Jack walked out of the veterinarian’s office on three legs,
and very anxious to get home. Made a lot of sense because he had been kenneled
there for about ten days while we were on vacation, and then home for only
about four days before the accident. He was happy to be home, yet not his usual
self. After his medications ran out, we realized that the medications, however
helpful, made him dopey and gave him a loss of appetite.
We took Jack to his favorite place in the world, besides his
home. In Sumpter, he did a little running and then crashed from exhaustion. Understandable
since he has to develop new muscles and carry his weight differently. The next
day, he’d walked up the fifth-wheel steps, went walking around the property and
dipped in the water to cool off. Not only was he happy, but it thrilled us to
see him do everything he once did.
Our little dog, Emmy, was reserved when we brought Jack home
from the vet, by keeping her distance for a while. We thought Jack had done
everything he had always done in Sumpter, until he started playing with Emmy
again. It was the icing on the cake to see them play and Emmy was jubilant to
get her old Jack back.
We had to return to the veterinarian’s office to get his stitches
out. I don’t remember a time when he was this upset at having to go anywhere. Poor
guy probably thought he had to stay there again. He whined loudly in the
waiting room and back in the clinic when he got his stitches out - which made
another dog in the waiting room whine fearfully. Obviously, he was happy to leave
the building and come back home.
It is amazing what dogs can do on three legs. Depressed? No.
Dogs don’t appear to obsess about a leg beginning gone, as long as they are not
in pain and with the family they love. I know that we have much to learn from
Jack, and Emmy for that matter.
