So, our little Mac had some x-rays that appear to show that one of the screws in his plate is coming loose.
If you don't know Mac, I found him in the street badly injured. One of his numerous injuries is a broken leg that required a metal plate to be surgically placed inside his leg to hold two bones together while they healed. In most of these surgeries the plate is left in after the bone heals.
Well, Mac's plate may be moving so his activity must be VERY limited to prevent further movement. Since he's a spunky pup, we have to sedate him with tranquilizers.
We started with half a pill which simply made his eyes a little red, but that's about it. Then we moved to three quarters of a pill, which also pretty much made his eyes red and he'd sit and stare at us. However he'd still dart across the backyard and tumble around with our other dog, Togi. So, we went up to the full pill, which seemed to make him more energetic with very red eyes.
Finally, he's on a pill and a half, which is the most he can be on, and we'll see how that goes. Today was his first day with this dose so, we're hoping it will keep him from jumping on things and darting around the house and yard. If not then we have to call the vet and see what else we can add to the tranquilizers to keep him calm till his next set of x-rays, which will be in about three weeks.
If the pin is still moving then he will have to have surgery to remove the plate. So, please cross your fingers and keep Mac in your thoughts. Obviously, we'd prefer to not have surgery because it's so hard on anyone and anything--from humans to pets.
On a good note, his snout is healing well so Mac is now allowed to chew on squishy plastic balls. We recently found out that tennis balls are like sand paper on dogs teeth so we've confiscated all tennis balls in Togi, our 3-year-old Alaskan Husky's, toy box. We've switched to only rubber balls.
Togi is a tough chewer. Our vet suggested the Kong ball and we also have these glow in the dark balls that squish, and for some reason Togi doesn't chew those to bits.
Once we received the "all clear to chew" approval from our vet we bought Mac his very own ball. He took it and pranced around the house proudly. He then batted it around with his front paws. He LOVED it!
Mac is also allowed to eat hard food now. Although he's not a big fan of it. We've been adding it more and more to his soft food, but he kind of licks the soft food off of each piece of hard food. He then places the hard food on the floor and will pick each piece up one at a time and slowly eat it. It's odd to see Mac's tongue come out as he eats, because it has a jagged section missing from the accident.
In the picture I've attached you will see Mac's new ball and you can see his jagged tongue.
Mac's shaved leg, red stoned looking eyes, goofy eating habits, and jagged tongue make him quite an "adorkable" quirky sight.
If you'd like to donate to Mac's recovery please click on this link below:
