The Farmdog Mishap

This might sound like a story straight out of a Hank the Cowdog book but my favorite farmdog had a mishap. Luke is Girl's Best Friend and we call him the velcro dog. He is stuck to my side at all times! As we all know, farms are full of machinery with moving parts. We always try to be careful around equipment but I realized lately that I have to be more aware of these moving parts when it comes to Girl's Best Friend.

A short background on Luke, he is a Texas transplant but we won't hold that against him. In my opinion Luke is the best thing that came out of Kansas since Don Johnson. My parents and I went to Kansas to go "cow shopping" and down the road from where we were looking a cattle was a hog farm that just so happened to have Australian Shepherd puppies ready for a new homes. Knowing good and well what my intentions were, my Dad stopped the truck at the farm down the road so I could check out the puppies. The rest is history. Luke was the cutest ball of fluff with blue eyes and we bonded from the moment we saw each other. He was mine and I was his. My parents bought him for me and we picked him up the following day. (Probably the best gift my parents have ever given me.) My Dad was worried that we would have an interesting ride home with a 6 week old Aussie pup traveling all the way back to Texas. That was not the case. He slept with me and never had an accident or made much of a sound. The lady who raised him called him Paul Newman because of his striking blue eyes, I named him Luke. Paul Newman starred in the movie Cool Hand Luke so it seemed fitting.

Now that you know a little about Luke, let me tell you what happened. Luke loves to ride! He likes to ride on the 4wheeler, Ranger, truck, tractor, and even the lawnmower. There is the problem, the lawnmower. I was mowing and Luke was off sniffing for rabbits. Out of nowhere he came bounding up and jumped on the lawnmower. When he jumped on, his foot went under the moving blade. This is when panic set in. He was bleeding badly and I could see his tendons exposed. I was a wreck. I carried him to my truck and wrapped a jacket around his foot because that is all I had at the time. All during the crazy ordeal, he was pretty calm. He never nipped at me or anything. He trusted me 100% to help him. That is the crazy thing about dogs. Their trust and love is never ending.

I drove to my parents house like a Nascar driver while shifting gears and holding the jacket on the wound to try to stop the bleeding. When I got to my parents house, my husband, Dad and Mom saw my panic and tears as I held Luke. I finally got a vet on the phone and we rushed him there. The verdict was a bad wound and two weight bearing toes were badly fractured. All I cared about was taking my Luke home and caring for him myself. Neither one of us can stand to be away from each other so I knew he would heal better with me at home.

He got stitches and a flexible cast. My husband and I have cared for him at home for the past few weeks.

It has been essential that he try to stay off the leg and be still. Tell that to an Aussie who is devoted to their owner! I have to sit down and do nothing so he will rest. Luke may never walk on his foot normally again and I feel like I allowed that to happen.

So in summary, I will now carry a first aid kit with me at all times and I will be more aware of the dangers to the Farmdog not just the Farmgirl. I am so grateful to still have Girl's Best Friend by my side. He is the most loyal and loving friend a girl could have.