Post by chrisnstar on Feb 10, 2003 18:14:14 GMT -5
Rule No. 1, take a cell phone with when you go riding. I broke that rule today...
I went out for a nice ride around the section line roads on Zabbie. Since the dogs can't go with me on the state park anymore I figured they'd be Ok going around the neighborhood. One of the roads we ride on is a dirt road.. no traffic except for an occasional tractor... Nice and quiet.. I got to my turnaround point, counted dog noses.. Bubba, Katie and Duke were all with me... we headed back home and in a few minutes I started hearing blood curdling dog cries... I found Duke, I found bubba... no Katie.. she's our Dane/Rott cross. No more cries either.. that really scared me. I looked all over the road ditches.. no Katie. Finally I tied Zab to a bridge railing and prayed he would stay there, and went under the bridge.. there was Katie... afraid to move.. her left front paw caught in a leghold trap!
It took me a while to get the trap off.. those things are really hard to open even using the levers! then she was afraid to pull her paw out and I couldn't help her cause I needed both hands to keep the trap open. finally we worked her out. She limped up to the road. I was very thankful that Zabbie was still there, being a good boy in a crisis.. I had visions of him running off and leaving me with an injured dog a mile and a half from home...
I was going to put Katie in the saddle and walk Zab home, but she seemed to be moving along OK on it... we got home, Ray got her in the house, put ice on her leg. I called the vet for instructions.. He said there has been a lot of that lately...
Katie is very lucky to still have her paw! There doesn't seem to be any broken bones, or cuts.. just a lot of soft tissue damage. The doc said to give her an aspirin now and one in the morning and put an ice pack on her foot, 15 minutes on and 15 off...
Whew. I'm not usually so glad to get home from a ride, but I was today...
And I figured out what Zabbie's problem is. Mr. Mellow has been Mr. Antsy.. too much food and not enough exercise. Before Katie got hurt, he was happy as a clam to trot and canter down the road. He has energy to burn!
but kudos to Zabbie for being a good boy when I really needed him to be... and he was very quiet when a big yellow school bus came by and when a big tractor pulling a really rattly trailer went by..
He got atta boys when we got home...Katie is being good about the ice routine. She's pretty content to just lie by Ray's feet and let him fuss over her.
chris
I went out for a nice ride around the section line roads on Zabbie. Since the dogs can't go with me on the state park anymore I figured they'd be Ok going around the neighborhood. One of the roads we ride on is a dirt road.. no traffic except for an occasional tractor... Nice and quiet.. I got to my turnaround point, counted dog noses.. Bubba, Katie and Duke were all with me... we headed back home and in a few minutes I started hearing blood curdling dog cries... I found Duke, I found bubba... no Katie.. she's our Dane/Rott cross. No more cries either.. that really scared me. I looked all over the road ditches.. no Katie. Finally I tied Zab to a bridge railing and prayed he would stay there, and went under the bridge.. there was Katie... afraid to move.. her left front paw caught in a leghold trap!
It took me a while to get the trap off.. those things are really hard to open even using the levers! then she was afraid to pull her paw out and I couldn't help her cause I needed both hands to keep the trap open. finally we worked her out. She limped up to the road. I was very thankful that Zabbie was still there, being a good boy in a crisis.. I had visions of him running off and leaving me with an injured dog a mile and a half from home...
I was going to put Katie in the saddle and walk Zab home, but she seemed to be moving along OK on it... we got home, Ray got her in the house, put ice on her leg. I called the vet for instructions.. He said there has been a lot of that lately...
Katie is very lucky to still have her paw! There doesn't seem to be any broken bones, or cuts.. just a lot of soft tissue damage. The doc said to give her an aspirin now and one in the morning and put an ice pack on her foot, 15 minutes on and 15 off...
Whew. I'm not usually so glad to get home from a ride, but I was today...
And I figured out what Zabbie's problem is. Mr. Mellow has been Mr. Antsy.. too much food and not enough exercise. Before Katie got hurt, he was happy as a clam to trot and canter down the road. He has energy to burn!
but kudos to Zabbie for being a good boy when I really needed him to be... and he was very quiet when a big yellow school bus came by and when a big tractor pulling a really rattly trailer went by..
He got atta boys when we got home...Katie is being good about the ice routine. She's pretty content to just lie by Ray's feet and let him fuss over her.
chris
Glad Katie's OK. Isn't it funny how often our goofiest critters can be sooooo good when we really need them to be. 
