Portrait of a Broken Dog

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I broke Korben the Wonder Dog. In fact, I broke him so well that he's STILL broken. Last week our vet took some xrays and examined his leg a bit closer, confirming her suspicions that he's done some damage to one of the ligaments alongside his kneecap.

Our options were to put his leg in a cast to immobilize the joint for two weeks and then see how the natural healing is going, or to spring for ligament surgery. We opted for the cast for a few reasons: we'd like it to heal naturally if possible, and honestly, might as well give the cheaper option a shot first (the cast won't make it worse - the worst that will happen is that he just doesn't improve much). That was fine and dandy until Korben and Indiana the Obnoxious Puppy decided that the pretty red cast was the best chew toy EVER and we woke up one morning to find it in little bitty pieces all over the yard.

All that was left of the original cast.

So, back to the vet to get another cast, along with an Elizabethan collar to prevent him from chewing on it. He also has to spend the next two weeks in forced confinement in a crate to make sure his leg stays rested, which is just fabulous for everyone involved; contrary to popular training methods, we did not crate train our dogs, and although Korben is a gentleman and tolerating the cage without fussing, it's also rather obviously making him miserable. Actually, I think the look on his face here pretty much sums up the entire event:

Sorry it's a bit blurry - I took it through a grungy window screen. Not that my windows are dirty or anything...

Wait, wait - let's make that look even MORE pathetic, shall we?

All together now: awwwwwww!

The bandage material is wrapped all the way around his hip to help keep the cast on, just in case he tries extra hard to get it off. He might have brought it on himself, but with a face like that, you can't help but feel sorry for him.

I'm sorry. This photo makes me giggle. He just looks SO unimpressed with the entire situation. I am a bad pet owner.

I have to admit though, Ben and I both cracked up laughing when the poor pooch tried to go inside his kennel. The e-collar is far too wide for the door and he bounced off with a resounding WHACK. We are mean, mean people. But luckily, Korben thought we were laughing with him and not at him, as you can see:

Look at that smile - what a great dog!

Poor boy...let's hope this cast does the trick so he can run around and play again soon!