Jinks broke her leg at the start of July, it is healing beautifully, she has to take it easy until November, but we will get there. I just wanted to put out there what to expect if it happens to you.
We were on a family holiday, we interviewed a couple of dog sitters through mad paws and chose a beautiful family, a stay at home Mum and Dad who is a zoologist (speciality wild dogs). A few days before the end of our trip I got the call, Jinks had jumped off the couch and hurt her paw, they asked for consent to take her to the vet.
They took her to the vet, had X-rays, she had broken her leg. They took her to SouthPaws in Moorabbin, where they were going to operate and put a plate in. Over these days I couldn’t stop crying. The family insisted on looking after her for those last days of our trip.
Her surgery was successful, she went home with a cone on, no movement except to go to the toilet (on a short lead) for two weeks. I am so glad she is crate trained, because it wasn’t a big deal to her to be in the crate (while at the families house).
We picked her up, I couldn’t have been more relieved to see her beautiful little face. Took her home. At home we put a mattress on the lounge room floor and I pretty much worked from there for that two weeks. I kept her on a lead and harness, she mostly slept. We got great advice to buy a satchel to take her for walks in, which we did every morning. Getting down at her favourite sniffing spots so she could feel like a part of the world. Some yoghurt or peanut butter on a licky mat and a friend bought her a snuffle mat which she looooooved! The cone didn’t bother her, which I was so pleased about.
There was a one week check up, looking at the wound, making sure it was healing well. Then a two week check up, getting her stitches out, looking at how she was walking. The staff at SouthPaws were lovely! The total cost start to finish was around $6000, we paid $200 excess and 10% of the total with Knose Insurance.
After two weeks she was allowed to walk, 5-10 minutes twice a day, building up 5 minutes a fortnight until 20 minutes twice a day at 8 weeks.
After all of the check ups, she was free to go on with her plate remaining in. If we have any trouble from it in the future, we go back and get it removed.
I’m putting this up almost a year later. Jinks has healed beautifully. I just wanted it in a place that I can check back.
