Monday, December 4, 2006

Ouch

Thursday afternoon, was just like any other day.  After I got off work, everyone went out in the yard to play and burn off some pent up energy.  While Benjamin, Henry and Luna romp and roll around the yard, I usually sit on a bench and watch them play.  Most of the time they chase each other around the bench.  When they play chase,  they always have to circle something, I think it is pug law.

Benjamin and Henry are not the pups they once were, so after about 5 minutes of intense running, the gang laid down in the grass for some much needed rest.  When I was packing up the toys to head back into the house, I noticed a puddle of blood in the yard.  What?  I was shocked, where did all this blood come from?  With the amount of blood, I was sure someone must have a gaping wound somewhere.  I glanced over at the the boys and Luna and they all looked fine.  The blood must have come from the cat then.  I checked the cat and she was fine.  So I went back to look at the pugs and sure enough Benjamin’s toenail was bleeding.

We got Benjamin cleaned up and put stiptic powder on his toenail to stop the bleeding.  After a few minutes we were able to stop the bleeding and after the bleeding stopped that is when Benjamin started limping horribly.

First thing Friday morning, we took Benjamin to the vet.  We were unsure what they would be able to do to help him, but since he was limping so bad we knew we had to have the vet take a look.  It turns out, Benjamin almost ripped his toenail off while playing.  He must have hit the nail on the bench while he was chasing his brother.  The vet said that his toenail was ripped about 40% off.  If the toenail is ripped 60% or more they usually remove the entire toenail, but lucky for Benjamin he would not need this procedure.  The vet’s main concern was infection.  So Benjamin had the honor of getting a shot of antibiotics and he remains on antibiotics for the next few days.

Also, to aid in healing, Benjamin was put on bed rest.  Well, not really bed rest, but we were given strict orders to limit his activity.  So we had a quiet weekend at home and did our best to keep Baby Benny still.  Which, even when he is feeling bad, is no easy task.

All in all, it looks like he is feeling much better.  He has a little bit of limp left, but he is walking much better.  In a few days, he should be better than new.