Elbow Luxation, or Dog vs. Deer

We created a monster 5 years ago, and now we are paying the price. When we first brought Lulu home, we thought it was cute to say "git the deer", and she would bark at them. We didn't have a fence in the garden then, and awwww, wasn't it cute? Quickly, we saw how stupid it was, but it was too late, she had already become obsessed.

She's had a couple of close run-ins with the deer in the past. Usually she charges them, they charge her back, and she runs back towards us, and all is well. However, yesterday, things were different.

Lulu charged a doe, the doe charged her back, and kept coming. Apparently, not willing to settle for that sort of treatment, Lulu took another run. She was pummeled by the doe, who used all fours to stomp the rolling, roiling ball of dog mass. The doe finally took off when the squealing and shrieking emanating from the dog was unbearable, I guess. The squealing from the girl wasn't much better. The boy was at a friend's house, and missed the action.

What was left was a horribly disformed front leg. I tried to manipulate it and it wasn't a compound fracture, so we figured it must be dislocated. Which, it turns out it is. This is what it says, somewhere on the internet (so, it must be true!)

Elbow luxation is usually associated with trauma causing the lower portion of the joint, the radius and ulna, to move laterally (away from the body) relative to the upper bone of the joint, the humerus. This condition is also known as a dislocated elbow.

A history of trauma, fighting with another animal, or falling from a height can be associated with elbow luxation. There is no specific age, sex or breed predeliction. Younger animals tend to fracture at the growth plates of their bones rather than developing a luxation.

Affected animals are unable to bear weight on the leg. If untreated your pet would lose useful function of the front leg.

Being Sunday, all of the local vets were closed, so we had to drive to the valley to the emergency vet. The leg was X-rayed, set, and splinted. The dog is now sedated, a blob. We are still trying to figure out how to get her to go to the bathroom. She has to stay on bed rest for up to 2 weeks (ligaments heal slowly) if we are to have any chance of avoiding additional surgery. The bill is already $600 and growing.

Can't really blame the dog. We were the stupid ones (probably me, really), who started the whole "git the deer" game in the beginning.

Wonder if she'll learn? Probably not.