Yet another…

[Pillywiggin]

…my life sucks thread. I know we don’t really need another one but I’m tired, stressed out and feel really crappy and have an overwhelming urge to bitch about it. So I’m going to.


So noonish yesterday my mother let Gypsy, our panty eating puppy outside. At around one she found out the fence gate had been forced open and the dog was gone. I hiked all around for 90 minutes trying to find her before giving up; Gypsy’s got out twice before and each time she came home in a few hours. At six we got a call from the vet saying that she’d been brought in and had been hit by a car about a block from our house. (I am really starting to loathe those things)

Incredibly nothing’s been broken, but her hind left leg is pretty mangled. None of her internal organs have ruptured and x-rays after 24 hours show that there isn’t any blood in her lungs, both of which were serious concerns. There’s a lot of dirt and debris in her leg so she’s going to have surgery on Sunday.

The major concern at the moment is that she’ll get a serious infection in her leg and die, but we've been told that that's unlikely because she’s being closely monitored. The secondary concern is that she’ll get a bad infection and they’ll have to amputate the leg.

The best case scenario is that she’ll start to heal and can come home in a week or so. Hopefully, she’d eventually recover the full use of her leg (the nerves, tendons and most of the major muscles are intact), though that would involve daily vet visits for several months because she’s been de-gloved.



*angst* *cry* *sob*



Okay, I’m done now.


Has anyone ever delt with a seriously injured or crippled pet like this before? I took care of my old dog when she started to go lame, but Gypsy’s still young and was very energetic and active.

Tips, advice and feel-good pet recovery stories would be nice about now…

[Grabmygoblin]

sorry to hear about Gypsy.

Has anyone ever delt with a seriously injured or crippled pet like this before? I took care of my old dog when she started to go lame, but Gypsy’s still young and was very energetic and active.

Tips, advice and feel-good pet recovery stories would be nice about now…

several. if I haven't mentioned it enough already, I grew up around all sorts of animals.

one, Frank the cat, was hit by a car and was paralyzed from the waist down. er... mid-section. he couldn't move his back legs and tail, let's put it like that. normal families might have had him put down, but that wasn't an option with my parents. instead my dad built him a large wooden box that we kept in our living room, and we would take him out to play with and put him back afterwards. he actually lived several more years quite happily, even taking a liking to curling up on top of our big dog Lassie, who seem amused by it.

we have a 20-year-old cat named Smokey. (at least, we still do as far as I know, but his kidneys began to shut down last time I was home) he is one tough animal. he was a stray initially and moved in when he developed an infection from a wound. my parents had it treated and he was fine, but for years he would go hunting (not mousing, HUNTING) and would sometimes return limping. he even has been hit by a car TWICE, one time breaking a back leg, but he wouldn't let that stop him.

we had another cat that had to have her tail amputated, but that never really bothered her.

yet another cat contracted herpes. stop laughing you. in cats, it can be fatal, but we treated him. he had sinus problems all his life and terrible breath. near the end of his long happy life he went blind. he was happy dispite his aliments.

my parents have never put down a pet, and several became much slower in old age. they weren't in pain, but sometimes could not walk by themselves. as long as they weren't in pain, my parents just helped them out a bit more by moving the food closer and snuggling a bit more.

I don't think you should worry. if your puppy survived the accident and you have already taken him to the vet, he will likely be fine.

if something harsh must be done like amputating a leg, he will just learn to walk on three legs instead of four. be prepared to change your own habits with him if something goes wrong. animals are a lot like people, they can adjust to a lot. as long as you are there to care for him, he will be happy.

[McDuffies]

My friend had a cat, he adopted it as a kitten from the street. Then recently, the cat was badly kicked at the street (first we thought it was a car but it was probably just someone's foot). The hit was so bad that it left the cat not feeling his legs at all. My friend was really dedicated to taking care of the cat so eventually the cat retained feel of his front legs. Still, cat with back legs paralized wasn't a pretty sight. But then the doctor told him that there was no chance of getting back legs back, so he decided to have the cat put to sleep after all.

[Avatar007]

My gf had a dog that was missing his front left leg. As far as anyone could tell, the dog didn't give a damn (I honestly don't believe they're smart enough to know the difference).

He could still run around and do all that good puppy stuff, he'd just stumble once in a while (comically).

[Garneta]

I nearly had an animal situation tonight. The stray cat that I mentioned awhile back ("Groovy Cat" we're calling him) chased something across the road as we were coming down the hill, and Jim said that he nearly ran out again, right in front of the car. He's allright, though! Caught him outside the apartment eating some catfood just a few minutes ago.

