Sam, the million-dollar dog
Well, we’ve had our first new house mishap, and unfortunately it’s not an easy hardware issue like a broken water pipe or some damaged fixture. It’s the Corgi.
Sam, aka Ms Princess Paws, the biggest drama queen dog ever who is generally too timid to take on a paper bag… blew out her knee. She’s the NBA All-Star of the Glo-Ball fetching circuit, and has sustained a CCL tear in her pursuit of greatness.
This is apparently common in the in-bred circles of AKA Welsh Corgis — their long bodies and short stubby legs leave them vulnerable to hip, back, and knee ailments. She already has a dinged-up knee cap, and the ligament injury exacerbates that problem. So what happens to her is what happens to Magic Johnsons and David Robinsons… she goes under the knife to have it repaired. With an eye towards recovery of her former grace and style, they’ll clean out the ripped tissue, and suture in lateral support. They’ll fix the groove and re-fasten her patella. She’ll get doggie drugs and a recovery period, then she starts puppy physical therapy.
My parents once paid to have our family dog repaired after a major back injury. My mother had to keep the little bastard in a playpen, and carry him bodily down the back steps several times a day so that he could go out and use the bathroom. Sometimes, he was so disoriented that as soon as they hit the patio, he’d begin to urinate. Yet mom cared for him, pee and all. And urination wasn’t the last of it — the financial price of his care wasn’t negligable. But there still wasn’t any question.
It’s the same — there is no question now. It’s just a matter of time, money, scheduling. So the next weekend will be dedicated to doggy recovery and rehab. Too bad they don’t make temporary little doggie wheelchairs. That would be so cool.