Well, on Sunday Nubs somehow hurt his right back leg. My parents aren't sure how as he didn't have a limp when they brought him home that night, but when I returned home later that evening, he was limping really badly. Monday morning I called the Vet to see what they would say and they told me to wait a few days to see if it improved or not. So I decided to wait until Wednesday, since I had the day off, before I would make an appointment to see the vet.
Tuesday night I ended up coming down with a horrible cold. On Wednesday I could barely move out of my chair so since the limping was better then on Monday but still very considerable, I figured Nubs could wait until Friday to see the vet.
Nubs was just laying on the ground chewing on an Elk Antler like a good boy. Since this was day 3 without a walk, he was being very VERY good. All of a sudden Nubs was practically throwing himself in my lap whimpering. At first I couldn't figure out what was the issue. It's pretty common to see blood on chew toys with Nubs, so the little bit of blood and saliva on my hands didn't click. It wasn't until I pushed Nubs off of me that I saw that my pants and my shirt also had a lot of blood on them that I figured something was wrong. I opened up Nubs mouth and there on his right side of his mouth, and a completely cracked back tooth.
So, I call the vet and tell them what happened. They have an opening in 20mins and the vet is only 5mins away so I get dressed in some non-bloody clothing, and take Nubs to the vet all the while here I am practically in a cloud caused by Day Quill.
I pull into the vet with some time to spare (To be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late - High School Band Director) and I walk in. I could barely remember my own name let alone Nubs. I end up sitting down and some lady then walks in with this Aussie mix that seems to have a MAJOR dislike for Nubs. Nubs will ignore other dogs unless they bark at him. He has to have the final word in edgewise, so you can imagine it was a noisy waiting room.
We get in to see the Vet, and the Vet Tech walks in with a Thermometer and a flea comb. Completely approaches Nubs the wrong way and Nubs takes a step back and gives her a warning bark. Before I can say anything, the woman runs out of the room and returns with a muzzle. Now I wasn't to happy at this, but I honestly would rather they muzzle Nubs then accuse him of attempting to attack the woman when he ends up actually liking her and trying to kiss her. Thankfully, she decides that the muzzle isn't the best course of action since the vet needs to see his teeth and decides to just wait for the Vet.
I had to laugh at this poor woman. She walks up to the door and see's Nubs on the floor on his back just squirming because he's getting his belly rubbed. She turns to me and says "Ok, I was just handed your card and for some reason a muzzle" I explained to her what happened and after just a few moments with Nubs, she had even decided that the Vet Tech was nuts.
So Nubs ended up going in today to have his tooth pulled and to have x-rays done on his hips and knees (To see if there was an issue with them causing the limping). The surgery was perfect, and his broken tooth was taken out no issues. His X-rays came out with some good news and bad news
The Good News
Nubs's Knees are in perfect shape. No wear, nothing out of alignment, everything in perfect working condition.
The Bad News
While Nubs's left hip is perfect, no signs of Hip Displacement His right hip has some wear where the leg meets the hip socket. It may be early signs of Arthritis.
More Good News
It isn't anything that will keep him grounded from weight pulling or agility or anything like that.
More Bad News
While we know it's not his knees or a torn ligament causing Nubs to limp, we aren't 100% sure that it's not his hip starting to flare (caused by some trauma from Sunday night) or if it's just a sprang or a pulled mussel.
So we just have to wait to see what comes up. At least with this information I can start Nubs on some supplements and get and early run on it before it gets any worse. Now I just need to recover from that unexpected Vet Expense and the really REALLY sad news is... Nubs is still due for his yearly shots and I haven't even brought Heartworm and flea meds for this year yet *cries* Another $150+ down the tube.
Nubs, you better know how much I love you! Thankfully He is worth every penny of it!
Ah, I'm really sorry to hear about the medical troubles. At least the hip sounds like it can be managed and won't keep him grounded from the things he loves to do. FYI, if you begin to compete in agility, there are "preferred" classes where the dog jumps 4" lower than they normally would, so that could be an option for you if you decide that you think his hip needs to be managed closely.
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