Tess & the toe: An update

OK, you've been asking (well, 2 of you asked, Josh's sister and dog park friend Rosie).

So (drum roll) here's the Tess broken toe update:

• Toe: Still broken but hopefully healing
• Pretty purple splint: Faded, raggedy, in tatters but still intact. Now sort of a muted shade of plumb.
• Cute little red heart on splint: Gone. Disappeared almost immediately. That and other pieces of her wrapping are probably scattered somewhere in the backyard with the dead (toy) squirrel and Mr. Bunny.
• Tess's mood: Upbeat. She's such a happy dog. And she's become a very good hopper.

We go back to the vet on Monday, assuming the splint -- which is still intact, although pretty pathetic looking (photo right) -- holds together that long. She's survived the cone, although one night (when it was off) she got to the splint in the middle of the night. Otherwise, it's just a lot of wear and tear beginning to show.

We're nearly 3 weeks into what is expected to be an 8-week treatment period, so there's still a long way to go. I'm feeling homebound, I miss just heading out for walks with the dogs in the evening or mornings.

Tess and Cowboy are spending a lot of time in the backyard on squirrel patrol. So since there's no way to keep her completely from running around, I do take the dogs to the dog park on weekends.

No fetch, of course. Sometimes I cringe when Tess takes off running the fence with the small dogs or, like she and cowboy did last week, chasing a German shepherd at what seemed like the speed of light, the three of them dashing in huge loops around the park. (Not a word about that to her vet!)

On a bright note, we were invited to a doggie party recently where our hostess, Sanam (Indi's mama), took these really great pictures of both Cowboy and Tess. (Cowboy HATES having his picture taken, so these are a super accomplishment!) They really had a good time.

(Earlier posts: A pretty new cast (purple!): Toe update;  Limping through the weekend; Tess's toe