Our Dog Now Gets NFL Sunday Ticket

Poor Gracie.

She had a little sore on her paw last week. Kristian and I took care of it by keeping it dry and putting an old, wool sock on it to keep her from licking it. When I took her in for her booster shots at the Vet last Wednesday, she said it was already starting to heal, but she wrapped it up as a precautionary measure.

That wrapping was supposed to be kept dry.

(Thus, the booties)

It was also supposed to come off on Saturday.

On Friday morning, Kristian dropped Gracie off at a local kennel so that she could stay with them while we were in DC. They came highly recommended by our vet and they seemed like a really great place. They even sent us a little picture of her while we were gone to show her all smiley and happy and enjoying her stay.

I picked Gracie up this morning and the wrap was still on her foot. It was also dirty and smelled like it had gotten wet at least once. I took it off as soon as I realized it was still on, peeling it off bit by bit every time we stopped at a red light. Gracie seemed a little standoffish, but I figured that she was just a little off of her game from spending the weekend away from us and not getting out as much as she’s used to. I wasn’t feeling well myself, I ate something yesterday that didn’t agree with me.

(I’m looking at you, Wendy’s in the airport)

(That’s what we get for going to the only open restaurant)

I got Gracie home where we both slunk off to lick our wounds. I sacked out on the couch where I spent the rest of the morning staring off into space, ignoring the gurgling of my stomach and attempting to distract myself with the internet. Gracie hid under the dining room table.

Kristian came home from lunch and the first thing out of his mouth was, “What the hell happened to the dog?!?!”

In my gastrointestinal haze, I somehow managed to miss the fact that her paw was now red and inflamed (I had noticed that it was still red, but missed the fact that it had gotten way worse) and that it had started to swell. I have to admit, I cried a little when I realized what had happened. I felt like I had failed Gracie. She was clearly not feeling well and her paw looked terrible. I had just assumed that she was annoyed at us for leaving her, but in hindsight I realized that she was behaving just like a scared, hurt animal. I was so wrapped up in my own illness, I completely missed the fact that Grace wasn’t doing so well herself.

We immediately called the vet’s office and they told us to bring her right in. Kristian also called the kennel and read them the riot act. Apparently, they felt terrible about the whole thing, but apparently not terrible enough to refrain from leaving her bandage on for three extra days. They’re going to be covering Gracie’s vet bills. And they’ll be getting one hell of a nasty-gram from me. In addition to leaving her bandage on, they also neglected to give her the allergy pills that she’s supposed to take 2x a day. I assumed that Kristian forgot to drop them off, but that’s just because they never gave them back. In the four days that she was there, she didn’t get one pill and then they didn’t even bother returning them when I picked her up.

The more I think about this, the angrier I get.

The Vet was able to see us right away and it turns out that Gracie’s paw is now infected. She’s currently wearing a lovely elizabethan collar to keep her from licking her paw, which she had been doing obsessively (to my credit, I put her sock back on when we got home, so she was only licking it starting around noon when we took it off of her). She also needed a steroid shot, Benadryl spray and she’s going to be on antibiotics for the next 15 days.

The collar that she’s wearing is unbelievably huge, because she somehow managed to lick her paw with the smaller collars on. I wish I was half that flexible. The Vet was both impressed and perturbed. Poor Gracie can barely keep that thing up in the air, it’s so big. She’s taken to dragging it along the floor. If I was a little crueler, I would attach some Swiffer pads to the sides of it and let her clean our kitchen floor for us. She also keeps scooping leaves up with it outside, which is both adorable and pathetic… especially when she shakes her head and sends them flying in all directions.

I was feeling too sick to drive, so Kristian dropped us off at the Vet and I got a (totally awesome, totally now owe him a favor) friend to give us a ride home. On the way back, we passed several DirecTV dishes that appeared to be substantially smaller than what is now attached to my dog’s head.

The good news is, Gracie will probably heal up just fine. The bad news is, it’s going to take me a hell of a lot of time to get over how guilty I feel for not noticing how bad her paw was. I saw that it wasn’t healed, but I just put some Bacitracin and a sock on it and then retreated to the couch. Kristian keeps reminding me that I couldn’t have done anything more for her until he got home, but I’m just too good at beating myself up to let myself off of the hook like that.

At least she’s managed to find a comfortable way to snooze on a throw pillow. She basically has a little nest. She seems to be doing well now. Hopefully, she feels better soon.

The kennel that let her get like this? They came recommended by our Vet and they’re associated with a local animal hospital. I won’t name them right now, but I reserve the right to do so later once I’ve had their response from my stern letter. I hope they’re properly chastened.

Poor Gracie.