Not surprisingly, #LillyNO is still trending around here. Although I must say, she’s not at all a bad puppy. She is without doubt a puppy though, and prone to doing the things puppies are wont to do. But I think, of the two of us, I’m the one more in need of training. That, however, has been put on hold.
Two weeks ago I noticed she was limping, favoring her front left leg. It wasn’t too bad so I thought just keeping an eye on it was the best course of action. The next morning the limp was more pronounced so I scheduled an appointment at the Vet for later that day. X-ray’s were negative, but the Vet suggested, and I agreed, a consult with an orthopedic specialist was prudent. Quick side note; in her first week here she went from fifteen lbs. to twenty lbs. Inside wide-eyed emoji anywhere you like… So, earlier this week we drove up to Greensboro for our appointment. Now, about four days after the limp started, it stopped. Just as quickly too, it wasn’t a gradual thing, more like flipping a switch. That the limp resolved (three days) before the ortho appointment had no effect on my decision to take her there. I wanted to know if it was a thing or just a random puppy mishap. And I tended to think it was a thing. The whole time she limped, she wanted nothing to do with play. She’d go outside to do her business and then go right back to the door so she could go back inside and lay down. Or is it lie down? Either way, getting horizontal was her only goal. But once the limping stopped, she was back to full on puppiness; bouncing off walls, chasing toys, her tail, shadows, air, you name it and she chased it. Interspersed, of course, with totally vegging out, often mid-chase.
The ortho Vet examined her, and the X-ray from our regular Vet, and said she thought it was a soft-tissue injury eg. sprain/strain. She did say, however, that due to potential mechanism of injury, there was a possibility of damage to the growth plate in her left “wrist” and that it needed to be monitored. She recommended a restriction of activity (uh-huh) for another two weeks and a followup exam and X-ray in one month to see if there were any differences in her growth plate.
So there’s that.
We’ve tried to take daily walks around the downtown area, for socialization with strangers more so than for the exercise, and she seems genuinely disappointed when people choose to ignore her. 
I’m more surprised than disappointed. I mean, I know not everyone loves dogs, but look at this face? How can you look at that and not want to give her a good ear scratch or belly rub? Or both? But she carries on, undaunted by the refusals of crabby people, seeking the next friendly human to shower her with attention, because, god knows, she doesn’t get any around here…
That picture, while adorable, also points to one of her puppy bad habits that we’re working on. Namely inappropriate chewing. The leash she is very sweetly holding in the photo, is now in two pieces. Yup. One night while we were sitting in the carport, watching a storm. Lilly was laying (or is it lying?) sweetly on the door mat. Or so I thought. She was, of course, on her leash. I held the other end in my hand so she wouldn’t wander off. At one point, she got up and walked over to a rug about three feet away. And I thought to myself “huh. The leash never moved…” Looking down, I saw why. She had chewed through it. I was not pleased. The leash had been Sophie’s, so there was that aspect of it. But more that I had let my guard down. Puppy gonna puppy, ya know? It’s on me to prevent stuff from happening and not her. So I lost a teachable moment.
And a memento of a great dog.
Don’t get me wrong, Lilly is a great puppy in her own right. I have to admit though, it’s hard not to try to make comparisons between Lilly and Sophie. They share many similar traits, yet are also completely different. And both have a firm grasp on my heart. I’ll never understand how some people can abuse animals. This puppy unconditionally loves anyone that showers the slightest bit of attention upon her. The thought of someone consciously turning their back on such a devoted creature and crushing it’s very soul sickens me.
Well, that took a turn…
This post has taken a lot longer to write than the last one. A certain puppy keeps “yelling” at me until I get on the floor and play with her. So we play. She’s currently terrorizing one of her squeaky toys. And, intermittently attempting to assault my Crocs…
Ahhh puppies.
Peace
Looking forward to the next episode.