From Tragedy to Triumph

Sarge was scheduled for amputation Thursday June 5th at 8:30am. His was going to be an outpatient operation.  Who would think that you go in one day, have a leg removed and come home only a few hours later?  Shocking!  But that’s how it was.

After we dropped him off at the vet’s we all stayed home and tried to stay busy while we waited for the phone call saying “Sarge is ready to come home now”.  The call finally came and we rushed to get him back with us. We were amazed at what we saw.  I guess he was as anxious to be home as we were to have him home. We got him out of the car and put him on the ground, supporting him until he was balanced on his three legs.  You wouldn’t believe it, we couldn’t believe it, but we caught it on video! Here is a short clip of Sarge just a moment after coming home from amputation. Words can’t describe so the video will have to suffice.

Immediately after getting home Sarge had to relieve himself.  He was such the gentleman that he wouldn’t potty in his holding cell at the vet (not even under the influence). Sarge was a little groggy that first day, and he seemed at a loss, sad even.  He whined and moaned alot that first night and some on the second day. But by the third day he was back to his usual chipper self.  The vet assured us that he wasn’t in pain so we can only assume that he didn’t like how the drugs made him feel.  In the first week, Sarge needed some encouragement, especially with the steps. We knew he could make it, but he seemed to lack the confidence.  We would have to carry him up and down the stairs because he would just stand there and whine, begging us to help him.

Overall, Sarge is an amazing dog and had amazing results from his surgery. We will continue to encourage and support him as he continues to heal and move forward towards triumph.

It’s such a gloomy day.  The shy is gray: the clouds are dark and full of promise to rain.  Storms are forming above us. It is easy to believe that it is an ominous sign of what’s to come. Yet, at 7:30 this morning Sarge is up and moving. He is full of energy, the most we’ve seen since his accident.  I haven’t yet given him his morning pain pill and he is already standing at the door waiting to be let out.  The two young pups haven’t been penned yet, so we make Sarge wait;  afterall, we don’t want the over exuberant pups to run him over or knock him down.

After the pups are penned, Sarge is waiting at the gate waiting for his turn with tail awagging. Once the gate is opened he charges down the steps as if he’s been running up and down those steps with a bum leg all his life.  What an encouraging attitude this boy has. Of course, he doesn’t know that he is about to go on one of those terrifying car rides to see the scary vet in order to have his bum leg removed.  But still… he is happy and full of energy today.  He knows life is good and that all will be right.  It is time that we humans get on the same page and remember our blessings.

8:15 am and Sarge is waiting to be checked in.  He is uncomfortable with the smells of the vet clinic and begins to squirm and whine.  Now this is the Sarge that we all know and love.  He has always been uncomfortable at the vet’s office.  Being the good boy that he is, he follows us straight into the examining room.  Vitals are taken, tranquilizer administered, and off he goes into an unseen room to wait all alone for his “procedure”.

We talk with the vet a little more to see what his plan is for surgery.  He is hoping to amputate mid way through the femur and let the remaining stub of bone calcify. By doing this the muscle will still be in place to give Sarge a more symmetrical appearance.  But he can’t be certain that this is a possibility until he gets underway. He may have to remove the leg at the hip joint.

We all stay home today, we want to be close by just in case the vet calls. So all of us are trying to stay busy and keep our minds off of what’s going on a few miles away.  We are gardening, doing some rabbitry chores, fencing off the porches (to prevent future porch lunges), and writing this post in an attempt to remain calm as 3:30 approaches.

We are to call and check with the vet at 3:30.  We are hoping Sarge is awake and ready to come home.

On a lovely Saturday morning between rain showers Sarge, his people, and his pack were hanging out on the front porch. Sarge and his pack had grown up in the city. Even though Sarge himself  had once lived out in the country for short period of time,  he had grown used to a 4 foot tall fence to limit his access to roads and open spaces. We had just moved to the country with plenty of roaming space, along with no fencing. Though Sarge is very obedient, he still likes to wonder around, but with a simple “HEY!” he’d been running back to your side.

