April 27, 2013: Bubba’s Bad Day!

A mixed day for my pug Bubba.  This morning, he got to do his favorite thing in the world next to eating: going to the farmers market and eating!  Amid the all the strolling and attention paid to him (kids love him and he loves being loved by kids!) he sampled a crepe, butter chicken schnitzel, some naan, and whatever else he happened to hoover off the ground.

I know, I know.  I should really only be feeding him dog food.  But, honestly, could YOU say no to this face?

Bubba’s “I wonder what THAT tastes like?” look.

We did our shopping and returned home where I headed downstairs to the theater room to watch The Godfather with my gals (Jelly and Lulu) while momma’s boy Bubba elected to hang out with my other gal.  I was about an hour and ten minutes into the movie, right after McCluskey breaks Michael Corleone’s jaw, when he I heard a panicked Akemi shouting my name.  Usually, this means someone is at the front door so I hit pause and hurried up the stairs.  There, I discovered Akemi cradling Bubba who was bleeding profusely from his paw.  Apparently, he’d been sitting on her lap and, in attempting to hop down, had caught his claw on a cabinet.

I gave him 25 mg of tramadol, then called the vet.  We had half an hour before our appointment so, while Akemi tended to the wound, headed upstairs to clean up the mess.

It looked like a murder scene!

My poor boy.

Although he was feeling pretty laid back after taking the tramadol, Bubba was nevertheless reluctant to let me examine his injured paw – but it was pretty clear he had damaged the nail.  It was just impossible to know how seriously.

It certainly looked serious.

Bubba feeling pretty good after the tramadol.

He was examined by the vet who confirmed he had broken the nail – but couldn’t be sure whether he’d dislocated anything.  She cleaned the wound and suggested I bring him back Monday morning for further review and an x-ray.  In a best case scenario, they would remove part of his nail.  In a worst case scenario, they may have to amputate the nail to the joint.

The lounging wounded.

Once back home, Bubba tried out his bandaged-up paw.  Suffice it to say, he’s not a fan of the new look.  Akemi noted that now, apparently, he can only walk backwards:

He’s been a sad little guy all afternoon:

Kind of reminded me of this: