Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Henry's Honor

 
Some dogs are stoic when they don't feel well.  They valiantly soldier on.  Some dogs whine when they hurt, look at you all sad eyed, seeking comfort.  Some dogs respond to discomfort by caterwauling as though they are being tortured.  Henry is of this last type.
 
 


Henry suffers from a common toy dog problem.  Luxating patella.  On a veterianaran website providing information about the condition there is a picture of a Pomeranian.  How about that for a coinkydink! 

A luxating patella occurs when the connecting tissue that holds the knee cap to the leg is not tightly attached.  The knee cap tends to get off track.  Usually it pops back into place but all this moving around invites inflammation which, of course, aggravates matters.  In short, what Henry has is an unstable knee system.

While the knees of big dogs do sometimes dislocate, the problem is far more prevalent in tiny companion animals, like Henry.  It seems dogs that are not toys are less likely to be weak in the knees.





Real dogs have real knees!
 

 


Alas, Henry's feeble knee tendency has been evident since puppyhood. 




It didn't seem to bother him too much though. He would occasionally yelp as he scurried around but barely broke stride.  Reasonably enough, Henry was reacting to his knee cap moving out of place than back in again, surely an unpleasant sensation.  Henry's macho playing through the pain didn't last though.







In time,  Henry's emoting over his booboo knees increased.  Before long Henry achieved drama queen status.  Indeed, the agony evidently became so unendurable that Henry actually asked to be carried.  (Henry's other condition is Small Dog Syndrome. Among the symptoms of this condition are being cute and barking for no reason.  There is also a dash of the Napoleonic.  Henry displays this trait in not wanting to be carried.  The Little Corporal prefers to strut unaided, you see.)  Thus, Henry asking to be carried, made it clear he was truly having issues with his hind legs.  Well, that and the hysterical screaming.








A combination of bad luck, less than ideal genetics, having been bred down from a normal sized dog to a little bitty toy creature, and who knows what else, have taken a toil on Henry's knees.  Other factors, such as all that running down the hall like a demented chipmonk, leaping about like an insane kangaroo, and surely most damaging of all, the pirouettes, have turned Henry's less than stellar knees into infirm knees.








Still, it's not all gloom and neurosis.  There's a little strain of honor in this little dog.  Obviously, if your knee hurts, it hurts even more when you use it.  When it's time to go potty, Henry has to go all the way outside walking on his sore knee, then stand on his sore knee to tinkle.  He could just do it on the porch right outside the back door (as he does when the snow is deep).   But no.  Stalwart Henry steps down off the porch and onto the grass to do his business.







For now, Henry's knee is day to day, as they say about injured baseball players not yet on the disabled list.  Will Henry's knee trouble flare up again?  Probably.  Such a tough row to hoe.  After all, Henry doesn't always handle unpleasent well.  He cries when he gets his hair brushed.




17 comments:

  1. Poor Henry... but such a cutie, too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Aw...poor little Henry. So cute though.

    ReplyDelete
  3. What wimp! I ten times more sore than he is....and I'm old.
    -Lois

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know, honey. You suffer your pain with a dignity that Henry would never consider an option.

      Delete
  4. Little bitch, he whines at me, I'll stomp his ass!
    -Clover

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I see The Handsome One has taught you some thugspeak. Remember Clover. We all have ugly thoughts about our Henry. We must strive to be kind. Besides, it's my job to ridicule Henry, not yours.

      Delete
    2. Don't drag me in this turf war. Lock them in a room and let the winner emerge.
      -THO

      Delete
  5. That's because he only has four toes on each of his hind legs. HaHaHaHa.
    -Lily

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lily, Lily, six toed Lily! You are a funny gal.

      Delete
  6. He is so cute that I just want to pick him up sit with him on the sofa !
    I understand gud dugs with legs and knee problems.
    He is just a sweetie !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are dazzled by his good looks! It is his most potent weapon. Beware, he has you in his power!

      Delete
  7. Poor Henry! Such a sweetie!

    Thank you, Lynn. I always wondered how to spell coinkydink!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Poor Henry!! I love this creative post with the idea of Henry running like a demented chipmunk or leaping like an insane kangaroo. Plus the added artwork of the pirouetting Henry!! Adorable. We used to have a small dachsie and his name of course was---------Napoleon Bones-apart but we called him Nappy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Eve. I so enjoy jokes at Henry's expense! You understand the small dog pathology!

      Delete
  9. I loved your pirouetting Pom illustration. Sorry to hear that little Henry has such a hurting knee.

    I have a little black Pomeranian who has a bit of white on his chest. He is starting to get gray at his temples (his ear fuzz) and the fur feathers on his feet have turned white now. He is 10 years old, and still does all of the hopping, zooming around, walking around on hind legs to be taller, and pirouetting that he ever did.

    Several years ago he had an occurrence of a disc problem. He could barely walk and it hurt him so bad he was shaking. He was so scared. He was hurting too bad to even cry out. He kept looking at us wanting us to help him. The vet gave him muscle relaxers and he recovered.

    The vet said we need to watch for problems with Fuzzy's knees. So far, he limps once in a while, but that is it with the knees. Knock on wood.

    I sympathize with Henry. I "emote" when my knees flare up, too.

    ReplyDelete