Bailey Becomes My Dog

I would like to thank everyone who commented on my last post “Bring Home Bailey.” As a rescue dog, she was a challenge when we first brought her home. Especially, as I noted, house training her. But also in other interactions. She was afraid of everything. Initially, when we wanted to go to the park, we carried her to the car. She wouldn’t go out the door, and when she finally did, she wouldn’t jump into or out of the car. We spent a lot of time and money training her. She needed to behave on the leash so my wife to take her on walks. A few months after we brought her home that plan suffered a major setback. I got a call from my wife while I was at work. She told me she had fallen in the park and couldn’t walk. When I asked if we needed to call an ambulance, she said no that I needed to come to get her. So, I left work, went to the park, and took her and Bailey home. We called our orthopedic surgeon for an appointment. The x-ray showed she had a tibial plateau fracture. (The flat portion at the top of the tibia on the knee joint had a vertical fracture.) It didn’t require surgery, but she could not put any weight on her leg for weeks to allow it to heal. During their walk at the park, they met a man with another dog. When she tried to introduce Bailey to the other dog, Bailey shied hitting the outside of her knee forcing it in, and her femur down onto the tibial plateau causing the fracture. It turns out pets are a major cause of injuries for older adults.

As a result of my wife’s injury, I worked from home and took care of her, and Bailey became my dog. I took for walks at least twice a day and training classes. Though she is still skittish especially with dogs or people that approach too quickly, she is much better. She has learned to trust me and if she is uncomfortable, will often lean against me for reassurance. She is by far the most affectionate dog we have owned. Today my wife walks her on occasion, though it took a while for her to overcome her fear of falling.

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