Story 105: Broken Nail

To switch gears a little bit with a story from Laika's youth, this one is memorable for both my naivete in expectations from vet-related technology and the inspiration to get insurance. It was also a first in the long line of Laika's accident prone ways.

After fully taking respondibilty of Laika's care, she was, of course, a wild ball of energy. She got a clean bill of health during her first check-up, which was great. It didn't seem too expensive, either, which was good, too. However, a few days later, her overzealousness led to an accident which brought us back to the vet pretty quickly.

Laika was running away from Ramona into Missy's house (presumably after doing something to annoy her),  when she slipped and skidded into the concrete stoop near the backdoor! A small bit of whimpering and shrieking sent Missy and I into alarm, but it subsided quickly with Big Baby happy to get the attention while we inspected her. She had only broken her nail on one of the front paws, which was a relief. However, there was a jagged bit still sticking out. It wasn't bleeding, so I made a vet appointment for the next day. They suggested that I keep it covered, which, in hindsight, was the first of too many failed attempts to wrap an injured part of Laika's body. The wrap was made from a few old socks taped to keep them in place. I thought it was well-done. It lasted about 3 minutes before she decided to rip it off. So, no wrap.

The next morning, we went to the vet. I figured there was going to be some high-tech nail remover. As it turns out, I was far from correct. Instead, it was just a set of pliers used to extract the rest of the nail, Three Stooges-style! I felt horrible for Laika. To make things worse, they were short on vet techs that day, so I had to help restrain her during the quick, uncomfortable operation. I told the vet I would hold Laika from the side, but I didn't want her to see me involved or associate me with the procedure. I hugged her tightly as the vet pulled the nail out, but Laika still shrieked very loudly. I felt terrible, but it needed to be done to prevent infection. In true Laika fashion, she recovered immediately as the treats were administered, tail wagging at top speed. I was as relieved as her, I think.

Given the cost of the extraction by pliers, I figured if actual technology or advanced treatments were involved then it would be way more expensive. I wanted a happy and healthy pup, but if treatments were needed I also wanted to be able to have help paying. The broken nail led to the seed of getting insurance being planted. In some ways, it was a silver lining to a painful ordeal for Laika.