The "Seafood" Diet

I've gone from being a nurse to a physical therapist. I took Grady to see the surgeon in Zurich yesterday, who seemed pleased with his progress despite the fact that he's still limping quite a bit. I guess that's to be expected only 10 days after surgery. Grady was especially happy to have his stitches removed, which must have been bothering him because he's actually been calmer than usual over the last two days (that is something to celebrate, believe me!). I just have to laugh at what I'm supposed to do now to help Grady in his recovery. Three times a day I'm supposed to do a little therapy with his leg. First, I have to put a heat pack on his elbow for 5 minutes to help him relax (yeah, right). Then, while he's sitting up, I'm supposed to bend his front, right leg (at his elbow) back and forth for about 5 minutes. The vet made it look so easy. Somehow it's not quite as simple when I try! This is a 65 pound black lab, mind you. I'm sorry, but he's just not capable of sitting still for five minutes while I fiddle with his leg. It results in him jumping and barking and me giving up. And three times a day? Good thing I don't have a job with all the care I'm supposed to give this dog!

I really like this vet. Too bad he's not closer to Basel otherwise we would use him as our regular vet. I guess driving an hour each way whenever Grady needs to see a doctor is really not that reasonable. Anyway, we had sort of a funny exchange at one point yesterday while he was making notes in Grady's record.

Vet: "Is he on a special diet?"

Me: "No, is he supposed to be?" (remembering that the week before he mentioned it might not be a bad idea for Grady to lose a few pounds)

Vet: "Yes, he should be on a 'seafood' diet."

Me (suspecting that the vet might be trying to tell a joke in his non-native English): "A seafood diet?"

Vet: "Yes, a seafood diet. If he sees it, he can eat it."

Need I say more? He's a lab. He already eats everything he sees.