Master Gimp

« The patient in recovery is unable to keep from fiddling with his bandages and is made to wear a t-shirt to keep him from damaging them. It looks more dignified than a cone, but makes him look goofy anyway. :) »

Given how the week has gone, including getting trapped in the lift that goes down to the machine room bunker at least 4 times, and that tomorrow is Friday the 13th I am considering staying at home and hiding under my bed with a book and a bottle of whisky. :)

Jarkko showed me a hilarious trailer for Star Wreck V: The Pirkinning tonight which made me try to think of how many space or sci-fi Finnish movies there are and I couldn't think of any. I thought the lack was somewhat curious. As the title might suggest, Star Wreck is a series that features characters with names that are fun to say, like Mr. Fukov.

We finally took Otava in for an x-ray after his limp continued and settled in on one leg. The x-rays showed that his hips are very good but that the elbow on the gimpy leg had an inflammation due to a thickening of the cartilage, a.k.a. Osteochondritis dissecans or OD, on the surface of the joint part of which breaks off and causes pain in the joint. The vet took him into surgery straightaway, removed the offending bit of cartilage and reported that the joint looked very good otherwise and that he should recover nicely.

He was awfully groggy when we went to pick him up and the vet seemed to think that he could gimp the few blocks home without a problem, but after about 20 metres he sat down clearly zoned out of his gourd, and drooled so we called a taxi to rescue us. As soon as he came through the door at home he flopped down in the hallway and I sat next to him and read a book for a few hours until he woke up and whined at me. I didn't want him to come out of the anesthesia alone since the last thing he knew we were sitting in the vet's office while he was thinking about food, sex or sleep. The vet suggested that we put a t-shirt on him if he started trying to lick or chew at his dressings and this provided at least an hour of comedy between getting the shirt on, giggling at how he looked in it and the amazing amount of attention he seemed to attract while walking him in the shirt. :)

In spite of his surgery, he is beyond eager to go to the park and play with his pals and exhibits an extreme amount of stubbornness when that singular goal is not achieved. He is all Missouri mule when it comes down to the battle of leaving the park. It's going to be a long month of petulant stubborn puppy while his joint heals.