23 April 2008

I really like having lots of limping animals on drugs.


Is this photo smoking gun proof or just a coincidence?

This is just how it goes for me sometimes.

In the morning before work, I took the dogs to practice. I set up 4 zones with back and forth type drills, one with poles, one with the dog walk, one with the a-frame and one that was just jumps that could be done sort of hard or easy depending on what dog you were.

The dogs were all good. Gustavo had an extra good day, hitting contacts, great fast a-frames, super poles, super focus. Maybe had something to do with meatballs in the ikeaware. I just stick that thing out on the field and he's good to go. Otterpop was great, Ruby was great. We just had a great day. We were in a great mood. Great great great great great. We played some frisbee and called it a day and they went to go have a nice nap in their pen at work while I had to do actual work all the rest of the day.

So. I should tell you. Maybe you didn't know that Ruby has this sordid history. Of not being sound. It is a fun story of irony, usually when she is just doing her best, when she is at her fastest and most focused, she has come up very, very lame. Once it kept her out of agility for about 6 months, other times, maybe not so long but still. Usually right front bicep tendon area. But not always. And I have been thinking how sound she has been looking, and doing so well, and her poles back to nice and fast, since they never really sped all the way up after her most major injury that was, I don't even remember now. A while ago. Before I made her a 12" dog. I thought that was the magic cure, even though she just needed a few more legs towards her ADCh, I moved her into Performance where I thought she would stay sounder jumping lower. Since her jump style is, um, unusual, and at 16" I think she was just flinging herself into early retirement.

But guess who is dead lame, on 3 legs limping tonight? That would be our Ruby. Who had to be carried out of the park, lame as can be. Just like one of my horses who is getting xrays tomorow! Can't jump up on the bed. Dog, not the horse. Maybe somewhere in her left front ankle this time-a new place! I do believe left front has always been a good one! And, guess who has done the difficult orchestration of rigging my day on Saturday so I can leave work early to run the dogs in a couple classes including the elusive Steeplechase, a class of always Saturdays in which we miss out on almost always. A nice close dog show, only 20 minutes from my work! And then we have USDAA the weekend following as well.

Isn't that the way it goes? Not looking so good for the weekend for Ruby. Gave her some drugs. Can't think of anywhere I saw her do anything weird while we were practicing, but then, never have before. So you know. Maybe she just wacked it. I say that when the horses come out janky all the time. Let's just not start freaking out here because she might have just wacked it and be as good as new tomorow.

5 comments:

Double S said...

As it says on the Morton salt container, "when it rains, it pours"... I have found it to be completely predictable that if one animal has a problem, it begets many other problems in other animals. Dunno why, just the way it goes with the things you can't control in life. If you can don't let it run wild like the chicken pox episode of South Park. Sending some crossed-finger luck for a good outcome with Ruby and the horse.

Elayne said...

Poor Ruby, poor horse. We're sending lots of healing thoughts your way for both of them. Animal injuries are so frustrating.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I've learned to never, ever, ever, opine on how my dogs haven't been to the vet in months. That's a sure indicator that one will come up lame, or swallow a plate, or get poked in the eye by a kid. Just last week, I made this mistake on visiting the vet to only fill prescriptions. Low and behold, I now have a dog that has a piece of beef bone jammed into one of her molars!

Elf said...

Well, that pretty much sucks. We'll all keep our fingers and paws crossed that Ruby will be hunky-dory in no time. "Janky"? That's a new one on me but maybe it's from the horse language. We're all still entertained by Ashley having a "wonky" ankle last fall, him being of british history and all, but wonky is actually in the dictionary but I don't see janky. When in doubt about dogs, always farkle around with irrelevant things like new words to take your mind off it.

-ellen

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