A Permanent Reminder . . .

An anniversary has come and gone recently, but I'm not sure if I should mark it or not.  Last year on October 8, I changed Mommy forever . . .

That was the day she tried to retrieve a chicken bone from my mouth that we came across while walking.  I accidentally bit and broke her finger!  You can read all about it here and here.   I'll admit it wasn't my finest moment.  (Or hers either if we're being honest!)

Mommy was hopeful her broken joint would return to its original size.  That's apparently not to be.  She says she has old lady joints in this finger now!  Here's what her finger looks like a year later:  (not bad from this angle)

But this angle shows a different picture (literally and figuratively).  Most of Mommy's fingers  (and I'm assuming yours too) can bend in two directions.  In this picture you can see how her pointer finger bends down.  You can also see her wonky old lady joint (or knuckle as the picture says) in this picture. 

But here you can see how her broken finger cannot bend in that concave direction any longer.  It probably never will.  [sigh]  That joint can be popped now when it's feeling tight.  It does bend in the opposite direction as far as it's supposed to, so that's a good thing!  Just trying to look on the bright side . . .

Another bright side to this story is that we both learned a valuable lesson.  Mommy learned (maybe?  hopefully?) not to come between me and food.  I learned to look beautiful when I'm guilty.

Another positive note?  Mommy says she'll never forget me!  As if there was any doubt previously?? Ha!

Jenna
The Foodie

The Unfortunate Incident (Part 2)

The last time we posted, you read about The Unfortunate Incident where I accidentally broke Mommy's finger.  The situation got much worse for both of us!

For Mommy, she says she always thought she had a pretty high tolerance for pain.  That was before The Unfortunate Incident.  Several hours after learning the first joint in her middle finger was broken, the PAIN KICKED IN!  She was miserable that first night.  She remained in pain for a couple weeks, but nothing was quite like that first night.  The pain medication didn't seem to help at all.

My situation became grave as well.  The state in which we live requires the doctor to report all dog bites despite Mommy and Daddy taking my up-to-date vaccination records with them to the examination.  They were not allowed to leave the doctor's office until they met with Animal Control.   Mommy explained that she was the idiot who had willingly placed her hand inside my mouth and that I had no idea I'd bitten her (her words, not mine).  It did not matter and Mommy was in tears when the officer said I would have to be QUARANTINED!!!!  The horror!  I really don't look good in orange or stripes.  Mommy felt sooooo bad for me since it truly wasn't my fault!

On the bright side, I was able to undergo a house quarantine and didn't have to actually be put in the slammer.  The fact that Animal Control forgot to show up and officially "start the quarantine" and then tried to serve Mommy papers for "failure to surrender" me is a whole other story I will NOT be sharing with you!  I served ten days under house arrest.  It wasn't fun, but Mommy tried to make it as pleasant for me as possible.  (These aren't the best pictures, but remember Mommy was operating the camera one handed.)

Over the last six months, Mommy has had several x-rays of her finger and plenty of appointments with a specialist.  We never know what color Mommy's finger will be upon her return!

She is doing physical therapy at home a few times a day and even six months later she's still wrapping her finger for a few hours each day.  She's started buying the wrap in bulk online and we never know what colors will be in each delivery!  For the most part, the finger has healed.  I barely even left a scar.  The biggest issue now is the joints in her finger are still swollen and stiff.  Some days are better than others.  The doctor says it could take a YEAR for it to return to normal!  [gulp!]  Although the fingernail did not fall off (whew!), the nail bed was damaged and there was an ugly ridge across the nail for about three months.  That's now gone.  Finally, something to bark about!

Here's what the finger actually looks like:

In Mommy's mind, here's what her finger looks like . . .

or this . . .

Mommy's very self-conscious about her finger when out in public, especially making purchases and signing the receipt with her right hand.  (Hey, I have an idea.  STOP shopping!  Ha!)  Hopefully with continued physical therapy and wrapping, the finger will return to normal one day . . . We'll let you know in another six months!

So now you know the ugly truth about me.  I was a very bad girl, but I'm trying to make up for it.  I've become much more snuggly in the last six months and do anything I can to stay in Mommy's good graces.  She says she's pretty sure she'll always have her fat joints to remember me by!

[sigh]
Jenna


PS: Happy birthday yesterday to Aunt C!

The Unfortunate Incident (Part 1)

We've been keeping something a secret from you.  Only our closest friends and family already know about The Unfortunate Incident as Mommy tends to call it.  I was a VERY BAD GIRL (or so I've been told)!  It's been six months since The Unfortunate Incident, so I feel safe in telling you all about it now.  Hopefully you won't hold this against me and we can still be friends.  Mommy still loves me, and if she can then anyone can!

I BIT MOMMY!  Not only did I bite Mommy, but I BROKE her finger!  Did I just hear a deep inhale of shock from you?  I truly didn't mean to do it.  It was an ACCIDENT!!!!  Honestly, it was!

Way back at the beginning of October, Mommy was walking me and Dixie on our usual morning route.  For some reason we tend to come across the strangest things on our walks.  Some of these items would be better placed in a trash can than along the streets of our city, but I can't control the actions of others.  Most of these weird items are fun to find, such as a bag from McDonald's that might still have french fries in it.  Or remnants of a biscuit.  Or just a dirty paper towel.  It really doesn't take much to please us with these little morsels of yumminess. We've even seen dirty diapers!  Ewww!  Sometimes Mommy is successful in making us leave the items behind and sometimes not.  Which brings me to The Unfortunate Incident . . .

There on the street curb in all its glory was a chicken bone!  Cue the spotlight from the heavens and the choir!  (Mommy wants to know who in their right mind throws their chicken bones out on the street?!?!?)  As soon as I spied that bone, I had to have it.  I could hear the angels singing . . . or was that Mommy screaming?

Mommy saw what I had grabbed and came right up behind me to try to take it away.  As she knows, chicken bones are NOT good for dawgs!  They can splinter and cause all kinds of problems to my insides.  Instead of coming around and facing me to pry the jaws of life open, she just reached around my head to pry my mouth open from behind.  Fearing my treat was about to disappear, I was chewing as hard and fast as I could.  I never even knew her fingers were in my mouth!  (That's my story and I'm sticking to it!)  It looked just like this picture Mommy found on Instagram:

Mommy immediately started walking us back home holding both leashes in one hand while she held her other hand up in the air to try to stop the bleeding.  She says she was in pain, but not too bad.  We went home where she cleaned the wound, took a bath, gave us a bath, and didn't think much of it until the bandaids kept filling up and needed frequent changing.  About four hours later, she noticed swelling in that finger.  Fearing it was infected, she made the decision to go to the doctor.  Thank goodness she did.  Her finger was broken!  (On the positive side, her nails were looking GREAT at the time!)

The bite doesn't look THAT bad does it????  Sure there's a bit of swelling, but . . . 

We have these pictures because Mommy sent a few updates to our grandparents during this most unfortunate time.  There's more to the story, but I think I've revealed enough for today.

Until next time, please remember to place your chicken bones (as well as dirty diapers and fast food bags) in the trash!

Jenna

PS: Happy Birthday Mimi!