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Entry tags:
- death,
- dogs,
- ella,
- photographs,
- videos
Ella-gy
Ella has now possibly ruptured her other CCL (cranial cruciate ligament, analogous to the ACL in humans). She's on tramadol for the pain (an anti-inflammatory would be better but they're really tough on her digestive system) and on limited activity for a week or more. This is actually good news, though, because when I described Ella's symptoms the vet's gut hypothesis was arthritis. Fortunately, the physical exam and X-rays did not support that diagnosis.But those few moments of facing the prospect of arthritis only reinforce the sad knowledge that Ella is getting older. She's eight years old, well into middle age for a dog, and though we joke (somewhat desperately) that she has another thirty or forty years left in her, we know that's not the case. (It's more like fifty.)
News organizations keep obituaries of public figures ready to go, just in case. I keep thinking that I should start working on Ella's obituary now because I'll be in no shape to do it when it's needed. We are no respecters of species here—Ella is the third person in our family, and I know that when I have to write that blog entry I'm going to leave out some of the important details of her life and personality that I want so much to preserve.
There's the slight crookedness of her spine, which means that when you're walking behind her in a straight line you can see how her hindquarters are angled a couple inches to the right. There's the way she decides some mornings that she wants to walk all the way to the lakeshore and resists all attempts to turn her from that eastward path with a withering staredown.
There's the way she often misses the first step when she goes charging up the back stairs. There's the way, when she has a toy in her mouth, that she likes to bash you in the backs of the legs so you'll keep playing tug with her—even if that toy happens to be a stick three feet long and perfectly positioned to take you out at the knees. There's the way that she'll try to pick up even a huge fallen willow bough to drag around with her at the park. There's the way she can't control herself when you reach for the plastic bag with her basketball inside and starts hurling herself into the air to bite at it. There's the way that she invented her own game to play with that basketball, chasing it so she can push it around with her face. There's the way she kicks back dirt in every direction but the direction where she left her droppings. There's the way she loves to tease other dogs when they're leashed and she's not. There's the way she sometimes goes on a tear at the park and runs in huge figure-eights for the sheer joy of it. There's the way, when it snows, that she can't seem to walk four feet without throwing herself down on her back and wriggling around in the powder. There the way, when she hasn't eaten her breakfast, that the urgent devouring of it suddenly sidetracks her when we're trying to usher her out the back door. There's the way that, if we give her a treat before leaving her alone at home, she won't eat it until one or the other of us has returned. There's the way she scratches at the hardwood floor like making a nest before she collapses onto her side and curls up. There's the way she sighs and rests her chin on your knee while you're reading on the couch.I have to make myself stop now, because I could just keep going. Just like Ella is going to, dammit.
While we're on the topic, some of you have wondered how I get so many good photos of Ella. The answer is, I take about ten times as many as I ever put online, and when I see Ella do something unbearably cute I try to make her do it again so I can capture it. This picture of Ella examining a toadstool, for instance? Totally restaged.
If you're curious to see what sometimes happens behind the scenes on an Ella photo shoot, this video should give you some idea. I'm not actually taking photos of her here (I'm shooting video, duh), but I am trying to incite her to keep doing cute things over and over again when she's clearly ready to go home already. Oh, well. At least she sleeps well after a play session like this.
Crossposted from Inhuman Swill
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Both of Darwin's knees were surgically repaired, but for dogs, that generally means stapling in an artificial ligament, as opposed to repairing the real ligament. With the first leg, he had the basic surgery; with the second, we had a better vet, and he told us about another (more expensive) procedure that included reinforcing the joint with a metal plate, so we opted for that.
At WFC in San Diego, I met a fellow writer who was now a registered nurse but in the past he had been a vet tech. He said when one of a dog's ACLs goes, the other almost always follows because favoring the bad leg puts so much stress on the good leg.
Artificial ligaments doesn't last more than a few years, so Darwin's back legs are now very wonky. Thank goodness he had the more extensive repair on that second knee or he would not have a leg to stand on. I hope Ella heals well, because I know from your photos how much she enjoys a good run.
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Also, after reading your account I'm more determined than ever to make Ella rest and heal. Having injured both CCLs in the past couple of months, I'm sure she's at risk for doing it again.
Anatomy
The naming of the ligaments is based on their positioning relative to the body. That's why humans have anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments (front and back of body), but quadrupeds have cranial and caudal cruciate ligaments because of the way the joint is positioned.
Or at least that's how my vet explained it.
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Dozer does this too!
Do me a favor and give Ella a scritch from me?
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