Saturday, December 3, 2011

Paw trouble

Saturday evening was a great evening... at first. Our friends Kendra & Danny and their two cute kiddos came over for dinner and then we all headed to our downtown area to watch the local holiday parade and tree lighting. The kids had fun and Gromit enjoyed getting pet by all of the passers by during the parade.

When Gromit was saying hello to another dog we noticed that he wasn't putting any weight on his back right paw. We checked it out but it seemed to be fine. A little while later he was still not putting weight on his paw so we ended up carrying him for the rest of the evening. When we got home we re-examined the paw and saw that one of his pads was swollen and pink.

Dave let G into the backyard to potty and when he came back in the top of his paw was bleeding! We don't know if it popped or if he was biting at it or what but we quickly sprung into action. We rinsed the paw with water and sterile saline solution to clean it out. Then I wrapped his paw in gauze, a protective bandage, and covered the whole thing with one of Gromit's socks to prevent him from getting at it.


It was recommended that we take him to the after hours emergency vet clinic to have it checked out to make sure nothing was still lodged in there and to avoid incfection. After two and a half hours in the waiting room (apparently it was a busy night) we were finally able to see the vet.


Long story short, they say something must have gotten stuck in his paw 3-5 days ago and Saturday night it came to a head and exploded, like a zit. To be sure that whatever was in his paw is gone they recommend minor surgery to check it out. We agreed to the surgery and had to say goodbye to our little baby for the night. He was NOT thrilled about wearing a cone before his procedure.



Dave and I got home a little before 2:00 a.m. and tried to get some sleep before going to pick him up before 8:00 a.m. I certainly didn't sleep very well knowing he was in a strange place and having surgery on his paw. Poor little guy!

I went to pick him up at 7:30 this morning and the vet told me everything went well. She flushed out a small seed pod from inside his paw during the procedure which seemed to be the cause of his pain, swelling, and bleeding. We don't know how or when it got there, but we are just glad that it is out and he can get to feeling better soon. He is on antibiotics and pain killers and his paw is bandaged up to protect the stitches he received after they worked on it. We'll continue to give him some extra TLC and treats and will follow up with the vet in a few days.


Feel better soon, Gromit!

3 comments:

  1. Poor guy! I hope it doesn't cause him (or you) any more trouble as he heals.

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  2. Poor Gromit! Those pictures break my heart!

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  3. Glad he's OK! I know the feeling of sleepless nights as your pup is in the ER!

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