Running fast in a purple cast

Louise is back with a vengeance. I mean that in a good way. But first, some of yesterday's ordeal:

I picked Louise up from the vet late in the afternoon and brought her back to the office because I already had the stroller there waiting for her. The plan was to finish up my day at work and then come home. She was fussing a bit in the car but it seemed that she was complaining more about the drugs than her paw. The first picture was taken in the car as we were leaving the vet. She was still pretty drugged up at this point.

About half an hour after arriving in the office she started to perk up a little bit. Louise was wanting to roam around a bit to see our co-workers. Personally I think this had more to do with the office celebration that was going on, as it was catered. Still, it was a little too early to be giving her food. She also got to meet one of the other office dogs, Koda. He's a young golden retriever and he was very gentle around Louise.

Eventually it was time to leave the office, and I must say it was one of the most enjoyable trips home I have had with the dog. She didn't bark once. We got her settled into the stroller and she lounged with her head half cocked so she could see outside and was generally content. Because of the cast on her foot, people were less inclined to call her spoiled. Once we got home, Louise was pretty much ready for bed.

The next morning we got up and headed off to Bosley's Pet store. We brought the stroller even though it's really only about a 5 block walk. The vet gave us a plastic bag to put over the bandage while she is outside, and it flops and clops around as Louise walks. There's a video clip at the end where you can see and hear what I mean. When we arrived at the pet store Louise was already quivering with excitement. Turns out, she was intent on getting as many pieces of pupperoni as possible. She ran with purpose straight to the till (around back, where the sales people stand) and started barking out her demands. Luckily they thought she was cute and Louise was careful to play up the sympathy so she got more than her fair share. It became obvious to me what was going on: Louise was starving. She hadn't had much of anything the entire day yesterday. We picked up a can of soft food to help feed her the liquid pain medication we have for her, and then headed back. She was full of spunk and energy and it was becoming apparent to me that she was limping less because of pain and more because of the extra bulk on her paw from the bandage and bag. This was very encouraging to me.

Having said that, we are probably going to have to visit the vet again tomorrow though. Louise tends to be hard on the bandage when she's out walking - after she does her business she sometimes likes to 'scratch' over it. Well she quickly learned that the plastic from the bandage cover made a great scoop, so she was scratching like crazy. Tomorrow's visit will merely be to get things redressed as the bandage is slowly slipping off the leg. It sort of looks like an old sock that is only half on right now. Since she's napping on my lap now, it's not really a big deal but will probably slow her down on our next walk.