I had a couple weeks of holidays to use up before the end of the fiscal year so I decided to take another staycation. Since I was home, I thought it would be a good time to get the house and the dog in order. With the spring weather finally here, I booked Wicket in for a grooming. As you can see, he does look quite adorable with his velvet coat. (Not to mention the snazzy bandana.) But apparently he was a wiggly worm during his appointment and the groomer nicked his ear slightly. (Yes, the same ear that was bitten at daycare a couple years ago. What luck.) Fortunately it was a small nick and with the vet's office being right next door, the groomer had him looked after very quickly.
A few days later, he was scheduled for a dental cleaning. He's at the age now where he needs a cleaning pretty much every year. Our vet clinic does a great job with dental work so we know he's always in good hands. The night before he was due for his cleaning, he got very excited about some flyers being delivered. He launched himself off the couch and had a hard landing. He didn't yelp or anything, but it was quite a thud and he looked a little stunned. Shortly after that I noticed he was limping. When I dropped him off at the vet in the morning, I asked if they could also look at his leg.
Mid-morning I got a phone call from the vet. She'd had a look at his knee and he had torn his ACL. But wait! There was more! He also needed to have two teeth extracted, as they had become abscessed. (And also apparently his liver enzymes were up. Oy.) So not a great day for our little fur ball.
After the dental surgery was over, we met with the vet to talk about options for his ACL repair. Because it was a full tear, without knee surgery he would be completely lame in his left hind leg. Fortunately he is a good candidate for the surgery and should have excellent results. His knee might not ever be the same but he should regain full mobility. (But no more jumping off the couch. Mommy can't afford it!) Our little monster is booked in this Thursday. And then we'll have a few weeks of rehab therapy after that. He's going to have to be kept immobile for the first while, which is not going to make him happy. It's going to be hard to keep him from getting cabin fever.
On the bright side, his dental surgery went well. We had noticed that he was eating less but had attributed it to him getting older. Now it seems that his teeth might have been hurting him and that's why he wasn't eating as much. He's on soft food now (which he's never had before) and his appetite has come roaring back to life. We thought he might eat one can of food per day (1/2 in the morning, 1/2 in the evening). Instead our little horse has been mowing through 4 cans per day! I would put his food bowl down and literally 10 minutes later he would be scratching for more. I basically spent the morning taking the can in and out of the fridge for him. We finally wised up and bought the larger cans, plus increased his serving size. However, this is a temporary diet. I love him but I can't see myself spending $10/day on his soft food habit! He will be going back to kibble when his mouth heals up. (Which is also better for his remaining teeth.)
Anyway, while it has been heartbreaking to see him limping it's good to know our boo will be on the mend soon!