Making Lemonade

Izzy's wound.

It's been too long since I've posted! We were on vacation for a week. Izzy stayed with Tracy (her breeder) and met a new friend, Maeve. She was having so much when we left, she didn't even notice. She did great and enjoyed her vacation as much as we did ours. It was so nice to not worry about her.

I think she forgot most of what we taught her though. She chased the cats, pulled on the leash with new vigor, rushed through the child gates and forgot what "come" means when she got home. Some of this could be the adolescence phase as well.

She had a play date with Maya on Thursday, and they had a blast. She was more respectful of Maya's signals this time. Today she had a date with Iylah. Those two really love each other. They were excited to see each other and had a great time playing. Unfortunately, near the end of their session Izzy crashed headfirst at a high rate of speed into our metal pumphouse. It made a horrible sound. She is such a tough girl and plays so rough. I have worried about her injuring herself and she finally did. Thankfully it just resulted in a laceration. It could have been so much worse.

We cleaned it up and I had no idea if it needed stitches. It seemed deep and I didn't want to make the wrong call. I called a regular clinic that had Saturday hours. They couldn't see her but the vet looked at photos and recommended we get her in today to the ER vet. That was so kind of that clinic to take the time to help us. So off to the ER clinic we went knowing there was a 2 to 4 hour wait.

A closer look at Izzy's wound.

Well, we had to wait 3 hours. We got to see a vet we knew who used to work at our regular clinic which was great. He thought it would heal on its own but would heal more quickly with stitches. However, she would have to be sedated and we would then need to keep her from scratching at them. The scar might be a bit less with stitches. If it was his dog, he would let it heal so that's what we are doing. Everyone was so apologetic about our wait but the fact that we had to wait meant Izzy didn't have a major issue and we were thankful for that. My other trips to the vet have been with critically sick or injured pets and we have been taken in right away. Our dog Halie had collapsed suddenly, and the staff rushed out with a gurney and took her right back. She died the next day. I would much prefer to go and wait and not have a pet who has a serious injury or illness. Plus, this was a great activity for Izzy. She did so well. I was dreading waiting with a 6-month-old and she surprised us. She actually worked on a chew in the waiting room. While interested in other dogs and cats, she did not pull towards any of the other animals. In the exam room while she was bored and paced and whined some initially, overall, she did amazing. She sat with us, then sniffed and explored and then sat with us and after about an hour, went to sleep. Such a good puppy!

In the waiting room. Incredible for a 6-month-old dog in an ER waiting room.

So, she'll probably have a small scar. Emmi had a scar on her nose and I got asked about it a lot on visits. I was kind've hoping Izzy wouldn't have one but that's OK. It makes a good story.

She sleeps!