Dashing About

I got an update about Emma's brother, Dash, this afternoon (he broke his leg a few weeks ago). He went back to Cornell for a checkup and a new, lighter cast.  He is doing quite well and now has an entire horde of admirers amongst the students and staff at Cornell.   He has also learned that braying brings immediate attention from his worshiping fans.  I wonder how that will go over back at home?:)

Apparently, he gets around very well on his cast.  In fact, he is a little too ambitious and he got sent home with some "mellowing agents" to slow him down just a bit.  I can just imagine what it is like trying to keep a 6 month old donkey quiet so he can heal.  Reminds me a lot of when Tanner was just about that same age and developed a problem with the cartilage in his shoulder.  He had to have surgery and the vet sent him home with me and told me told keep him quiet for 8 weeks.  Keep an 8 month old Border Collie quiet for 8 weeks, yeah, sure, OK, nooooo problem.  Good thing I wasn't blogging back then, anything I might have written at the time would probably have earned me a nice, quiet stay in a softly padded, white room.  Hopefully, the "mellowing agents" will make things a little easier for Dash so he can heal up fast.  

An Injured Donkey

I got an email from Dash's mom (Remember Dash? He is Emma's baby brother), turns out he has had a rough week.  Last Thursday, he slipped on some of the ice we have covering everything here.  Somewhere in the fall or the scramble to get back up, he fractured 2 bones in his right front leg.  He has spiral fractures of the P1 and P2, which are the bones that go into the top of the foot and the pastern bone respectively.  Spiral fractures are caused by torsion, so somewhere in his fall, his foot got twisted rather badly. 

Luckily, Dash lives within driving distance of Cornell and has people who love him enough to take him in for repairs.  He had a rather lengthy surgery and a stay in the hospital and came home this afternoon.  He will go back in a few weeks for a new cast and a checkup.  I believe that his prognosis is good, he should recover. 

He was lucky enough to get excellent care from one of the best orthopedic surgeons in the country.  And, in typical donkey fashion, he charmed everyone at Cornell while he was there.  If there is anything good to come out of such a terrible thing, it may be a few more donkey converts.  If nothing else, at least a number of future vets will know how wonderful donkeys are.  I will post an update as soon as there is any news.  In the meantime, I will be sending positive thoughts to little Dash.