Minga's Accident

Minga was playing outside 3 weeks ago and Craig let her inside and then looked down at the rug she had walked on. There were bloody paw prints all over it! He found the bloody back paw and saw that she was cut pretty badly on the pad of her foot. The blood kept coming so we called the vet and they said to bring her in. It was an ordeal to get her to the car since her foot was bleeding and we didn't want her to walk on it because it would get dirty. Craig carried her (about 60 lbs then) to the Jeep and I put an old towel on the seat so it would get bloody instead of the seat.

The vet's office is actually located in our neighborhood (that's why we picked that one) so it was handy. Minga's blood got all over the waiting room and exam room floor. We didn't think to put her foot in a bag. Minga needed stitches because the cuts were so deep (you could see the pink flesh wanting to spill out of the gash). She had to stay overnight because it was late in the day and the vet wanted to be sure she was okay after waking up from the anesthesia. It was strange but a little nice not having her around for once. No whining in the morning to wake us up. Craig did miss her terribly though.

The next day we picked her up around noon and paid the vet $267 (services, anesthesia, bandage, 3 medications, etc). We saw that the bandage covered her paw and all the way up almost to the 1st joint in her leg. She hobbled a little, but not much. The vet said we had to keep the bandage dry or it would have to be changed. That meant we couldn't bathe her (she was overdue for a bath and we were going to give her one that night but our plans were thwarted by the accident) or let her play in the creek or spray of the hose. He also said we needed to keep her calm and off her feet as much as possible so the wounds would heal correctly. They are on a critical place for a pooch. If they didn't close up properly she could have trouble walking around outside because she'd have a sensitive spot on her pad. We were only allowed to let her outside for potty breaks and we had to cover the bandage with a plastic bag each time so it wouldn't get muddy or wet (our yard is all dirt right now). It was a tough 3 weeks for Minga (and us!). She was lacking exercise (vet's orders) and got really stir crazy, especially this past week. She is only 7 months and has so much energy. Craig signed her bandage for fun.







We had to give her 3 pills (pain and antibiotics) twice a day and one pill (the big one) she'd spit out if she tasted it. We tried burying it in various foods so she wouldn't notice it. We ended up making a gooey ball of peanut butter and the 2 capsule pills (the 3rd pill was actually a biscuit and she loved that one) and sometimes pieces of treats or her regular food. She enjoyed that so she got that from then on, but it was messy.

It was tiring to watch her like a hawk to make sure she didn't lick or bite her bandage because she certainly tried to do so a lot. At the end of the first week, the vet decided to take her bandage off. We saw that her stitches were pink! They matched the pink collar we just bought her so people would quit thinking she was a boy.



The next day we left her alone for a few hours and did fun things around town. When we came home we saw that she had pulled out 2 of her stitches. The wound was exposed again so we made her a temporary bandage out of Craig's old sock and duct tape. The vet wasn't open until Monday and during the night Minga chewed through the one part of the makeshift bandage that was sock instead of tape so we had to make her another one out of another old sock for Sunday. This time we taped it really really well. We took her to the vet first thing Monday morning and she got new stitches (low profile black ones) and a new bandage. That visit cost us $99 (services, anesthesia, bandage, etc).



By the end of the second week, she had bitten the top of her bandage during the night and it was flapping loose. We went to the vet Monday and he gave us a new bandage for free and ended up taking out a few of the first stitches. Yeah, progress and a free visit! During the third week, she turned from trying to get at her bandage to destroying her old favorite toys. She ripped holes in the stuffed plush toys and pulled out all the stuffing and turned the outer layer inside out. She tore apart her little rope toy so there were wet strands all over the carpet. What a mess! But, at least she wasn't destroying furniture or her bandage.

Then, today (another Monday) we took her to the vet and he took off her bandage and removed all her stitches! She spent all morning licking the sticky stuff that remained on her leg from the bandage. After 3 days we can let her run free and get wet again and things will be back to normal. Sweet relief! May she never be injured again! She cost us a pretty penny! Oy!