H is off to the vet bright and early tomorrow morning for some exploratory day surgery on his left hind leg foot. Despite two trips to the vet and numerous antibiotics he has been hobbling around on 3 legs for about 10 days now. The vet is confident that a foreign object has worked its way high up into his foot and it is a simple cut and extract procedure which will give H immediate relief give or take a few more antibiotics.

Being an overly protective owner I won’t be able to relax until it has all been confirmed as a relatively harmless piece of glass, dealt with accordingly and my lazy boy is back sunning himself on his favourite sofa.

I look forward to seeing you all at the next GAL walk in June, hopefully with a sound dog in tow!

Kate

ouch - poor hawkeye. hope the surgery goes well and he’s back to normal soon!

Kx

Poor Hawkeye, Byron is also going into the vet for an exploratory on his front foot tomorrow!
He had a small cut a week ago and antibiotics seemed to be doing the trick but they finished on Thursday and last night he was three-legged with a very swollen toe.
The poor boy already freezes in terror at the vets and today she tried to give him an antibiotic injection but he got himself in such a state (I gather it is quite a sore jab) she only got half in before she had to stop, he was so distressed his back legs completely gave way and he collapsed in a heap in shock.
I am not looking forward to tomorrow, he will have to be knocked out for them to do anything.
On top of that I get results of a urine sample from Nell who has developed some bladder control issues. The poor old girl has started to leak in her sleep which may just be old age incontinence but the protein levels in her pee are very high so we shall see.
Maybe Hawkeye and Byron can compare their paws - and foreign objects at the next walk!
Marie

Good luck to both boys, Nell and the two anxious owners.

Let us know how all the dogs get on tomorrow.

Joyce

Thank you for all your kind thoughts. I am beaming good luck vibes to Byron, Nell and also Loki for their veterinary trips and updates. Meanwhile I will be spending the day at work tomorrow with my mind far from being on my work..

Good luck to all. I’ll let you know how H gets on and will hope to hear good news about Byron, Nell and loki.

Well Byron is home with a giant green bandage around his foot. Turned out something had pierced his pad and worked its way all the way through and out the top of his toe (ouch!)
As I expected after his performance at the vets yesterday he had to be given a general anaesthetic before they could look at it.
I was a little concerned by Nell’s utter indifference to him not being around all day - she really didn’t seem to notice he was not there.
However when I brought Byron home tonight she bounced around him in delight tail wagging as she ran between a rather doped up Byron and me. It was the most animated I have seen her for some time and very sweet.
She is now on incontinence medication for her little problem.
The boy is zonked and probably will be for the rest of the night.
How did Hawkeye do, Kate?
Marie

Hi Marie

Lightning strikes twice it would seem - H is also back from the vet, but without bandages, after a sharp object similarly had pierced its way right up into his foot leaving an infection that needs stronger antibiotics to help clear it up. How I missed this incident I will never know, since he uttered not a sound in my company that would suggest such a calamitous event had ever happened, and he is not known to hold back (cue greyhound screams) when something causes him the slightest discomfort! I am heartily relieved that it turned out to be something minor, as I had a very bad afternoon and early evening after I had rung the vet for a progress check at lunch time only to be told that there was no foreign object in the foot, they had had to take X rays, and they were not prepared to comment on his X rays over the phone. I spent several hours imagining the worst possible scenarios, and even managed to disgrace myself in the vet’s waiting room, when he was running 20 minutes late, by shedding a panic stricken tear or two. Thankfully H is made of more stalwart stuff than I am and was far more interested in dragging the nurse into the supply cupboard in pursuit of potential snacks than in having an ecstatic reunion with his shamefully tear stained owner. He is now safely home zonked out on his favourite spot on the sofa where I can keep a beady eye on him.

I am glad that Byron managed to get through his traumatic experience at the vet, poor lad, and that Nell’s incontinence can be managed with medicine.

I can only say that I am heartily glad this day is over before the next set of bumps and scrapes takes me vetwards again.

Hugs and wishes for a speedy recovery to all.

Kate

Excellent to hear that all 3 are on the road to recovery -and that both owners have pulled through what must have been a traumatic day.

I had a similar experience with the vet and Branny recently when they wouldn’t tell me the result of an xray and I remember well how the nightmare scenarios run thorugh your head.

I’m sure all 3 will make speedy recoveries now.
Malc

I’m so glad that Hawkeye, Nell and Byron are doing well. Meg ripped out her dew claw a couple of weeks ago and I was terrified. There was so much blood. I actually fainted on the canal, coming to to find a woman holding Ollie’s lead and staring at me. :/ Mind you, after I touched her paw I touched my t-shirt and my face and got blood everywhere so god knows what this woman thought I had done! I hope all the hounds continue to be ok. Big hugs from me, Meg and Ollie.

Hi Kate,
Glad to hear it’s nothing serious.  And you can relax now that its over.  We can’t help but worry, especially when they can’t talk to tell us what’s sore.