On Friday morning, Moose did his patented head-twist and slipped himself free of his collar. Then he spotted a cat in the landscaping and took off. He ran through the bushes and out of my line of sight, towards a nearby side street. A moment later, I heard a loud yelp and Moose came limping back towards me.
He got hit by a car.
I didn’t see any open wounds, and he didn’t seem to have any broken bones, so we carefully walked back to the apartment and called the vet. They said I should bring him in to get checked, so I did. Turns out he DID have a break — in his tail. The break is pretty big and pretty high up towards his butt, and the veterinarian said that they would most likely have to amputate his tail. Tail breaks, he explained, often end up severing the nerves and blood vessels that go through the tail. Other tail injuries can be pretty serious, too.
Another concern was inside. There was some swelling and bruising around the colon, and the vet wasn’t sure if there was any damage to the nerves that control the sphincter. He said I could take Moose home for the weekend and let him rest, and we would reevaluate his injuries on Monday (today).
So it’s been a rough weekend. Friday night I barely slept at all, and eventually pulled my pillows and blankets into the living room to curl up by Moose. Saturday, he was a little perkier — the last of the sedatives from getting his x-rays must have worn off — and he even wagged the top of his tail at me. The dead end of the tail lamely followed along, so it was a bittersweet feeling to see him try. I’ve seen him laying on the tail — sometimes it’s folded right in half — and not even notice it’s there. So I’m pretty sure the nerves were indeed severed by the break.
By Sunday, when he finally pooped, I was ready to throw a party. He must have some nerve action in his butt if he can poop. I’ve never EVER been so happy about picking up doggy doo.
Now we’re waiting. I called in to the vet’s office bright and early this morning. The doctor is going to call us back to discuss Moose’s weekend and schedule his surgery.