Yesterday, for just a split second, Chloe limped off of/favored her leg. I’ve never noticed before, so I’m unsure if this was the first time, or if I just hadn’t been paying enough attention. It helped reaffirm the timing of her surgery, just a few days away. Which has been hard, even though we know it’s the best for her long term wellness. She once again went chasing into our yard, another failed attempt at catching the bunnies that live under our deck. The strength and speed at which she leaps and lunges is just amazing. I’ll miss that part of her, if she doesn’t get it back.
Don’t feel bad about not noticing the limp before, for one thing dogs are really good about hiding pain. My pug Maggie never limped on her knee from her mast cell tumor, and actually I don’t think it caused pain (soft tissue tumor). But after I knew it was there I did notice that when she squatted she kicked her leg out to the side, I think because the tumor was starting to limit her movement. I never noticed before.
Also- try not to start missing things she won’t be able to do after surgery until you know she won’t be able to do them. Of course I did that with Maggie! But I soon found that I was inspired by how she coped, and figure out how to do what she wanted to do. She didn’t miss what she couldn’t do anymore (not much actually) so I got over it… at least most of the time : )