the nguyen-ers

Nike Dog gets his first stitches!

WARNING! The second picture, if you can't already see it, is a bit graphic. If you have a weak stomach, look at your own risk.

This is Nike on a typical Sunday afternoon, once Huy has gotten home from church and felt the need to include Nike in on the church attire. This is also the BEFORE picture of Nike and his stitches.























This is Nike after his run-in with the trampoline.
















He had been locked up a bit more than usual on Wednesday so when I was home preparing dinner, I let him out in the backyard to play. I was playing fetch with him and he was loving it. As he often does, he decided not to return the ball to me and just started running around and around and around the yard. About his third time around, he went under the trampoline and as he was coming out from underneath, at full speed, he all of a sudden went down and started to yelp and moan and came to a stop. From the distance that I was watching, probably 10 feet away, I could see a tuft of hair and some white stuff. I could tell something wasn't right, right away. I went to him for a closer look and was sure that the cut he had sustained was more than just a scrape. I could see his insides.

(Another weather related story here - just how Texas weather is - one day to one minute can be so different from another.) After hoping for no rain all day, right at 5pm, Huy headed out to football practice and the rains, I mean a downpour, came. After a few minutes, it had stopped and practice was still on. Point is, I called Huy to tell him Nike had been hurt, that I had called the vet and he was going to stay at his office until I got there to access the damage, and that I would call him when I knew what the vet would do. Huy understood and I rushed Nike to the vet. The nurse took one look and assured me Nike would need stitches so he would have to stay for about 30 minutes. Then the vet came to tell me the same thing, telling me it was a bad cut, that Nike would be sedated, the area shaven, and he would need stitches. The girls and I headed home and said we would return shortly for Nike.

Little did I know that it was about to hail. I called Huy to tell him and he was already in the car heading home too. Practice was going to have to wait until another day. No sooner had Huy and myself pulled in the garage, the hail came and a sheet of white covered the ground. But like I said earlier, Texas weather changes in an instant and before long, the hail and rain were gone and a beautiful blue sky was present. (What the weather has to do with the story isn't much other than it created more chaos than I could deal with at that time.)

Huy headed out to get Nike and called me on his way home, almost in shock himself. He said that I had told him it was about a 2 or 3 inch cut, not a 6 inch gouge that was really bad. And then Nike was all drugged so he was definately not himself so the kids needed to be prepared for this as it was going to be shocking for them as well. And sure enough, it was a bit more than they could handle. As Nike laid on the floor, the kids came to see him. Kaylie cried right away, not wanting to look, Tanner looked from a distance and then began to cry, and Taylin was looking at it fairly closely, then turned to see Tanner beginning to cry and then began to cry herself. We felt so bad and sorry for him. He slept that night and was pretty much himself by morning. He has to take it easy, yeah right, until the stitches come out in 10 days. It is suppose to be covered with a shirt to help him not scratch it, but have you ever tried to have a dog wear a shirt for an extended period of time? Not so easy unless it is some minature dog and Nike is anything but. We had to decide if it would be better to take our dog for a walk with a shirt on or no shirt on and then people would see the big wound? Hummm, tough one.

















"Look at me. I'm ready to play again. Who's in?"

"I'm still cute aren't I?"