be better before you know it-- and in the meantime, consider an inflatable e-collar. You can buy them at petsmart/petco, and they are MUCH more comfortable for the pooches.

Anonymous said...

Hi there! My name is Mayzie, too. (Only spelled different, which you prolly noticed already.) And I'm also part bully dog!

I'm ever so sorry that Maisie got hurt. That looks like it didn't feel good at all. But I'm glad it wasn't too, too bad. I'm sending her lots of brindle get-well wishes!

Wiggles & Wags,
Mayzie

Maisie's Mom said...

thanks for all the support, everyone. Maisie is a tough little monkey and doesn't seem to be in pain at all. we'll see how it goes once the stitches (and the fur regrowth) start to itch though. the biggest issue now (besides trying to crate her with the cone on) is that she's already getting a bit stir crazy...not sure how we'll deal with another exercise-free week and a half!

H Ski said...

I just found your blog.

Wow that is horrible. I am so glad that she is doing ok and you got to take her home last night. It is good that she is getting some energy back too. I am sure she will be herself in a couple of days you will have tough time trying to keep her mellow so she heals properly.