As is evidentfrom the above photo, Miss Maudie was not at all happy with her vet appointmenton Monday. We really just went for vaccinations, but the doc had to check herout first, and someone in the room (I’m not naming names, but there were onlythree of us in there) snapped at the good doctor who had been so gentle andcareful with her. Oops. Thus the muzzle for everyone’s safety.

We did getthose vaccinations, finally, but before that, the doc and I had a long chatabout Maudie’s left hind leg. When she had her first vet appointment a yearago, I had the vet who saw us at the time x-ray her leg because I noticed thatevery third bounce in her gait was a skip—as if she had a peg leg. That vet (whono longer works at this hospital) examined the x-ray and found nothing.

This vetfound something. (Shout out to Banning Veterinary Hospital in Banning,California, for keeping that digital x-ray as part of her chart so we couldquickly pull it up and look at it together. Dr. Sobotka (whoworked patiently with my spicey dog, bless him forever) stared at that x-rayfor many long moments before finally saying, “I think I see the problem.”

He pointed toa shadow on her left femur that I would never have been able to discern,comparing it to the opposite leg.

“She has anold injury here,” he said. “Unfortunately, since it healed on its own, there’snothing we can do to fix it.”

It’s okay. Ididn’t cry. Well, not then, anyhow. And anyway, I already suspected as much,watching her run, knowing that she had clearly been kicked in the past. (See mypost of December 17, 2025.) But I had to ask, so I did, if the injury would beconsistent with someone kicking her. Yes, it could have been that, he told me,his voice as sad as my face probably looked.

Whatever. Wealready know that someone threw this dog away after they were cruel to it. Karmais a bitch. Not my dog, though. She’s a little sweetheart. (Even if the vettech did have to enlist help from the back to hold her down so they couldimmunize her. Sheesh!)

I gave Maudiean old older lady name because it is my intention that we will grow oldtogether. So we’re starting on that journey together, both having leg issues.Dr. Sobotka suggested massage for Maudie’s leg, encouraged our hiking (yay!)while warning that one day (like me) she would begin to have some pain fromarthritis in that spot, at which point we can start her on some meds to helpwith that. We take one day at a time, and after every hike I will bescrutinizing her gait to make sure we don’t attempt anything too rigorous forher. We’ll be fine.

Oh, and onelast suggestion from the doc (after I inquired): Maudie needs to lose weight.Yep. This little chowhound has gained eight pounds in one year. So much forusing treats to help socialize her. We will cut back on everything, and Ipromised the doc that when he sees us next year, we’ll both be five poundslighter (insert grimace here).

Now if I canjust get my neighbor next door to stop giving Maudie bacon….

After the vet visit. Poor baby!