The Uncertain And The Funny

Over the last few weeks, I’ve questioned occasionally whether or not I’m doing the right thing for Reyna, if such a massive surgery is really the best option. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve waffled back and forth about it since surgery was presented as an option. And I’m certainly not considering putting her to sleep as a better choice. No, the problem (such as it is) lately is that Reyna was having a very good couple of weeks. This was extremely obvious two weeks ago at John’s. While I’m always thrilled when she’s feeling well, it throws that niggling little thought into my brain, does she really need the surgery? Rationally, I know that she’s probably doing better because of the meds and the warm weather. And I know that, if I were to take her for a walk, she wouldn’t get very far before she started limping. But there are still those thoughts. Maybe, since its getting warm, she’ll do better for several months. Maybe, she won’t be so bad come winter if I can keep her on the right meds. Maybe, maybe, maybe. Of course, if I want to go to the other extreme, maybe she’ll die on the operating table, maybe there’ll be a horrible infection, maybe she’ll dislocate the new hip, maybe, maybe, maybe. All of the really horrible possibilities aside, there’s always the question, is this surgery, at this time, really the best choice for her? I don’t know. I’ll probably never know. All I can do is make the most informed decision possible and hope I’m doing the right thing at the right time. Reyna actually helps with that, whether she realizes it or not. Just about the time I’m really considering the possibility that maybe I should tentatively look at the option that we just might be able to push the surgery out (all very nebulous, you see), the good times stop and the limping comes back. So, on we go with the surgery preparations.

Speaking of limping, Duncan has been limping a bit more frequently, himself. I’ve checked his foot and leg and can’t find anything wrong, so I think its his right rear hip – the one that’s always been a bit off kilter. I haven’t been able to track it long enough to determine if certain activities set it off (like too many sits in a short time), or if he’s positioned funny when he sleeps and the hip gets stiff. It seems like he tends to work out the gimpiness, but not always, and not completely. I’m pretty confident he’s not dysplastic, because the last time the vet checked his hips he said there was so much muscle there that he couldn’t even force the hip to move around in the socket. I’ll keep an eye on him, maybe have the vet take another look this month, maybe even get x-rays done, just to see what’s in there. But, as John said Sunday afternoon, Duncan’s hip is a whole ‘nother surgery, so I’ll stress over it after I get Reyna fixed.

And speaking of John...the pups and I went over to his place Sunday afternoon for some romping time. Both pups started going bonkers in the truck before we even got to John’s driveway, and Reyna almost jumped out the back window because I was too slow at opening the door so she could go see the Horses! This time, I had my camera. I took a total of 520 pictures, but by the time I pulled out the bad or fuzzy pictures and the ones just of John’s place (no dogs in the photos), I only had 482. Since I have about 37 pictures topping my list of favorites, I’ll be kind and break them up over multiple posts (yes, I hear all those sighs of relief).

One of the funniest things that happened Sunday occurred near the end of our visit. Reyna, Duncan and I were walking towards the house from the woods, headed back to the pasture. I heard John pulling up in his truck, so to keep Reyna from deciding to go after it, I looped back around the house. That’s when Duncan spotted the steps to the back deck. I didn’t get my camera up fast enough to get a good picture of him on the deck, but I did get a couple of him coming down. In the second picture, if you look closely, you can see that his front feet are not touching the steps. Duncan decided he didn’t need to actually touch the last few, so he took a flying leap about 5 steps about the ground. His landing was not pretty. He hit the ground with his chin and chest, front paws tucked underneath, and slid about three feet on the grass (notice the grass stains on his paws). He didn’t seem the least bit phased by what happened, even though he limped for a few minutes after. The poor boy even had grass stains on his chest.