[ChibiJess]

I'll tell you the story of Yoda - the evil disguised as a cat I raised.

About 3 years ago, a lady at my mom's work, who owns a farm, brought in a kitten. This thing was only about a week old, and had been abducted from it's litter. She found it in her driveway, still alive, and mewling. So my mom agrees to take it home, and we started to bottle feed it.

Unfortunately, it couldn't walk right, and was dragging it's front leg (we couldn't tell if the kitten was male at this time). So we took it to the vets. Apparently, a dog had picked the poor thing up, and the bacteria in the bite wound had created an abcess. So off he went to surgery. After 3 surgeries, two of which involved putting a drain in his shoulder that could be flushed - basically a porous tube in the open wound - he was finally bacteria free, although alittle warped mentally.

That was 3 years ago. He's much better now. This is Yoda now:

[Pillywiggin]

*mcduffies’ friend’s story*

Happy stories! Happy stories!!!!

*Yoda’s story*

Like this one!

My gf had a dog that was missing his front left leg. As far as anyone could tell, the dog didn't give a damn (I honestly don't believe they're smart enough to know the difference).

He could still run around and do all that good puppy stuff, he'd just stumble once in a while (comically).

I think there might be more problems with a missing back leg. Going to the bathroom would be trickier and I’m not sure how she would handle things like climbing stairs or getting onto furniture because the hind legs are the ones that do all the work. No frisbee catching either.

Though that does still leave her with a lot of other puppy stuff to do. And I’m bad with a frisbee anyway.

sorry to hear about Gypsy.

*lots of good stories*

I don't think you should worry. if your puppy survived the accident and you have already taken him to the vet, he will likely be fine.

if something harsh must be done like amputating a leg, he will just learn to walk on three legs instead of four. be prepared to change your own habits with him if something goes wrong. animals are a lot like people, they can adjust to a lot. as long as you are there to care for him, he will be happy.

Thanks, I’m actually feeling a bit more hopeful now. We went to sit with her today and she seemed much more alert and managed to eat a little bit. She even stood up for a little while.

Though part of my optimism probably springs from the fact that her leg was bandaged up today… it wasn’t yesterday.

[Rkolter]

My first pet, a miniture beagle named Molly, had her back go out on her. She was 18 or so and basically completely arthritic. We nursed her back to health once, but it came back.

It's hard. But happy times would be meaningless if you didn't have sorrow to compare it to. Good luck, and give your pet a scratch for us.

[Shannon]

What a precious, lovely girl.

Know what? Nearly exactly the same thing happened to a friend's dog many years ago. Hit by a car and his hind leg was mangled badly, though nothing broken. I remember my friend used to have to carry him up and down the stairs at the apartments so he could go wee. And he had to keep the wound irrigated because it was wide open, there was not enough skin to sew it up.

ANYway, didn't mean to ramble, but that doggie got completely well without even a limp to show, just a scar. I know your baby will, too. She sounds like she's loved too much for it to be any other way!

[CorpAmis]

Thats sad....But look at the bright side....He's being taken care of....If you lived in my country where pet care sucks....It would have been hell...My Lucky died because of teh doc failing to realise the need for a blood transfusion.......

[Killbert-Robby]

Good luck with your dog. I have a few stories, but they're sad endings, so I won't bother really.

[McDuffies]

*mcduffies’ friend’s story*

Happy stories! Happy stories!!!!

Well the happiest pet story I know is that my cat won't go out in the street, and is panically afraid of cars. That guarantees that she won't eventually be run over by a car.
She also avoids mouses and rats ever since a giant rat bit her on the cheek and she barely survived infection.
And she's much less interested in mating ever since she nearly died from sepse...

Um... well, she did survive after all.

[Pillywiggin]

It's hard. But happy times would be meaningless if you didn't have sorrow to compare it to. Good luck, and give your pet a scratch for us.

Oh, I suppose. Still, it would have been nice if this hadn’t happened for another few weeks/months until my head had finished healing from my run in with a car. Well, not nice but more convenient. Actually, it'd be nice if it never happened at all.

On the other hand it could have happened a few weeks ago when I was really loopy.

What a precious, lovely girl.

Yeah, she’s a sweetie…

Know what? Nearly exactly the same thing happened to a friend's dog many years ago. Hit by a car and his hind leg was mangled badly, though nothing broken. I remember my friend used to have to carry him up and down the stairs at the apartments so he could go wee. And he had to keep the wound irrigated because it was wide open, there was not enough skin to sew it up.

ANYway, didn't mean to ramble, but that doggie got completely well without even a limp to show, just a scar. I know your baby will, too. She sounds like she's loved too much for it to be any other way!

