Border Collie, Bandages, Breaks...

My Cowboy's right-hand Border Collie dog got stepped on by a bull June 16th. We made a mad dash to the vet's office and the x-rays didn't show anything broken but some pulled/torn tendons. We came home thinking she would be out of commission for about 12 weeks.

Back to the story, they were moving bulls and they were trying to get them through a gate and those bulls can move so darned fast. I am scared of them myself! One ran back and Cowboy went to head off Mr. Bull. The bull turned back and Amy was lying in tall grass, couldn't see anything and got her left hind leg stepped on. Hence the phone call to me to see where I was in my journey home and therefore we could go together to said vet.

After approximately four weeks I thought she should go to the groomers to get rid of the belly hair because of needle grass and other "stickers." I helped them and we were very careful. Cowboy and I noticed that her foot sometimes would turn sideways. It made us hurt to look at it. We were due at a family reunion on July 24th in Miles City, so we decided on a second vet opinion (this is 5 1/2 weeks after injury). X-rays showed breaks on both sides of her bones just above the foot. Dr. Ryan Rienstra said it wouldn't heal without something done. He said it was more complicated than he wanted to handle and recommended Dr. Ken Brown to do surgery. We were given an approximate cost--she is a working dog besides our family...we said go for it.

Dr. Ken Brown is really a pet/people vet. He put us at ease and we left her in their care for surgery. That was done on August 4th. Today was a followup check and new bandage with Dr. Rienstra. He said it is looking good. We can get rid of the t-shirt unless she starts licking the shoulders where bone chips were taken for the plating. We see him next week again and will go to Dr. Brown in three weeks for followup x-rays. She is on a leash when we go outside.

She is now lying on the cool basement floor, shoulders down sleeping hard!

Our dogs and cats, and horses too, just trust us so much.