The Adventures of Enki the Dog and the Infamous Cone of Shame

Yup.  Not too long ago, that was what Enki looked like for an entire week!

Somehow he broke the dewclaw on his left paw completely in half (vertically, not just the tip).  I took him to the vet for them to patch it up, and they found hot at the top of his front-right leg.  The whole ordeal required him to be on painkillers, antibiotics, and wear the cone for seven (well, eight because he wouldn’t stop licking himself on the seventh) whole days.

On the first day, he was clumsy, scared, and fully discombobulated.  He would wait for me to guide him and the cone through every doorway and set of stairs in the house.  It was heartbreaking to witness, and his sad, puppy-dog eyes further instilled a deep sense of guilt into me.  To make things easier for him, I folded and moved all of the furniture out of the center of my room.  It would be just him and I for the week, sitting on the floor, just trying to get through the experience.

Fortunately for him, I did take the cone off twice a day to allow him to eat and drink, but that was as much freedom as I was willing to offer.

Fortunately, after only a single day, he started feeling significantly more comfortable and confident with the oppressive lick-limiting device on his head.  He was still the clumsy and scared pup of the previous day, but this time, he was ready for play and adventure.

I’m just glad it’s all over.  I’ll never forget the panicked sound of his cone hitting the walls as he powered his way through doorways or the way he would subtly walk up to you and suddenly your head was in the cone now too.  That was one of his ways to communicate “Hey.  I want something and you should pay attention to me.”

Good thing I love that dog.

From the Readers

I LOVE this story, keep them coming Jey.

• Anonymous