That does sound exactly like what happened to her.

Unfortunately, she’s lost to much flesh over the joint and we’ve been told that it’d never heal so they’re going to have to take it off. In the short term (a few weeks) it’ll be harder on her, but in the long run the vet doesn’t think it’ll make a difference to her.

And with luck when my dad sees her after the surgery he won’t pass out like he did right after she was hurt.

Thats sad....But look at the bright side....He's being taken care of....If you lived in my country where pet care sucks....It would have been hell...My Lucky died because of teh doc failing to realise the need for a blood transfusion.......

Condolences.

I truely think we owe the vet flowers and a fruit basket for this. And the people at animal control who caught her. And the woman who found her and called them…

Good luck with your dog.

Thanks.

*happy cat story*

.........

[Blackaby]

I had a magpie that someone shot for a long time... we used to feed it and it seriously pulled through and it had a HOLE IN THE MIDDLE OF IT. The magpie walked and everything and could eat and I mean IT GOT SHOT, there was a huge gaping hole right through the damn bird.

Of course then some stupid woman in a fucking animal shelter choked it with some bread, the idiot. But that's not the point.

Animals can do it! Have faith!

[Maq041]

My boyfriend and I recently adopted a cat of about 1 year old. It had a badly broken leg (you could see where the bone was pushing against it's skin from inside). Unfortunatly, it had already healed in that position. I've taken him to the vet several times, but the doctor said nothing short of re-braking or surgery would help him. However, he's got Feline Lukemia, so he's more likely to die under the knife. So we opted against it. That was several weeks ago.

He's able to use his leg, and he hops up and down on the furniture. Most people if they watch him don't know he's got a broken leg. Animals are very sturdy. While an injury like that may cause problems down the line, for the most part, they cope.

I sure hope Gypsy is alright. Seems like a sweet puppy.

[Pimpette]

Our dog Scamp had some problems with one of her hind legs when she was a puppy. Torn ligaments or something, I don't remember. She had to go in for surgery a couple times, and we were afraid she'd have a really bad leg her whole life.
But people & animals (especially young ones) have an amazing ability to bounce back. She healed eventually, and now you can't even tell - except for her tendency to sit a little funny, with one of her legs tucked under. It looks odd but she doesn't seem to notice.
She's turning fifteen next month, and she still bounds around like a puppy and steals socks and underpants and stuff.


Puppy wuppy.

[Christwriter]

Animals Christwriter has lost to cars:

Cats:
Jeffery-fluffy orange kitten
Spot-black and white short hair
Mao-tse (pronounced Mousie)--cross eyed stray
Snickers-Fluffy calico kitten
The Tux-black and white stray, notable only because I watched the cat get run over and die...Not. Pretty. Made all of the above hurt that much more.

Dogs:
Thunder-black and white, sweet puppy
Explorer-fluffy white and brown dog.

I. HATE. CARS.

CW

[Grabmygoblin]

I. HATE. CARS.

amen.

I could give all of you a long-winded speech about urban planning and the flaws of a society relying heavily on car usage, but I'll spare you all today.

[Pillywiggin]

*magpie story*

Animals can do it! Have faith!

Thanks, I’m trying.

Surgery is tomorrow though. I’m rather weak stomached when it comes to things like this. I’m never eating drumsticks again

*cat story*

Ow. Good luck with that.

I sure hope Gypsy is alright.

She was feeling well enough today to growl all the big dogs!

Seems like a sweet puppy.

She is! Usually... kinda... sometimes...

She leaves the little dogs alone...

Our dog Scamp had some problems with one of her hind legs when she was a puppy. Torn ligaments or something, I don't remember. She had to go in for surgery a couple times, and we were afraid she'd have a really bad leg her whole life.
But people & animals (especially young ones) have an amazing ability to bounce back. She healed eventually, and now you can't even tell - except for her tendency to sit a little funny, with one of her legs tucked under. It looks odd but she doesn't seem to notice.

Australian shepherds have a funny way of lying down with their legs sticking out behind them. Because of this I’ve been known to occasionally refer to my dog as “Frog” (or “Toad” if she’s being bad). I’m going to have to come up with something new now.

She's turning fifteen next month, and she still bounds around like a puppy and steals socks and underpants and stuff.

I never thought that I’d want my little monster to eat more of my underwear, but now it seems that it would be a good sign.

I. HATE. CARS.

Booyah!!!

My first cat got hit by a car too. More people should walk.

[Garneta]

I. HATE. CARS.

Booyah!!!

My first cat got hit by a car too. More people should walk.

Or drive a LOT more carefully than they do!