Grounded Puppy

Cheyenne's back leg wasn't getting any better after a week of rest so I brought her into see the veterinarian. A complete exam and a few x-rays later, our beloved vet said he had good news and bad news.

The good news is that there is no permanent damage and she did not break anything.

The bad news is that she has a stretched ligament and needs a month of "rest".

Of course, being a Lab owner, the first words out of my mouth (with a chuckle) were "What do you mean by rest? She is a Lab."

She will need on month of no playing ball, no running after a lazer light, no chasing anything, no dog park, no jumping on/off/over/through/etc anything, and pretty much keeping 4 paws on the ground at all times - for a whole month. We are even supposed to let her out to go potty while keeping her on a leash only, just in case she sees a rabbit and tries to chase it.

Hello?! We live in Wisconsin where it is snowing at this very moment and so cold that my limbs will fall off after two minutes. Let alone the ground is slippery and I can see Cheyenne pulling me along like a sleigh without a care in the world while I try to keep my balance in my bath robe and slippers first thing in the morning. *laugh*

Thankfully we live on a small bit of land so we don't really have to worry about the leash part. However, we must do our best to give her a full month of rest for the vet has warned us that should the leg not get better, she may need surgery. I think that is enough of a scare for any dog owner to listen to the wise veterinarian - even if it means losing their own sanity in the meantime.