Max the Magnificent is on the DL*

*DL for those non-athletes ~coughwirecuttercough~ DL stands for Disabled List.

Soooo......

Max is down with a serious cut across three pads on his front left paw and a deep puncture wound on the outside pad. This is his tragic story.

He's a high energy, high maintenance pooch. I take him for walk/run/drags twice a day, and that doesn't count all the times he launches himself off the deck into the middle of a flock of birds or to chase the resident bunny who lives under the wood pile. He is a furry bundle of barely contained fury. I try to find places where he can go off-leash and really get it out; one of his favorites is John Stiff Dog Park in Amarillo: lake, trees, ducks, geese, and.....jackrabbits. OMG! He loves his little jackrabbit buddies! He'll chase them until he's almost dead from exhaustion. Oh yeah, they play with him, letting him get close before they kick it into overdrive, but he never gives up. There is not an ounce of quit in that dog.

So on our outing to JSDP yesterday morning, he lights out after this bunny that's every bit as big as him and they cross the road in, the median, the road out and into open field. Max comes up lame just into the open field and I know something is hugely wrong. He never gives up the chase that quickly.
I catch up to him and he's sitting there with his left front paw up and blood pouring out of it. I kick into Mommy Mode. We get him into the Momvan, get the paw cleaned and assess the damage. Not too bad, I was expecting to see entire pads ripped off and missing. The bleeding has slowed to a trickle and he's not whimpering anymore. Executive decision is to head home. Bunny chase is called off.

He rests most of the day, limping to his water bowl and licking his wounds. About 2 pm, I notice more blood and he's avoiding jumping up on the furniture.  Not out of respect for the upholstery or anything, just too painful with the foot and too hard without it. We take a little trip to his Vet, sweet girl, young redhead, up both Max and spouse's alley, and get it checked. There's no way to suture a dog's pads, the flesh is too squishy, so it's a round of antibiotics, some awesome painkillers, a few day's off walkies, and NO LICKING. The pills aren't a problem, he's an idiot for cheese. The walkie embargo is a bitch, he's been sulking. But the licking? I'd have better luck stopping wirecutter from posting mean driving memes than I've had stopping the licking. I'm supposed to take him in for a CONE OF SHAME if he doesn't cut it out, and I've told him. I've even threatened to post pics of him in the COS on the blog for all y'all to see. Nothing is working.

So stay tuned for Episode II: Max's Shame.

Max post-pain meds