What You Kneed to Know

I'm a dog.  I love to play. All. The. Time.

But I haven't been doing too much playing lately. Nope.  And it's not because I don't want to play.  It's because Matthew and Alicia don't want me to play.  I keep bringing them toys and asking them to throw Mr. Squeaks and his squeaky family members.  They ignore me.  I try to run and jump around outside.  They pull my leash closer and say "No!" in a stern voice.  They've even stopped taking me to play with my friends and I haven't been to the dog park in weeks.

I don't like!

They say it's because of my limp.  You see, while they were away in China at the end of March, I was staying with Gerri.  At Gerri's I play approximately 23 hours a day, taking small breaks only to go to the bathroom, drink water and occasionally eat a bite or two of kibble.  There is no sleep.  I can't take a chance on missing out on some of the fun the other dogs are having. Anyway, it was while I was at Gerri's that I got hurt.  But it isn't her fault.

My 3-legged paw stand.

You see, it seems that I have a small tear in my cruciate ligament (that's like my doggy ACL).  After over a week of me limping and them hoping that rest would heal me (and it partially did), Matthew took me to the vet. I love going to the vet, so that part was great!  While at the vet, they fawned all over me and showered me with love and affection.  The vet told me that what Alicia calls my "rear passenger side" leg was swollen at the knee and that it was likely due to a tear in my cruciate ligament.  She sent me home with a prescription of Rimadyl (doggy ibuprofen) and recommended rest and a glucosamine supplement.  She also provided information about surgery.

Matthew and Alicia have been trying to do as much as possible to avoid having to go the surgery route.  I love taking my medicine (it tastes like liver!) and after a week of resting and meds my limp was gone!  Then on Saturday, I went crazy on my leash because I wanted to play with a dog.  I couldn't help it.  I'd been so good for a whole week! I had to play.  I re-injured my knee.  Oops.

Then I became really clingy.  And needy.  And Alicia broke down and let me snuggle with her on the couch. I couldn't believe it!

Then, on Sunday, while she was cleaning and organizing the bedroom closet, I took it upon myself to self-soothe by couch snuggling on my own.

Alicia was not a fan.

Anyway, I'm still limping and still acting very needy.  It's wearing Matthew and Alicia out, but I can't help it.  They made an appointment to see a specialist and we're going to look into surgery alternatives - having a man make a custom-fit leg brace that will keep me from further injury and allow me to heal - and otherwise thinking about proceeding with the surgery.  I'm still a puppy, so it's hard to force me to rest.  I don't like it.  I never complain about my knee, but I do limp a lot, and they don't like that.  They also don't like keeping me from having fun and not allowing me to play.

I'll keep you updated with my progress.  Hopefully I'll be back in action soon!