My Hammy

The other day, Nancy came by with her dog just as I was getting mine out of the garage for a walk.  Nancy is a great lady, very kind, and we bonded over Sparkle when she was the neighborhood stray. When I took the dog as my own, Nancy was invested in helping me with her as even then she was an exuberant big puppy and a handful. When Sparkle saw her friend Nancy in my driveway, she suddenly bolted to greet her and her dog -- but I was attached to the leash.  Long story short: Sparkle dragged me about 20 feet and I was helpless to do anything about it as her leash was around my hand and I was trapped.

Suddenly, there was a sharp, searing pain up my right leg and I almost went down, but I was still attached to Sparkle and well and truly caught in the middle between Nancy's dog and my leash. I was able to wriggle my hand out of the leash, setting Sparkle free to do whatever she was going to do, but I was deep into searing pain that kept me grounded in place.  Nancy quickly got Sparkle under control and then asked about my injury.  I told her I think I tore my hamstring as the pain was excruciating, radiating from my knee to my buttocks.  I couldn't put any weight on my leg without it starting to buckle, so I just stood in place and waited to see if the pain would lessen and I could get out of the middle of the street (where Sparkle had dragged me).

Nah, it was a hurt that wasn't just going to go away.  The rest of that day, I couldn't get off the couch except to go potty--and that was a painful undertaking.  The next day, it felt worse, so I stayed on the couch again.  The third day, the aspirin and heating pad regime seemed to have loosened the pain a bit, but I'm still limping and favoring the leg.  Today makes 5 days post-injury, and it's not a whole lot better, but it is improving slowly.

Nancy was pissed at Sparkle, but I told her it was just what Sparkle does: she sees another dog on the street and wants to bolt after it.  Usually, I can control her--but Nancy and her dog were right there and I was caught unprepared.  Nancy blames Sparkle--and me, because I can't control my dog--which is unfair because it was just a moment in time and Sparkle didn't mean to hurt me.  Anyway, Nancy has been coming over every morning to take Sparkle for "training," hooking her to a neck chain and walking her while giving commands.  I'm not saying anything as it's nice of her to care enough to try and change Sparkle's sudden impulses.  I am not to say "come, Sparkle," but "heel," and lead her firmly where I want her to go--which I've done all along, but Nancy is a woman on a mission and she is motivated by kindness.

We'll get past this and Nancy's training may change Sparkle's impulsiveness, so I'm going along with the program.  Meanwhile, I'm staying off my leg as much as possible, and doing stretches to see if I can work out of soreness.  These things just happen, often to me, so I go along to get along.  And it's nice of Nancy to take the time to work with Sparkle when I can't even walk to the corner!!