Seven weeks.

Seven weeks today, since the masked heeler had her butt cut open and her bones screwed and wired together. Went in today for the "final" x-rays.

Good news and bad news.

When I ran over her with the truck, we lucked out in the breaks. Rather than having a fracture in the hip socket, which would have been more painful, much more difficult to set, longer to heal and likely to lead to serious arthritis of the joint, she instead broke all three bones that support the hip socket, leaving the socket and joint intact.

The main bone they plated, the back break was held with a loop of wire, and nothing was done to set the internal break, relying instead on the braces on the other two.

The main bone, along the top of the hip, is fully healed. Vet says it will hold all normal use.

The little wire loop, however, broke open. Looked flimsy when they showed it to me in the post-operative x-ray, and the masked heeler kept spinning around to nip at that area about three weeks later, so I assume that is when the wire popped open.

Net result is that that bone is not solid and, in fact, has not even connected the two pieces yet. But they are roughly in correct alignment, and have spurs trying to close the gap.

The third break, internally along the spine, is also roughly correct in alignment and has spanned the gap with bone, but is not yet solid.

So, his prognosis?

Should heal just fine without any intervention (good). Running loose, wandering the house, climbing up on beds, chairs, couches and laps, as well as dismounting from same should be okay.

Flying off from the porch down to the lawn is still forbidden, as is jumping out of trucks, or running through the woods with her sister.

But she is free!

When we got home, I hustled her sister and mom into the house, and then gave her free run of the yard. She was thrilled, running the perimeter, but did not seem surprised. They know more English than we usually give them credit.

She climbed up and down on the bed several times as we watched TV this evening, just because she could. Wife is still terribly paranoid that she will break something.

I tore down part of her den wall. We can walk through the living room now. Masked heeler seemed a little concerned, like she was losing her own private space. But the sleeping bags are still there.

Bet she sleeps out there most of the night. But she'll probably start the night in bed with us. (Yes, I finally get to sleep with my wife again, after six weeks... don't know if we'll be able to do it, after all those nights of not having to share the covers.)