Just a Dog some people will say. And by some people, I mean myself about 6 years ago. I was never a real dog lover, probably because I never had one of my own. Now do not interpret that as we didn’t grow up with puppies, because lord knows we did. My sister and brother were constantly bringing one home, and they were always theirs, they were never my dog. This is not a “poor me” thing, I had my horses, and a damn cat that had 15 lives (whom I did really enjoy surprisingly), but never really grew attached to any dog we had.
Fast forward, we have had the worst luck with animals since The Rancher and I got married. Gus, our first dog, died after being ran over by The Rancher. Gus Gus, our second dog, died after being in a scrap with another animal. Then there is Gracie, who when we moved to Montana was given to the in-laws for safe keeping (she is a corgi, not a good mix with 3 foot of snow during the winter). And finally Holly. Yes, Holly is by far the best dog we have ever had, and nearly everyone agrees. She has been through quite a bit with us, and is the same age as the Princess (3). She is the best dog I could ever ask for, I have never worried about her with our children or anyone else’s, but if another dog comes near them she will circle up and protect so they do not get hurt. Best Dog Ever. Do you like her tutu?
So fast forward to two weeks ago. Holly was limping around and we figured she probably just bruised her foot or leg and it would heal up shortly. Nurse Nora tried to give her a bandaid to fix her “owie” but that didn’t work.
So last Friday Nora, Holly and I headed to the vet at Mountain View in Sheridan, Wy. We found out that Holly had ruptured her Achilles tendon in two places which is highly unusual. We were sent home with a splint through the weekend so that the vet had a chance to conference with two specialized Vets. It was a long day for all of us.
As it turns out this type of a wound is not good, at all. It is extremely costly to fix, and even then they will more than likely never be 100%. So after much debate we made the extremely hard decision to amputate that leg. If we were to leave it, it would just be an extra appendage and be more of a hindrance to her and could actual cause her more issues and pain. So on Monday, our poor Holly dog underwent surgery to remove her hind leg. We are still feeling terrible and sad that we had to do this, but at the same time, she is still alive, just a little less of her now :(. Here are some pictures of her new look.
Nora will be the first to tell you how you need to touch Holly right now “very gently” and that the Wildman is “pretty rough.” She has set herself up as Holly’s personal defender and will not hardly let The Rancher and I pet her unless we are under her supervision. I can tell you I am no nurse and am trying my very best to be strong and help with icing and care. But this is a hard situation to have to had done. Holly is in good spirits and is trying constantly to get outside and go, keeping her inside and not on the run is so hard for her. She is getting around great and seems like she was born with only 3 legs to begin with. Its just me that needs the healing process to wrap up so we can get back normal and she can jump onto the four wheeler and go cruising again.
I will do my best to keep you all updated on how her recovery goes.
