Pearl is quite the character—smart, loyal, trustworthy and funny. She is a purebred border collie, without sheep or a specific job. True to her breed, she is a problem solver and seems to have found a solution to her canine unemployment: she has created daily tasks for herself, despite her current urban home. Humans are her flock, and Pearl is not shy about herding them and their detritus.
Pearl’s human, Erin, is busy with hiking, running and, occasionally, skiing. These activities allow Pearl to indiscriminately herd. Herding hierarchy, according to Pearl, in descending order: first Erin, followed by strange humans and dogs, friends’ indoor cats, squirrels and, finally, crockery at the end of a meal. Seen through Pearl’s lens, everything has a proper place in the world and it is her mission to ensure that placement.
Pearl sings an “awooo” sound more commonly heard in huskies, which is especially apparent when she is excited or attempting to chivvy her human out the door for an adventure. She explores the world with enthusiasm and joie de vivre, positively impacting all who experience her cheerful demeanour. (Strangers seem happy to be herded into proper order according to border collie protocols).
During at-home downtime, she enjoys squeaky toys to the extreme, routinely destroying the squeaker device itself (Is that not the game? her face seems to ask). When those squeaky toys evade her by rolling under a couch or behind a door, Pearl prefers not to ask two-thumbed humans for assistance, instead contorting herself into a multitude of shapes to regain their possession as independently as possible.
With Pearl’s level of activity and work ethic, it may come as no surprise to hear that she injured herself during an outdoor adventure. A laceration split the skin of her paw pad and required attention: Erin’s vet clinic provided care the day of the injury.
After Pearl’s veterinarian thoroughly inspected the laceration for foreign material and cleaned and flushed the injury, they advised against placing sutures (stitches) due to the tough skin on a dog’s paw pad. Instead, Pearl’s treatment plan consisted of maintaining cleanliness and bandaging the foot for the next two weeks, with bandage changes recommended once every day.
With an injury to the underside of the foot, walking would provoke it constantly, so additional considerations for healing consisted of activity restriction along with medications for pain control. Last but not least, Pearl went home wearing a cone-collar to ensure she was not able to lick or chew at either her new bandage or her injured foot, while she recuperated.
When a wound is closed by sutures, the edges of the wound are stitched together and healing happens by “primary intention.” When a wound is not closed by sutures, whatever the reason for that may be, healing occurs by “secondary intention.” The latter typically takes longer and requires granulation tissue to form, filling in the wound over time.
Using bandaging to manage a wound that is healing by second intention serves multiple purposes. In Pearl’s case, those purposes were to keep the area clean from debris and bacteria, followed by adding cushioning to reduce discomfort.
Pearl’s injury coincided with Erin’s need to travel for work, with no opportunity for this unfortunate timing to be rescheduled. As indicated earlier, Pearl is intelligent, and she is known to attempt to “herd” humans to follow her lead (for example, to not reapply bandages and to allow her to run like the wind). Erin did not want to unduly burden Pearl’s housesitter and she reached out for assistance with the daily bandage changes, during the week she would be away.
I coordinated a bandaging schedule with the housesitter and we found that Pearl’s cheerful demeanour served her well. Her squeaky toy provided distraction and she tolerated gentle restraint to help her remain still. For a foot injury such as Pearl’s, the entire foot is bandaged, including the toes and typically up to the ankle. Removing the bandages during daily changes allowed me to assess the area and take photos to send to both Erin and Pearl’s veterinarian, to keep them abreast of the healing progress.
What a pleasure to work with Pearl during this time, getting to know her personality and assisting with her healing. Every day, once her bandage change was complete, Pearl “sang” her expressive “awooo” song.
It is not easy for an active dog like Pearl to rest an injury. Nonetheless, with her compliance, human dedication, distractions and an application of time, it will not be long before Pearl returns to her adventures with Erin, keeping the world herded into its proper places.
Author’s Note: The names of both animals and people have been changed to protect privacy.
