Dogs Do What Dogs Do

... until dogs die.

Our older Aussie-Cocker mix, Bodie, aka Bodie the Wonder Dog, is 11 years old now. He's a 40# dog, which means he's about 65 years old.

Bodie recently injured his right rear leg to the point where he couldn't put any weight on it. We took him to the vet, but x-rays didn't reveal any ligament damage, so he was given rest and medicine. In a week or so, he was almost back to normal, albeit with a slight limp.

Bodie needed exercise, so we took him to a local schoolyard on Sunday. I had thought he'd take it easy if his leg still hurt. He didn't. The girls ran and played like the tiny loons they are, so he ran and played, too. It was all going fine until the very end. As we headed for the exit, Bodie jogged towards me, screamed in pain and then stopped, pulling up his leg. I thought for sure he had blown out his knee. I kicked myself for being a fool and taking him to a place where he could run.

I brought him to the vet yesterday and an exam showed he still didn't have any serious tendon or ligament damage. The doctor was able to manipulate the leg without Bodie showing any sign of pain. His joints didn't slide around the way they do when the ligaments are ruptured, either. Weird.

Weirder still to me is how Bodie simply refuses to stop being, well, himself. When someone is near our house, he hops, 3-legged, to the gate and barks. He follows me all over the house, going up and down the stairs. Only very rarely does he stay laying down. For the most part, he's up and about despite the injury.

I guess dogs will be dogs until they die. All that walking and hopping isn't helping him heal, but he won't stop it, even when I tell him to lie down.

On the plus side, he's back on rest and medicine and he seems to be getting incrementally better. The vet couldn't figure out what it was, thinking it might be a torn meniscus that we couldn't see with an x-ray or diagnose with manipulation. I think he's doing better that he was on Sunday; he appears to be putting a little weight on the leg now.

Meanwhile, Bodie is Bodie doing what Bodie has always done. Me, I'd use the opportunity to lay in bed and catch up on EPL games on demand. I guess I'm not a dog.

Leah, Bodie and Lily taking a hike with us before Bodie's injury.