Dreadful Start To Year For The Kelpies

[Neal 1,873]

​2015 ended on a positive note for me with my youngest kelpie, Noggin, catching his first squirrel on 31st December. Needless to say I was looking forward to more of the same for 2016 but, unfortunately, things didn't turn out as I'd hoped.

 

​To start with Scout started limping after a walk in early January. Despite the fact that I can be as guilty as the next person of kennel blindness I've always said that not all kelpies are made the same and while they have a reputation for outstandingly tough feet, Scout's have always been her weakness. They're not the round hard feet of Rusty, Amber and Noggin and resemble those of a collie x whippet I once had. Closer inspection revealed she was limping on the site of an old injury where she'd sliced the main pad of a front foot a few years ago and which has niggled her a tad ever since. So I made the decision to restrict her to walks of an hour at most and retire her from active duty. I felt a bit bad about this at first but then remembered that she'll be nine this year so she's had a good working life and deserved a little pampering and t.l.c.

 

​But worse was to come..I won't go into all the details as it's a long story but near the end of January, during our usual early morning walk Noggin went missing. Following a phone call (of which I couldn't hear a word as the line was so bad but asked the caller to text me instead) I found him covered in blood in the middle of the road. The caller had found him on his way to work and presumed he'd been the victim of a hit and run. It was teeming with rain and a passing milkman had kindly lent him a hi-vis vest which he then passed to me. To reduce the risk of shock I placed my waterproof over him and phoned my wife. To avoid a further accident I tried to get him to the side of the road by dragging him by all four legs at which he staggered to his feet and hobbled to the side of the road with his front right leg stuck out as though he were playing the violin. He then collapsed again until my wife arrived with the kids in pyjamas to take us to the vets. I presumed at this stage that he had a broken leg but was also worried about internal injuries.

 

When I phoned at around eleven I was told that the blood had been from road burns to his front legs and that his leg wasn't broken but instead he had a dislocated elbow. I assumed this was better news until I was told they're quite rare and extremely difficult to fix. I was then called back some time later to be told the bone had been returned to it's rightful place but that it had taken three vets four hours to wrench it back in while Noggin hung upside down from ropes by a drip-stand. When it went back in there was an audible "clunk" followed by a huge cheer from everyone in the room.

 

He's been at home now for over a fortnight and the vet has been amazed at his recovery rate...he was also a firm favourite with the nurses because of his friendly disposition and stoic attitude to his situation. I've gradually increased the lengths of his walks by ten minutes per week so that he's now able to manage half an hour with minimal limping...but it'll be a while before he's let off the lead for a full romp!

 

Then there's Rusty. He was sixteen at the end of November and has outlived all his contemporaries as far as I'm aware. However, he's reached the stage where, as each day goes by, I'm getting closer to realising that it may be time for his final visit to the vet.

 

​Bad news certainly comes in threes.

 

​

Edited February 15, 2016 by Neal

[forest of dean redneck 11,699]

Wow ,run of bad luck there Neal,always keep eye out for your posts as not many people in uk hunt with kelpies and share it.

What are your plans new replacement?

[Neal 1,873]

Thanks F.o. D.R. To be honest, Noggin was brought in as a replacement for Rusty nearly two years ago...I wasn't expecting him to keep going this long. He's still happy and wags his tail like mad whenever he sees me. He's been skating across the tiled floor of the kitchen for a while but he's now having trouble getting onto the "dog sofa" and even standing up straight on a carpeted floor is proving difficult and his accidents indoors are becoming frequent!

[J Darcy 5,871]

Hi Neal. With Scout's pad it will be scar tissue hardening probably that is causing her pain as she walks. If I were you I'd buy a jar of coconut oil and massage it into the pad that is affected. I would do this three times a day , then cut it down to once a day after a week and see how she goes. You might just be surprised.

[Neal 1,873]

Thanks J.D. I'll try it.

[forest of dean redneck 11,699]

Hi Neal. With Scout's pad it will be scar tissue hardening probably that is causing her pain as she walks. If I were you I'd buy a jar of coconut oil and massage it into the pad that is affected. I would do this three times a day , then cut it down to once a day after a week and see how she goes. You might just be surprised.

Interesting tip,will store that in my brain.

[jok 3,320]

More than one thing to remember then lol. Testing.

[day and night walker 235]

I feel for you fella, lost my plummer x 2 years ago this march, paddys day to be exact. She was run down while out bushing. atb and i hope things work out the best they can for you.

[Neal 1,873]

Forgot to add in the first post that when I popped round to see the bloke who'd helped Noggin (with some wine and chocolates to say thanks) he told me that eight days before he'd found Noggin his own dog (border collie) had been knocked over and killed.

[Silversnake 1,099]

Tough breaks neal, i hope good news isn't far away. Atvb.

[Neal 1,873]

If only Silversnake: I'm afraid things have only got worse here. Just over a week ago I had to have old Rusty put to sleep.

 

...I've been staring at the screen for several minutes thinking of what to write but just can't put it into words other than the old quote..."If he wasn't the pick of the litter then somebody else got a bloody good dog."

[forest of dean redneck 11,699]

Sorry to hear that Neal,but sixteen is damn good age for a dog ,seems they don't seem to live as long as they used to years ago,? even with advanced medicines.

[Carraghs Gem 1,675]

Can i swap my bad run of luck for yours neal? Ive a lurcher here with a skin tear, a dutch herder here with a badly broken leg, my mum ended up nearly dying beginning of january when her lungs collapsed and it took her weeks to stabilise, ive pregnancy related SPD which means im barely able to walk, im not divorced yet so that means i have to go to court once baby is born as the irish state decides since im still married that my ex is the father of my baby even though i left him over 2yrs ago and in last couple months a fox injured 1 goose, 1 gander and killed a very expensive sebastapol gander... Oh and the pony that we let graze the land for free broke out and destroyed most of my fruit trees and fruit bushes

[Neal 1,873]

Sorry to hear your bad news C.G. just remember that quote about "that which doesn't kill us makes us stronger."

 

F.o. D.R. I'm clinging on to the fact that 16 was a pretty good age for a kelpie. When I look back at all we've been through together: focusing on him got me through the death of my mum in 2000 and he was the best man at my wedding in 2005...that was one month before his sixth birthday and I had my tenth wedding anniversary last year...it seems unbelievable. When he was born I still had a mum and three grandparents and most people didn't have mobile phones...and they certainly couldn't take photos!

 

I could always rely on him to do the right thing and he was always there for me, always my right hand man.

 

Anyway, onwards and upwards, now I've got to focus on getting his great nephew (or is it second cousin?) back in shape so that he can take over where Old Rusty left off.

[low plains drifter 10,693]

 

Hi Neal. With Scout's pad it will be scar tissue hardening probably that is causing her pain as she walks. If I were you I'd buy a jar of coconut oil and massage it into the pad that is affected. I would do this three times a day , then cut it down to once a day after a week and see how she goes. You might just be surprised.

Interesting tip,will store that in my brain.

What kind of sausages are you making ?