Carmen's Grounded

Well, we have figured out what is ailing our little blue girl. You may recall me mentioning that Carmen has been favoring her left front foot when she runs, plays ball, or chases the Frisbee. It’s been going on for a couple of weeks now, but we kept thinking it would get better on its own. We poked, prodded, bent, and otherwise manipulated that foot up one side and down the other without her so much as flinching. The outside left toe knuckle is a little bigger than the others, so I was worried that she had popped or broken it, but she never showed any signs of discomfort when I would check it out.

So Greg took her to the vet last week and he quickly diagnosed her as having a sprained shoulder. I still don’t see or feel anything, but whatever. He gave her a shot for the inflammation and an oral pain/inflammation medicine. The medication smells pretty nasty and must not taste good, but Carmen has been pretty good about taking it. The worst part is that she isn’t supposed to use the leg for THREE WEEKS. No running, no Frisbee, no ball, no walks, no dog park. She’s just to go out to potty and not play around with Sophie in the back yard. She does not understand why she has to stay home when Greg takes Sophie on his daily walk. Poor girl. She is so sulky about the whole thing. That dog pouts better than any two-year-old I’ve met!

She brings her ball to one of us every day and tries to get us to play with her. I’ve tried tossing the ball to her and just playing a little catch, but she’ll jump up to get the ball anyway, so I’ve resorted to rolling it to her down my leg or on the couch. It follows the spirit of the law and she’s not running around or jumping. Mostly. Sometimes she drops it and then dives for it, sliding on the wood floor. I’m sure that’s not good for her shoulder, but she is so persistent and annoying if you don’t play with her a little bit. She will just bounce the ball at you until you either throw it or take it away from her. She is just not a happy camper right now.

Once she is off complete restriction, she has another two weeks of only going to the dog park on leash, and gentle play in the back yard. Yeah, tell a whippet that they can only “gently” run around.

Aside from being pouty, she's doing fine.

Here is one of the very first pictures I took of her after she came home with me. Isn't she cuuute??