Kadie's Great Big Toe Tragedy

A couple of months ago I had to bring Kadie (aka Kadie-Bug the Wonder Dog) in to see the vet. She had a toenail (clawnail??) growing wildly out of control that had become too thick for me to clip without help. Even though Kadie is 15, she still has the strength of a younger pup and it's near impossible to hold her down to clip her nails, clean her teeth, brush her hair, or do anything else she finds offensive to her personage. The dog has mad Houdini skills and can get out of just about anything. It took three people to get that nail trimmed. Dr. Runnfeldt did the clipping while two assistants held Kadie down.

Well, three or so weeks ago while Kadie was sleeping I checked her nail again and couldn't believe what I saw. The thing had regrown and mutated into something three times as thick, wide and long as a normal nail. I brought her back to the vet on a Saturday, who promptly told me to come back on Monday for a "toe amputation". She trimmed off about a 1/2 inch from the monstrosity to make Kadie a little more comfortable until the surgery.

I know...I know. Toe amputation hardly sounds like something normal for a dog. But believe me when I say, there was no other option. Here's what it looked like before surgery began. Bear in mind, this was AFTER the vet had taken off about a 1/2 inch a few days before.

When I picked Kadie up after her surgery, the vet talked to me about how the procedure went and what to expect over the next few days. Then she started laughing as she explained why she amputated a little more of the toe than was really necessary. She initially stopped at the first "knuckle", but it left the rest of Kadie's toe sticking straight up. Basically...Kadie was flipping a birdie! I almost wish Dr. Runnfeldt would have left it. It could have been a real conversation starter! "Hey! Is your dog flipping me off???"