August 13, 2012

White Dog came back in from her post dinner trip out to the yard. "What happened here? Looks like the scene from one of those over-the-top horror movies Michael sometimes watches!"

The rest of the White Dog Army was already gathered around Steve whose hands were bloody but not as much as the cloth he held pressed around Nuka's back foot. Another White Dog was held tightly in my arms and she rested her head on my shoulder whimpering softly. My t-shirt was spattered in blood and had solid soakings in several places. Not exactly our normal after dinner fun.

When Nuka came into the kitchen for dinner she was walking timidly and back-kicking her rear left leg. She is constantly getting little bits of rock or weed seeds stuck deeply between her toes and needs help getting them out to relieve the pressure and pain.

That is what started the "train wreck," as Puff called it. I held Nuka and Steve teased out a burr from her toe space. When he checked to make sure he had gotten it all he noticed another bit, deeper and as he dug to extract it, AWD kicked out. He got the fragment out but noticed that her nails were getting long. "As long as you are holding her and she is behaving so well..." he started.

We have a nice pair of nail clippers for the pups that has a safety guard and a quick trigger. He reached into the grooming kit and grabbed them out. Nuka was nonplussed for the front feet and for the back left. Then we turned her around and let her once again settle against my chest to do the right rear. The first toe went smoothly but when Steve clicked to clip the second AWD started and we caught her quick.

Blood was dripping everywhere and she was struggling to get down. It is amazing how much one little toenail cut can bleed. It was a frightening amount and it wouldn't stop. We tried the cornstarch trick but the blood soon turned her paw into a pinkish mash and still fresh blood dripped through. We wiped that off and applied antibiotic cream and wrapped the foot in a cloth while applying pressure. While we waited the White Ones pressed close to sniff the foot and to make us feel like very incompetent parents. Nuka just leaned against my cheek panting with little moans mixed in.

After a time the bleeding stopped and we set our girl back down on the floor. She wobbled for a step or two then looked expectantly at the treat jar. When her siblings wanted a closer look, she yipped them away thinking she would have to share her reward for damages done. Jerky heals all, apparently.