Poor Boy... Happy Boy!

The story goes that there were something like twelve pups running loose, and no one could catch them. Well, Animal Control caught one of them, because he had an injured foreleg, but we never saw the rest again.

Vaughn was a cute little beige hound mix, extremely loving, very playful. But his front right paw did not work. He could not extend it at all. The vets said that he was likely hit by a car, and the nerves that control paw flexion were pull away from the spinal cord. Sometimes they heal on their own, a millimeter a month. We decided to give him three months to see if his nerves reconnected.

That was a daily chore. Changing gauze bandages and wrapping with stretch wrap, and putting a booty on it to protect it and keep it dry. Sometimes he would chew the wrappings off, but most often they just came off from his incessant playing. All it took was some playing on the patio concrete for 20 minutes and he had a new hole worn into his numb paw. It got bad one night, and required some repair and stitches. We worked extra hard after that to keep the paw protected.

He did use that leg, and even the paw to some extend. He just could not extend the paw, and seemed to have no feeling in it at all.

So, last week, we took Gimpy in - yes, we call him Gimpy now - for his neuter. We all decided that the nerves were not coming back, so we agreed to get that useless paw out of the way while he was under. Dr. Monce did a great job, and the wounds have healed nicely.

Practically everyone who sees him says "Awww, poor boy!" But I will tell you, he is one VERY happy dog. He chases Randi the Australian Cattle Dog mix around the back yard with NO problems. He can dig a hole, a deep hole, about as fast as any dog I've ever seen dig a hole. He shoots right up the steps and down again. He even climbs onto Aida's desk with not fear.

You will be very hard pressed to find a happier, more loving dog, than Vaughn the Gimp. No Poor Boy about it, he is one Happy Boy!