It was a big morning. I got up early, and put together a 'cowboy roast' that would fill the house with wonderful smells for the next 10 to 12 hours while I was away at the dog show and Ken was at work.
I got myself and the show dogs - Penelope and Feynman - clean and sparkling for the big day. After their baths, both dogs took one look at my 'show clothes' outfit and knew exactly where we were going. They were wiggling and jumping and quivering with excitement. These two LOVE to show.
With a bit of time still to spare, I let Feynman and Penelope into the garage and went back into the house for Alfredo (no way was I leaving the puppy behind for hours and hours with the opportunity to socialize him more and get him even more dog-show-venue experience under his belt).
As I shut the garage door to prevent ALL of the rest of the dogs from trying to go to the show and took several steps toward Alfredo, I heard an awful YELP! from the garage.
Rushing back out, I saw that Feynman was limping slightly and holding up his left front leg. Knowing that whippets can occasionally be drama queens, I brought him in the house to watch him for a moment and see if he'd get over whatever silliness he'd done and start walking normally again.
That's when I saw the gaping tear on the inside of the leg, just above his wrist. Somehow, in just a matter of seconds, he'd ripped a quarter-sized hole in his skin. And as you fellow whippet owners know, whippet skin is so tight, tears so easily and is just a mess when it rips.
In a cold sweat, I wrapped the leg in gauze and vet wrap, brought Penelope back into the house, and headed to Ken's vet clinic with Feynman.
The expression on Penelope's face as I left with Feynman (still decked out in 'show clothes') was nearly as heartbreaking as the worry about Feynman's injury. She wrinkled her brow as if to say, "But....but...I got a bath. And ... and...you're dressed up....and...and...we were gonna go SHOW today!"
At the clinic, Feynman yarped bloody murder about the removal of my make-shift bandage and was clearly unwilling to let anyone handle his owie. So, after a shot of serious pain killers and a 15 minute wait, he was settled in enough to let Ken and Jennifer, the head Vet Tech get the wound cleaned, stapled up, and wrapped in a much better dressing.
After leaving Feynman with Ken, it was back to Horsetooth Whippets for me, to make sure the dogs who'd been left behind hadn't gotten themselves into any trouble while I was gone. All was well 'back at the ranch,' so we'll try for the show ring again with just Penelope tomorrow. Feynie will just have to be there is spirit.
On the upside, stay tuned for a bunch of recent pics from up here at Horsetooth...
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