As I was saying, we were all on the front porch for a lovely Saturday morning chit chat. We have this chocolate-tri chihuahua (Vennie), who has this terrible habit chasing speeding cars. In a blink of an eye Vennie lunged off the porch and took chase of a silver truck pulling a trailer  loaded with a tractor. Sarge being the herding dog and the protector that he is, went to “herd” Vennie back to the house.  He cut between Vennie and the trailer when the vendor well clipped him on his left side.

Sarge rolled, twisted, and thrashed in such a manner that we believed he suffered spine damage at first.  After a closer inspection we saw that it was only his left hind quarter and hip.  Rushing him immediately to the nearest veterinary, we swaddled him in a blanket as tightly as we could in an attempt to immobilize him.  After the friendly vet looked him over and done several x-rays it was determined that there was no internal bleeding, and all organs were undamaged. However, His pelvis has a chip broken off, which isn’t a concern and nothing can be done about.  His upper leg (femur) was broken in two just below the hip joint, and his ankle was basically crushed.  The bone damage was too extensive for the local vet to repair so he was referred to a bone specialist.  There is only one in the state of Arkansas we were told, so we would have to travel.

After the specialist looked at the x-rays he determined that the “hip” would need several pins if not a plate and the ankle would need a custom built plate in order to repair the damage.  Long term prognosis was that he would have a near complete recovery over a long period of time, but would suffer severe arthritic pain for the rest of his life. He may or may not be left with a slight limp.   The second option was to amputate the leg entirely. Although he would only have three legs and would hop instead of walk, long term we were looking at less pain throughout the remainder of his life, and a much quicker recovery time.

After alot of discussion between family members and friends, and talking with Sarge, we have decided that the better option was to amputate his leg.  Looking into his next 7 years and beyond with us, we believe he will be more comfortable with this decision and it’s outcome.

And so, the appointment has been made and we now wait….

Sarge Chillin in the Sun 5-12-2012

Sarge is a 7-1/2 year old red merle Australian Shepherd. He has been a loyal and faithful family member since he was only 9 weeks of age.  Sarge is highly intelligent and a quick learner which is typical of  the “Aussie” breed. He loves to be with his human family as well as with his other canine companions. He is a very well mannered dog and knows where his nose should stay and will do his best to make sure the other members of the “pack” do as well. His eagerness to please (and love for peanut butter “cookies”) made training a simple and fun  process. Within the first year he learned his basic commands as well as fun tricks like “whisper”, “speak”, “shake”, “high-5” , “circle”, “roll-over”, “crawl”, and more as birthdays came and went.

Like all dogs, Sarge has his own individual personality and preferences, for instance, he would prefer to sleep on the floor by the door instead of on the bed. He will flop down in front of you, roll over, and immediately hike his leg to give you free and open access to rub his belly. Although by nature he is a herding dog, he makes an excellent hunting dog, or would if he wasn’t gun shy.  He loves to tree squirrels and will hunt squirrel relentlessly if you tell him “get it”. Sarge, like most Aussies, loves to work and he always does a good and clean job at it. When we have loose animals, he will run with all his might to pin it and wait for you to come pick it up, leaving no marks or even a ruffle of fur. He doesn’t even leave a drop of slobber.

Just like humans, Sarge has his own hobbies. He loves swimming in the creek and chasing down runaway ducks, even if he does get a little wet and muddy. He loves to lay under the table and protect our feet from little food monsters that he much rather be in his belly. He enjoys playing tug-o-war, knocking us all on our butts, long walks, ball chasing, and “keep away” from the two pups.

Obedience might as well have been his middle name. “Sarge, roll over,” and plop! Over he goes. “Sarge, bed time.” Zoom! Off to the bedroom. Of course, he knows that his obedience not only earns him a nice scratch behind the ear and an “atta boy”,  but likely his favorite treat as well.

Needless to say, he is the perfect companion.  We love him with all our hearts and think that he is one of the greatest blessing that God has ever put in our hands and care.