My sweet Maggie Mae has had a rough week. She has a strained ligament in her leg and is essentially confined to the house. She's clearly not impressed. You're probably wondering how on earth she strained a ligament. Well here's how it happened. Just after Christmas my family noticed Maggie had a slight limp. We of course panicked because she is the centre of our universe. But the next day she was fine and we just figured she had maybe slept on her leg funny or pulled a muscle. But about a week later her limping returned and it was much worse. She could barely get up from the couch. So we took her to the vet and it turns out she had a strained ligament. The vet said she likely slipped on some ice while chasing after a squirrel —chasing squirrels or rabbits or tree branches are some of Maggie's favourite activities. And apparently it is very common in dogs with strained or torn ligaments to start limping and then be fine for about a week before the limp returns. So Maggie's mystery limp finally made sense. Maggie is now resting her leg —she only gets two short walks a day and has to be on a leash to go in the backyard. She's miserable because she loves to explore and smell every inch of the backyard without the constraints of a leash or an annoyed owner who wants to get in from the cold. The vet hopes after two weeks of rest Maggie will be back to normal. Unfortunately, if she hasn't recovered she may actually have a torn ligament instead of just a strain, which could mean surgery. Poor Maggie! Maggie seems to be recovering so we are hopeful she just had a strain. And we are being super vigilant about her running around outside with all the ice and snow that came from the the ice storm and the polar vortex. Here are some of our tips for keeping your pet safe with all this snow and ice. 1. Clear a path in the snow so your dog can safely get around your backyard. 2. Invest in some dog booties. 3. Put down salt —you can actually buy pet-safe salt from your vet. 4. Avoid walking your dog if the sidewalks haven't been plowed 5. Put your dog on a leash when they go to the bathroom so they can't run around and chase squirrels How is your dog faring during this cold and snowy winter?