Schmuppy

I had an early morning adventure of negotiating a trip to the vet with the kids and a gimpy Maggie. Wednesday afternoon Maggie charged the fence where she and a neighbor's dog daily bark at each other as a friendly ritual. That particular day she must have stepped in a hole or something because she yelped and limped away from the fence without barking. Yesterday she barely put any weight on her front right foot at all and I had to carry her up and down our steps to go to the bathroom.

The vet this morning gave us the option to have her sedated for x-rays to be taken or try antibiotics (she has a slight fever) and anti-inflammatory for the weekend and see if it improves. I opted for door #2 with the hopes that it's just soft tissue damage and not a bone injury.

So far I've coaxed her to take the medication with bacon grease on her food and a pill wrapped in a slice of deli ham. She isn't a fool so she doesn't fall for the pill in the peanut butter trick. I tried and ended up with two slimy and peanut butter covered pills on the carpet. Gross!

The other dilemma is that I had to run inside to answer the phone, leaving Maggie outside. She tried to come up the stairs by herself and ended up hurting her other front leg so now she can barely walk at all. I'm desperate for the medication to work quickly because it makes me so sad to see her this way. I already mourn the fact that she's getting older (10 this year) so adding an injury to the situation only makes her age more obvious. Although it may sound petty because she is just our dog, I'd appreciate any prayers you're willing to offer up for her healing. It's hard enough to take care of the kids and myself during the day...carrying her around the house and helping her go to the bathroom is almost too much for me to handle. Thanks so much!