The Saddest Dog you Ever Saw

Logan has had a sore paw for a while, so I finally took him in to see the vet.

Poor dog.  When we were home and he saw me grab the leash, he started wagging and got so excited because he was sure that leash meant we were going somewhere fun – presumably the dog park.

Little did he know…

We got to the vet and he was pretty distracted by all the interesting dog/cat/whatever smells everywhere.  When we got back to the exam room, he started shaking.  He gets terrified and frankly, I’m surprised he’s never bit anyone back there.  I have to say the vet who saw him was great – he was a big guy, over 6′, I’d guess, but he got right down on the floor and was very gentle and reassuring with Logan.

The verdict?  He definitely has a swollen and inflamed foot, the cause of which is undetermined at this point.  (I wasn’t willing to shell out for an x-ray).  So we are treating with a steroid and an antibiotic.  Logan’s paw was wrapped to protect it from chewing and an Elizabethan collar was recommended to keep him from messing with it.

My poor doggie — the treatment was way worse that the cause.  He came out all bandaged up, with a plastic bag covering the bandage and that big ole collar.  The bag meant no traction and he kept slapping his foot spastically as if he couldn’t figure out what to do with that paw.  And of course he couldn’t get to it to check it out.  The collar was messing with his depth perception – he was banging his head into everything and that was stressing him out.  He couldn’t even walk up the steps without his head getting stuck.

The poor thing floundered for a while and then eventually just gave up and lay down his head.  He looked utterly miserable and defeated. As Wallace would say, “The bounce has gone from his bungee.”

I took pity on him and removed the collar and the bag.  He looked at me so gratefully, I swear he promised me with his eyes that he wouldn’t touch his bandage if only I swore to keep the evil collar away.  So far he has kept up his end of the bargain and I have held up mine.

Cost of an e-collar worn for a total of 20 minutes?  $17 grumble grumble grumble…

Cost of a “swollen foot” diagnosis & treatment?  $186.

The sight of my doggie happy to be collar free?  Priceless.

Hopefully the meds will do the trick and heal up his foot.  He’s gonna need it – we’re going to the beach soon!