Emma- the bad and now the Good

Emma escaped from the yard Thursday night/Friday morning and got hit by a car. She was taken to our local vet who called me as I was searching for her. I knew she was alive but in bad shape. Emma is eight years old.

When I arrived, Emma was wheeled into the exam room. The vet stated that she was very shaky on her back legs and recommended X-rays. Emma also was able to stand on all four legs which was positive. I said yes to X-rays.. Emma had raised her head and had a good look in her eyes. The answer came back, broken hip in a bone that would take surgery from an orthopedic surgeon. She also has some arthritis in her spine. Vet said it would be best to put her down. You can imagine my non verbal body tensing and alarmed expression. I thought Emma didn’t look like she was ready to leave . The vet then continued with “maybe she has a chance. Help her walk with a towel. If she pees on herself inside, that isn’t going to work. She needs to stay quiet.” She also stated maybe she could cut her leg off. That was quite alarming, even though I’ve had a three legged dog.

Emma came home and with the help from a towel, I got her inside. Friday and Saturday were hell. I had to drag her 70lb body outside. She never urinated either day! She didn’t eat anything on Friday and lapped a small amount of water. I decided this wasn’t going to work. I decided to take her to vet on Monday.

It’s a good thing the vet was closed on the weekend. Sunday morning, she was able to walk with me supporting her with the towel. I let the towel loose, expecting her to lay down.

She did not lay down. Emma walked about ten steps on her own and peed standing up. Wow!

She gets better each day. Monday evening she started to eat a small amount of dog food. I feed her the pain pills in a link sausage which is her favorite food.

She now spends the day outside laying in the grass, watching squirrels. She moved even further today. At night she sleeps in the living room and then moves to the hall outside my bedroom.