Simon, you see, has a bad leg. He was found as a stray and was limping when he was picked up in Alabama. He came all the way to Wisconsin where he received his medical evaluation. It seems that he has an old break that has not healed properly. The orthopedic surgeon feels to do nothing is the best course of action. The fact is he has a limp and always will. I am sure that will scare away many people from adopting. We are starting this blog to post pictures, videos and updates to show Simon in all of his glory and not define him by this one part of who he is. We know there is someone out there who can love him, flaws and all.
Simon is a very energetic little guy. He loves to run, chase sticks or balls or the leaves falling off of the trees in the yard. We hooked him up to a dog run in the yard so he could set his own pace. We are letting him use the leg as much or as little as he wants. He wants to use it. He loves to play. And jump. And run. It is only the first week with us and he has been sitting around waiting for doctors before he came here, I will be curious to see if this energy level stays or if it is just him exploiting his new found freedom.
He is very puppy-like, in both looks and manners. He does some puppy nibbling, never aggressive, and is not house-trained although he does seem to be crate trained. He is the only dog in the house at the moment so we are giving our full attention to training him. He has already learned sit and out. He is very curious and he is a bit of a collector. Needless to say, the kids no longer leave their shoes or socks laying around. He stashes his collectibles in his bed. We have provided him with lots of fun toys and he is quickly learning what is his and what is not. Did I mention that he is smart and a quick learner, because he is.
As for his leg, he uses it to run and walk. When he is standing still, he holds it up. A few times he has walked with it up, usually right after he is getting out of the crate. It makes me wonder if it is stiff and then he walks it loose. Who knows? He has never cried or whimpered or shown any sign that he is in pain. He jumps right up on the couch and he will jump down also. He has been squirmy when picked up and again I wonder, was he dropped, is that how he broke the leg? I have been picking him up and very gently setting him down and he seems to have already gotten more comfortable with it.
Simon is very friendly and he loves to play with the kids. I have not seen any aggression or growling at all. He is sweet as can be and will make someone a fantastic pet. Once you get to know him, his leg will be the last thing that you would mention when describing him, it just isn't a big part of who he is.
It seems too, that he is a Badgers fan, I think he came to us that way and we have not influenced him at all in that direction.
He looks so cute.
ReplyDelete