On November 2, 2013 while at a family ice skating night I managed to slip and break my ankle. Never one to do anything half way I broke my Fibula in a bimaellor fracture and completely tore the syndesmosis ligaments allowing the ankle to become displaced. What this means in simple terms is that my foot was not facing the right direct :-/. I required surgery with a plate and 9 screws and haven't been allowed to bear weight for nearly 12 weeks. During this time Diva did nothing more than be my devoted companion and have the occasional session of ball throwing in the yard when I could crutch out there safely. It has been a very difficult time for me as I had to sit back and watch life happening without me. Sometimes the mind is ready but the body simply can't keep up. That is where I have been for 3 months.
But enough about the doom and gloom. Let's get to the bright side ;-). In just 9 days I will be allowed to begin weight bearing again and though I may have to walk in the ortho boot for several more weeks at least I will be more independent! Running agility may be months off but Diva and I are going to be able to resume working stock, doing obedience, and rally. We have also started doing a lot of "trick" training. The highlight though is that yesterday I met Kelly and Rae at Hog Dog for some much needed girl time and to test how it would be to work sheep while on crutches. Much to Diva's delight Kelly also took her around a few agility obstacles :-). I was pleased that she was enjoying herself and that she remembered her weaves and running A frame contact! Diva is always a happy girl but I could see that getting a chance to be with her Aussie friends and play brought her more joy.
I didn't get any shots of Diva "working" sheep because honestly there wasn't much to see. Rae put her in the round pen with 3 sheep and I stayed outside on my crutches. At first I thought to just let her move them around but 3 months of inactivity has let my mouth get out of control ;-). I got caught up in saying to much instead of just letting her figure it out. The sheep were being particularly cagey about coming over to the side of the fence I was at in part because there were other dogs outside and just behind me but also because these 3 weren't great about staying together. It became a small battle between me, sheep, and dog to get them to just stay in balance. Diva was happy to go out and fetch them but once they hit the boundary of their comfort zone they wanted to squirt around her and she was to close and not strong enough to stop it. Eventually I got what I needed to from Diva call a stop to the session but it was a very good reminder that I need to be quiet and work more from outside the fence where I can't move my body to influence her or the stock. Who knew you could glean all this information from 3 sheep and a 30' round pen ;-)?!
So we blew the cobwebs off and got to have a little fun. I expect in the coming weeks there will be more posts as I continue to find my "foot" and learn to walk again. Diva needs to be brought back to condition also so we will start this next step together. My goals haven't changed for this year, I still want to get her CDX, PCH, RA, RTDs, do some AHBA, and if I can manage it get back to agility and pursue that ATCH.
