The Toenail Tragedy

As dog owners, we've all heard that sound that makes us jump and puts our hearts in our throats. That pain-filled yip. Upon turning the Stump Kids outside, Matt and I heard that painful yip, but neither of us knew who it was.

At first I thought it was LaMesa, who has been recovering from her sprained leg (or toe, we never were  100% sure). But then I heard from Matt, "Hey hun, can you bring an old towel?" I walked into the screened-in patio to see blood already covering the tile floor…coming from Dally's front foot.

Dally had ripped a toenail out of her front foot. It must have gotten caught in the bottom track of the sliding patio door as she and LaMesa drove through the open door. Of course I was on my way to a doctor's appointment. A quick call to our vet at Gainesway Animal Hospital gave me the idea to pack her toe with flour to help stop the blood. (Unless you have blood stop powder, which of course my company makes, but I don't have any samples with me at home….of course.) Matt set up a chair in the patio and sat down to cradle Dally and her painful foot until the blood stopped.

At least 30 minutes later, the bleeding stopped and Matt set up a crate with Dally's bed and blanket in the office and she had to wear the "Cone of Shame" to keep her from licking her toe.

I was able to clean off her foot later in the afternoon by trimming the toe hairs. She's been limping on it, so I tried to wrap it in gauze and SyrFlex (cohesive bandage made by my company, one job perk) to help cushion it so she doesn't bump the toe. However she was not a fan and spent 10 minutes flipping her stump with great agitation. So I went ahead and took it off, which made her happy. Instead she's now on a regular dose of Traumeel to help with the pain. I just hope the nerves cool off soon. Poor thing looks so miserable limping around the house, and I can't take her for a walk or to do anything else until the toe heals.

(My husband made this little collage while I was at the doctor. Note the zebra print to go with Dally's trademark.)

At least this happened early in March, instead of closer to Nationals. And hopefully she should be healed and ready to go by the Louisville Cluster in two weeks (our first agility trial since November!).

This isn't the first time Dally's ripped out a toenail--she somehow ripped out a toenail while walking in my old apartment trying to squeeze between me and the couch. That was an ugly situation, too. What is it about toes that makes them bleed so much for so long??

I told her this wouldn't happen if she'd let me Dremel her toenails shorter, but she doesn't care.

Have you ever had a dog rip out his/her toenail?