About Coach

When the vet called back yesterday I took a deep breath before answering. I’d been crying all day and needed to get it together to speak to him.
“I hear Coach is having a rough time,” he says.
“Yes…” I muster slowly and then instantly start to weep.
When the vet saw her in August she was doing so good. Wonderful even. I brought her in for light bleeding, thinking she had a UTI when we discovered she had a torn ACL, called a cranial cruciate ligament in dog language.
A couple days prior, our other *very large* dog had jumped on her while trying to play. I didn’t think too much of her very slight limp at the time, I was more concerned for her bleeding, but the vet knew right away. The ligament was completely torn and he thought that the ACL injury could be what led to the bleeding.
Coach and I drove home, “She’s gonna be okay,” I kept telling myself, “Dogs can live with this injury.” The days that followed got progressively harder. Coach needed her meds every 12 hours, and I was working very long hours and couldn’t always get her meds on time. If a dose was missed, the bleeding came back. I was hopeless and distraught when my mom graciously offered to help. She took Coach into her care for a few weeks. Coach got time to rest, time to heal with tons of love and attention, time to play with toys and even go for slow walks. She got her meds on time and was still doing so well.
Coach is home now, when the meds ran out, the bleeding came back. I called the vet right away Monday to let them know. Her leg isn’t being used while I’m at work, she’s very stiff when I get home. And within a the last few days, her paw began to flip backwards when she walks. So the walk we took on Monday, we couldn’t do today. Going potty is another recent issue, which could be caused by nerve damage or pinching from the leg injury.
When he called yesterday to check in and I explained everything that’s happened with Coach since Monday, “Oh, wow…” He trails off and somewhere in my disassociation I heard him mention “emergency appointment.” So, as we wait for her to be seen again tomorrow, I am doing my best to keep the tears at bay especially in her company, which is incredibly hard. I am doing everything I can to be strong, that's what Coach deserves.