Car rides, frilled lizards, and a vet visit
We’re learning more about Riley every day. He’s quite a character. Riley loves car rides. And I mean L-O-V-E-S them. Of all our fosters, he’s definitely the most comfortable in the car – he hops right in and makes himself at home. It’s probably quite a sight for other drivers – this little dog trying to press his face up against the window with a massive Elizabethan collar holding him back. It looks a bit like a dog in a funnel from the outside. If he’s not busy looking out a window, he’s got his head looking over my shoulder trying to back-seat drive. And if he’s really tired, he falls asleep. There have been a few nights I’ve thought about driving him around the block a few times to see if he’d go to sleep.
Our two dogs love Riley, but only when he doesn’t have his Elizabethan collar (a.k.a. the lampshade) on. When he does, they’re terrified of him. He’s half their size, and they clearly own the house, but he’s still very scary. We figure they think he’s a bit like one of those frilled lizards that we thought were insanely funny when we were younger.
Well, maybe he doesn’t look quite as scary as that. Imagine it with a fluffy coat and an odd bandage on the leg. I guess that’s what the dogs see. Anyways, Riley is our little frilled lizard with an endless supply of cuddles.
He’s our frilled lizard who has figured out how to completely bend his lampshade so that he can chew his bandage off. Last night, he managed to chew a large part of it off. A quick trip to the drug store for first aid supplies was required to rebandage him. He didn’t do any damage to his foot, and we had a vet appointment scheduled for today. Riley spent the day at the vet and managed to chew the bandages off twice while there. He came home sporting an extra-large lampshade instead of the large one he went in with. We even tried putting bitters on the bandage – he just licks it off. Here’s hoping the extra-large lampshade proves to be Riley-resistant!
The good news is that Riley’s injuries continue to heal. The vet says his foot is drying out now. His abscess on his side is also healing. We’ve still got a few weeks of vet visits every few days, but once we’re through the worst with his paw, we can focus again on healing his fracture. Staying off his leg is important to get him well. He’s a tough guy to keep still and we’re always looking for ways to occupy him.
