Aidi wan n'Eezel: the loyal azawakh

Our latest Azawakh puppy, Tawzalt Idiiyat-es-Sahel, broke all four metatarsal bones in her right rear foot on the day she turned 13 weeks. She was playing in the back yard and rolled into the fence. She caught her foot between two boards in the fence and freaked out. When she yanked herself free, the screaming began. She spent the night in the hospital and the next day a specialist set her bones nonsurgically under general anesthesia.

She was in a splint for four very trying weeks of forced rest. At one point she developed a “bed sore” which required both antibiotics and a bandage change every two days.

Azawakh are noted for their near miraculous ability to heal from some horrific wounds and I tried to hope for the best. When her foot came out of the bandage after 4 weeks, it looked like a flipper and I was crushed. It didn’t seem possible that she would ever be able to walk on it again, let alone run.

It has been 4 weeks since the splint came off. Tawzalt’s foot is better every day. Her whole right leg is still much weaker than the left one. When seen from the rear, the muscles of her left leg are less than half the size of those on the right and they feel flabby by comparison. But something miraculous has happened in the last few days.

Tawzalt can run again.

It’s the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. (more images)