Carmella Gets Her Leg Brace!
A box arrived on my doorstep today that was about 1 foot square. It seemed smaller than I imagined, but when I opened it there was the brace sitting diagonally amongst balls of newspaper. I took it out and looked it over. There was no assembly required other than to position the straps with velcro that was attached to screws on either sides.
Trying it on Carmella was a little tricky. She got a little irritated with all the fiddling around with her foot because it didn't seem to want to fit into the shoe part. She lay on the bed and didn't want to get up at first.
When I did get her to stand she started off on tiptoe.
but gradually as she wore it longer her foot slipped down into more of a correct position.
I had to watch her to make sure she didn't try to chew it, and I gave her a rawhide chew to occupy her until she got used to the brace.
For awhile she hopped like a bucking bronco or held it out to the side and tried holding it up and walking on three legs, but after about an hour she seemed to almost forget she had it on.
I decided to se how she did outside in the back yard, and it wasn't long before she started running with it on. She still looked a little like a bucking bronco, but over time ran more naturally.
I was kind of surprised that she didn't trip even once! She began to look like all the dogs in the videos I watched! Alot of photos were too blurred but I managed to get a few good action shots.
Here she is carrying a stick in her mouth. It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining.
Carmella looks like a racehorse when she runs! The instructions said to just keep the brace on her for an hour or so a few times a day, so once statred getting tired shelay in the grass for awhile.
Then I took her back inside, took it off, and went back to working on my custom order metal clay ring so that it would be ready to ship on Saturday. Carmella had a look of satisfaction on her face as though she knew that things were on the way to healing.
Sales have begun to pick up somewhat on Etsy in recent weeks! Keep it coming. I just paid a chunk on my Care Credit bill, but there's still a long way to go before the balance is paid off.
My new copper flower line is out now, so to help contribute towards Carmella's medical costs please consider purchasing some of these pieces, buy an ad on my blog, and/or use the donation button in my sidebar.
Thanks to all those who have already purchased or donated.
Blogging about Carmella's situation, tweeting about it, and posting links on your various social networking sites will help, as will sending your friends to either of these shops;
I need to start planning now for Carmella's stem cell transplant, and in the meantime the brace will prevent her injury from getting worse while I raise the necessary funds.
There's a vet reviewing her X-rays as we speak. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.
