Xander's Journey

There have been many things that I want to do for, and provide for, my best friend – one of those things is freedom.

My first Rotti, Shadow, when I lived at home always roamed free. There were acres and acres to explore and everyone knew him so there was never a thought about any danger to him. The worst thing that ever happened was a run in with a porcupine.. oh, and one with a skunk but that was just more of a nuisance based on his eau de nature for a few days.

My mom’s dog Braden, an Australian Sheppard, roamed free to but in a different way. My grandfather had purchased a PetSafe remote system that plugged in and created a radius signal. It’s a portable and fantastic system so I thought it to be perfect for Xander. He could have free reign of my big yard, and could be outside playing even if I wasn’t.

The collar worked perfectly, until the day the batteries died. Now, the batteries had died before of course, but it was always something I was conscious of so they were changed regularly. This time was a little too late.

Xander had NEVER gone to the road before, but today was going to be different. Remembrance day morning we were getting ready to go to the 11:00a.m. ceremonies and Xander was outside playing when a car drove in the driveway. I went to the window to peek out and an older gentleman stepped out of the car, all the while looking towards the front yard, but there was no Xander there greeting him. Without stopping to put shoes on I went out the door – his reaction was to point to the front yard and say “your dog…”.

I flew down the steps and down the driveway to the front of the house. The sight that greeted me was Xander, laying on the lawn, half propped up on his left side. As soon as our eyes met he flopped over. When I reached him I hit my knees and struggled to think what to do next, my mind was racing with “no, no no no no!!”… the gentleman and his wife, who were still in the driveway were apologizing and asking if there was anything they could do. All I could do was thank them for taking the time to stop

The next thing I knew I was screaming for my friend, who was in the house, to help. I started gently running my hands over him to see if I could tell if anything was broken. He didn’t move, he didn’t flinch, he didn’t make a sound- just laid there, still breathing, with his eyes wide. I realized then there was blood on my hands from a gash in his chin. She arrived by his side with his blanket and the phone, attempting to call the on call vet. We covered him with the blanked andI laid against his back, begging him to stay with me. Once we determined which office was open we gently rolled him onto the blanket and hoisted him into the car. I sat in the back with him against my leg.

The next couple hours seemed to drag, and at the same time fly by between getting him stabilized, the IV in, checking for damage, doses of medication and Xrays. There were times that I had to hold his face and holler his name for him to focus on me just for a moment – he was in sock. Medication was administered to make sure it was only shock and there wasn’t swelling in his head because his pupils were not dilating properly.

As he came out of shock he started to cry more when he had to be positioned for Xrays. It was heart breaking, but the tech and the vet were so fantastic.

The verdict was that there were no broken bones (which is why he’s lovingly called Xander “Tank”), but that the force of the blow when he was hit had separated his lung from the chest wall and there was air leaking from his lung. Some of the air was drained at that time, but it was determined that he would need 24hr care.

We packed him up with a little more pain med and drove the almost 2 hours to the closest 24 hr facility. The verdict there was the same, but that all the air would not be drained because the air pressure was keeping his damaged lung from bleeding too much – his xrays were riddled with obvious contusions.

After a day or so of trying to hang around we were forced to go home and leave him because visiting was too stressful on him. He would get too excited, and after one visit more air needed to be drained.

Before leaving, I was advised of what has ultimately led us to where we are today. Neurological/ deep pain testing showed that he had no use of his right foreleg. When the car struck Xander on the left, his right leg was pushed out sideways, causing Brachial Plexus avulsion. The hope was that the nerves were simply swollen – worst case was they were too damaged, or severed… in which case, ampawtation would be in the future.

Xander came home on Monday evening, November 16th. In the weeks following his homecoming his recovery was amazing. Within 4 days he was cleared from any further issues with his lung. He was climbing and descending the stairs immediately with the help of a sling, his personality began to emerge again… and in the 2nd week he decided I was being too slow and “ran” up the stairs on his own.. by the third week he was hopping around the living room playing with his toys.. and by the fourth week he had feeling in his shoulder down to his elbow. Sadly, the feeling did not progress beyond an inch or so below the elbow. Video of how well he does to come!

I realized that ampawtation was the only answer when he started damaging his own foot. He began chewing on his dew claw.. and before a cone could be put in place he had the side of that small toe open. Through bathing it in salt water and daily care the “toe” has healed, though the nail is gone and only a bump where the toe was remains.  Xander had been doing so well that he hadn’t worn his collar in weeks. One day last week however, I cam home to the first claw missing, as well as the black pad on his toe. Xander now has a muzzle for when I cannot be with him.

He doesn’t seem to mind it though – it’s a little big because it’s only for chewing, and when I tell him it’s bed time he comes to me for the muzzle and then hops down the hall to his bed.

Now we count the days. One week from tomorrow Xander will have his ampawtation.. then the last round of healing will begin. Based on the stories I have read here that have been shared by so many brave pawrents and kids,  Xander is lucky. He is on the home stretch.. the last bit of fight before he can return to some normalcy. For those of you out there that your journey only begins with ampawtation, I commend you… the strength required, the confiedence in your tripaw and yourself to make it through day by day is astounding. 

Opie’s post about living day by day is perfect. Xander doesn’t worry about what’s going to happen tomorrow, or what happened yesterday… only what happens now. I would love to be more of the person my dog thinks I am, and be as strong as he is.  His question is not “how am I ever going to make it on three paws”.. it’s gonna be “can I have my toys now!?”

Thank you for sharing in the rest of Xander’s story… more will come with video and pictures of his progress!!!