Yesterday, after our morning walk, we were playing in the yard when I noticed something on Kodi's right front foot. When he got closer, I asked my husband what that looked like and he said "blood".I called Kodi over and gave him the 'paws up' command. He put both feet on my lap and it was obvious, the toenail on his left front dew claw was injured. There was a lot of blood and the toenail was sticking straight out of the side of his foot.
He hadn't yelped or limped or shown any sign of injury, but there it was. Apparently he got it caught either on his airline cable, in the yard or on my husband's jacket when they were rough housing.
We took him in the house, got our ID and everything we needed to rush him to the Veterinary Hospital.
When we got there, they said dew claw toenail injuries are common and happen often. They took him in the back and brought him back a few minutes later. He had a light blue bandage on his left front foot and they informed me he had partially torn his toenail off. They removed it and wrapped it to keep it clean. They prescribed antibiotics.
My sweet puppy wanted a lot of attention and cuddling when we got home. Walking out to the yard to go 'potty' he wouldn't walk more than a foot in front of me and kept stopping and turning back to make sure I was coming. I had to go out into the yard with him to get him to go 'potty'.
Later, in the evening, he got up on the recliner with me, laying his body on top of mine, resting his wrapped paw in my hand and his head on my shoulder and chest. He proceeded to slip peacefully into a deep sleep, where he stayed for some time.
We've taken a couple of walks, as the Vet indicated he could still go for walks and we shouldn't restrict his activity. He's limping a bit, but seems more uncomfortable than in pain.
We are staying close together, aware of where each other is, how we are feeling and what one another needs. He's so much more than 'just a pet'.
