Quick bit from her first day home POST amputation
A week before we picked her up! Such a ham for the camera 🙂
This morning, we dredged 11 miles one way through the start of the ice storm that had been on its way for about the past week just so we could pick Ashli up from the vet. The first thing they said as we walked in was,
“someone is going to be glad to see you!”
Have you ever felt like what you were experiencing at the moment was so surreal, like a dream almost, then someone does or says something that pulls you out of that state and plops you right into the moment? Well, when they said that, I was taken right out of my sleep deprived, 48% actual awakened state and plopped right into that moment. My heart was racing and I felt butterflies in my stomach. They couldn’t walk us back to her fast enough!
As soon as we headed down the hall, the vet was explaining how Ashli flat refused her pain meds (I believe I mentioned SHE’S GOOFY!) and that if we could get her to take them, one a day with food….blah blah….the second I said, “ok” I heard Ashli explode from the kennel room! Her high pitched “aroo roo roo” told me she KNEW it was us! ❤
See, ever since she was about a year old, we noticed she had developed different barks for certain types of people. If her bark was a deep, constant rolling growl with spikes, she would be barking at someone she wasn’t familiar with that was male. If she barked or growled a midrange pitch, she would likely be seeing a female she was not familiar with. Now, if her barks were very short and staccato and higher pitched yet, it was a child, any child it didn’t matter to her.
So her bark acknowledging us (high pitched like her bark for kids but no barking, just “talking”) was the sweetest thing EVER and totally made my day!
When the vet opened the door, her kennel was the first one, and as she saw us, she jumped up, tail wagging and STILL talking to us, like she always has! Have I mentioned how much we love her? 😆 So, the vet hooked the leash to her collar and handed the other end to my husband as Ashli took off out of the kennel, around the vet, into the hallway…..WAIT!…turns back around to grab a welcoming hug from me then about drug Dave to the door, READY TO GO HOME!
I wasn’t able to comprehend what was happening as fast as she was moving, and she did it like she still had her leg. ❤ I took her leash at the door so Dave could pay and she was nose up to that door dancing around….READY!
She had to potty and went straight to the back of the truck to do her thing. As she’s doing that, someone had pulled up beside us with their dog. The man, I noticed, was sliding backwards because of the ice that had accumulated in the brief time we were inside. I had forgotten it was going to be icy from the moment we walked in the clinic, so when I saw the man sliding, I thought…oh my, Ashli went right across the sheet of ice without a problem, WOW!
At that moment, she squatted down to do her business and her front leg list traction on the icy ground and she slid down smoothly onto the ground. Dave lifted her front end do she wouldn’t pee on herself. (dogs have dignity, too) and let her finish her business. As soon as she did, though, she turned and was jumping into the truck on her own!
She LOVES rides and has always been the BEST traveling dog! When we got her we lived in the panhandle of Idaho. (Dave is from there) In 2011 we moved back to Kansas. It took us 5 days to make the trip. She and Jessy occupied the backseat and as soon as we’d hit highway speed, she’d lay down with her head on the ridge of the little side window and watch out for a bit, then nestle up by Jessy (or hog the entire seat depending on who you ask) and go to sleep till we slowed back down under 30mph again. Everytime all the time that’s just how she rides!
So, we drop down under 30 once we enter city limits and she sits up looking around. The closer we get to home, the more quickly her tail wags and the panting and looking around gets more intense.
Soon as we pull in our driveway, I run inside to get Jessy to help get her out of the truck. He and Dave stood out in the cold and ice for about 10 minutes trying to pick her up out of the vehicle but she wanted to jump out on her own. To be safe, that wasn’t about to happen if we had anything to do with it! They finally caught her off guard and got a hold of her before she could see what they were doing and back up out of their reach.
Up the steps she goes….then stops at the bottom of the steps to the porch to do her business again. She had a bit of a time turning around to do up the porch steps because she was on a hill. It was very comical to watch Dave try to steer her off the hill but he got it done and did a great job, too!
Needless to say, her first day home as a tripawd was fairly eventless, but what a great day it turned out to be! So, for now, it’s off to sleep where I can drift without worried thoughts and suddenly remembering, as I reach out to pet her, that she isn’t home right now. I didn’t forget a pictures at least! 👍 💚 🐶
Yes, she had a shirt on, it’s a Jamaican shirt, so she can look like a cool dog….cause she is!! 😍 Plus, it’s helping hold the bandage in place! (wink)