You can’t keep a good pug down!

A few days in this bracelet-fused-to-bone and Audrey is trying to maintain her puppyhood. She easily forgets that she’s not supposed to run, jump, do stairs (up or down), chase the cats, toss and go after a stuffed toy, maneuver couches and beds on her own or just about anything that involves weight on her leg or fast movement. Our words of ‘Audrey, no’ or ‘leave the kitties alone’ are ignored. But she’s such a good dog that she’s easily stopped and corralled (thank heavens she’s not a German Shepard) and scooped into loving arms that will carry her places and keep her movement to a minimum.

But it takes constant vigilance on our part. The truly hard part of helping our little pug princess. We need to know where she is 24/7. This makes for not getting a lot done independently. Patrick is trying to remodel the bathroom. (Is that enough to say for taking out everything to the rafters)? Alice is at school. I’m in and out with work (the semester started this week so my hours on campus are longer each day). It’s fine if we’re in one place for a while and she can be near by. But if we move from room to room either Audrey wants to follow us (a pug-thing independent of the leg issue) or we need to carry her with us (to know what she’s up to). So, Audrey’s surgery did come at a bad time, but like having children, is there ever a completely convenient time for these things???

She’s getting her two pills twice a day, plus pain pill at night that, if it doesn’t go down completely creates the most immediate foaming at the mouth. The cleaning of the areas where the pins go into her leg (it’s ok to be grossed out). And yesterday (drum roll, please) the bolts were turned. In fact, with this morning, I’ve done it 3 times now. It really is easy, just as I’d practiced at the vet’s office. That 10mm wrench to what looks like a four sided dice, two small turns to the right to get the 1 or the 3 dots to face forward, repeat for all three and we’re done. Audrey doesn’t react so I don’t think she feels it. The vet told me stories of people turning them either a) the wrong way and shortening the leg, or b) too much and making the leg longer than the other so of course I’m a bit anxious that we’ll go in on Wednesday to learn that I’m making a mistake.

Audrey is absolutely wonderful – negotiating the device as she finds a spot to sleep, or sit, or walk; putting up with pills and cleaning solutions and occasional mouth foam; not doing what she would love to do; putting up with my telling the stories of her situation, her surgery, her recovery over and over; continuing to look as cute as ever. She is one amazing dog. If Charlotte the spider were in my office, I’d ask her to spin, “That’s Some Pug” in her web.