3-legged Drama Queen ...
Originally Posted by
Glacier
To this day, if anyone raises their voice at Earle, his paw comes up in the air...
"Oh, you can't be mad at me, I'm hurt!!"
But over time he has forgotten which leg was injured
so he often lifts the wrong one!
Earle: "Hate it when I make that mistake!"
Years ago my (RB ) Shepherd/Husky - Shadow - managed to
BREAK the outside toe on her back foot - and was "wrapped" from her
toes up to her knee for about a month.
Doc said it would "hurt" for a while, and she'd "favor it" -
which would hasten the healing...
"FAVOR it"!!??
You'd have thought they cut the whole LEG OFF!
I swear the ONLY time that paw touched the ground was when she
had been outfitted with a protective "baggie" to go outside for a walk
or potty trip... SOMEHOW it didn't "hurt" so much when there
was no one around to exclaim "Oh you POOR Baby!"
She VERY Quickly learned that the more she *hobbled* & *limped* -
the More Attention and Sympathy she got...
"WE" created a *monster*!
Suddenly she couldn't *jump* into the car ~
"Dad, I need a *boost up*, please."
After a week of *practicing the hobble & limp* ~
she decided she just couldn't manage to *hop* up the stairs from
the basement and garage to the first floor ~
"Dad, kuld you *carry* me up??"
I did that ONCE - but she *blew it* a hour later after I "bagged her up"
for an outie - and watched her TROTT AROUND on ALL Fours for an
hour when she thought I wasn't watching...
Called her in and she suddenly couldn't manage the three front steps!
I smelled a rat!
It was dinner time - called her again to come in...
*WHINE* ... *WHIMPER* ... ... Can't make it up the steps, Dad.
(Dinner was "served" on the front porch -
with me "peeking" out the window...)
I'd hardly closed the front door before she had her head burried
in the moments before "unreachable bowl"!
Hmmmmm... I bagan to taper off on the "POOR Baby" routine.
But alas;
my "Friends" continued to lavish gobs of *sympathy* on "Poor Shadow" -
and no amount of my telling them that she REALLY wasn't "hurting"
had any effect towards reducing the *sympathetic
support* she enjoyed.
LONG after (MONTHS after) the "wrapper" came off,
and the Doc pronounced her FULLY Healed...
she finally "gave up" on trying to use the *hobble* & *limp*
routine with ME ~ but
EVERY Time we'd visit the Fire Station or a customer would come into the Shop ~
Poor ol' Shadow would suffer a sudden "relapse" of
"WOE iz me - my paw'z jest KILLIN me!" and
begin the *hobble* & *limp* routine, basking in the outpouring of fresh *sympathy*!
The only "flaw" in her routine was her downfall -
she began to forget WHICH paw had been the SORE Paw!
Friends would *notice* and began asking me:
"Which paw did she hurt??"
The correct answer was RIGHT - REAR...
"Uhhhh... she just "LIMPED" over to me holding up her LEFT Rear leg!"
It got SOOOO Bad she was often observed to try a few "limps" with
EACH of all FOUR legs being "tried out" to see if ANY of them
would generate a "POOR Baby" response.
Rest In Peace, Dear Shadow -
Dad really *misses* you!!
/s/ Cinder, Smokey & Heidi
R.I.P. ~ Boots, Bowser, Sherman, & Snoopy
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