NEW "TAILS" AND PICTURES OF MAGIC!

Written by Magic's Foster Mom




Last week, we introduced Mr. Magic to the hellions at my house. We always introduce in the backyard, one at a time. He greeted each kid with a happy smile and a wagging butt. He's an awfully friendly little guy and tends to rush up in the kids faces, so I wanted to take this one slowly.

Maggie is usually first to meet the new kids. She gave Magic a couple of sharp words when he got too close and he was a good boy and backed off. Then came Stewart. That was a non-issue. Stewart's SO laid back and much bigger than Magic. They all thought his butt was a little weird, but they were accepting. Katie thought he had potential. After all, he looked playful and he's 'her size'! Cider carefully inspected and thoroughly sniffed his butt. Cider is our resident mill mama. Magic, just like every other kid we've had through here, recognized her 'right' to make a full inspection and stood quietly and waited until she was done.

Then he decided he wanted to explore the yard. He jumped off the deck onto the walkway, but instead of walking down the walkway and getting down on the grass the easy way, he turned and jumped straight off from the highest part of the walk! (I call it 'Walking the plank.") He was so happy when he reached the grass, touching it for the first time in at least 5 weeks. He rolled and smiled and wiggled for joy!

Finally it was time for him to meet Chopin. She and new kids don't always get along. She and Magic circled each other carefully. Then Chopin found Magic's butt. She took one look at it, sniffed furiously, and then looked up at me and said, "Mom! You said I had a birth defect, but WOW! have you SEEN this boy's BUTT? I'm normal compared to him!"

Now he goes out with the kids every time they do. And since he can go out, he's keeping his pen clean. Sometimes, when he goes out, he hurries out, 'walks the plank,' and stops for a loooong time to 'relieve himself.' Then he runs up to explore the raspberries, over to the gate to play in the lilies where Maggie's made a 'wallow' for her dust baths, poops, and then runs happily back to me when I call. As the other kids go by, he runs after them to join in their fun. He's using his back foot quite well now. His front feet run straight, but his back end tends to curve around when he runs, so he ends up running kind of sideways, like a crab. Then he'll throw himself down in the cool grass with a big smile on his face.

Last week I talked to the vet that performed Magic's surgery. He told me something very interesting. He said that along with Magic's right rear leg being crushed, which resulted in its amputation, his left rear leg had suffered a great deal of nerve damage as well. We learned with Casatta that when nerves heal, they have to heal back up to the spinal chord and then back down again and they only heal 1 millimeter a day. It's a slow process. Most dogs that lose a leg need to learn how to balance on one leg, but Magic had to regain sensation in his leg again, learn to walk on it again, AND learn to balance with only one leg in back. That's why he wasn't using his leg much at first. He could feel it. As he has regained sensation, he's using it more and more every day. He's not very fast, but he sure enjoys running and playing!

Thank you for continuing to participate in his recovery and follow his amazing story. If you would like to become one of his guardian angels, you can follow this link. Please be aware that the donations and names are in the process of being updated and caught up as the dedicated volunteer who has done this is very ill and her replacement is working hard to complete the task.