GreyPoopon

She's Home!!! The appointment was for 3:30, but with one thing and another (senior vet running late, instructions for care, explanation of the bill....) she wasn't sprung until 4:30. She'd had a bath, and was wearing a nice spring bandana. When she got outside she was happy to see me; when I took both the lead and the sling and walked her over to the grass, she was ecstatic: she was wagging her tail and dancing and smiling up at me and even gave me a nuzzle (she's not a kisser). She was so pleased it took a minute to get her to concentrate on having a pee. She was quite happy to walk into the middle of the greeting committee (Perry, Minnie, Betsy, and Edie are not crated), and the energy level in the whole house went up. It went up another notch when she got upstairs and the other three could see her. I got her settled in her crate--she's going to be on crate rest until she can walk unsupervised and do stairs. Then I got Jess out to do some Grade 3 homework, and she went over to say hello, sticking her nose right between the bars. When Piper and Tally got out a few minutes later, they said hello too--even though they're crated on either side of her. Here are a few pics. They're not great, but at least I've followed the rules. Saying hello to Perry (woolly) and Edie (not): Having a drink in her nice tidy crate. I'd kept it closed after the last cleanup so she could make her own nest : A side view showing the shaved bits--the front for her Fentanyl patch and the rear for the surgery. There is a third on her left front leg for the IV. It's a little hard to tell from this pic, but the incision is nice and dry and the bruising is mostly gone. There is some swelling at the bottom of her leg--not much--and she is not seeping: Having a treat so I could get her face; unfortunately, the pic is blurry: Tally and Piper saying hello: Piper tries again: Cora says, "Thank you everybody!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so glad to be home."

Shhhhhh. My plan is to spring her at 3:30....

:yay

I was going to tell you what I think is going right (including the weight gain), but I don't think you want that. Just one thing that you may not have been told: pred can flatten a dog. Minnie was on pred for many months after her IBD was diagnosed. Granted that, compared to Beau, she was smaller (especially after losing an even higher proportion of her body weight) and was on a much higher dosage, but the impact of the pred on her mood was substantial. She was flatter on the pred than she had been through repeated--even life-threatening--bouts of HGE. (She also leaked like a seive and had a startling increase in appetite.) The impact can be gradual and cumulative. Even if it wouldn't have been apparent on it's own, it might affect his ability to handle all the other matters, including the grief. The "good news" is that his mood will improve as his dosage is reduced. And StriderDog makes a good point--Piper had that happen too.

I'm so sorry. Godspeed Knobby.

Apparently, they usually remove it after 6-8 months, because OS can develop at the site of the hardware. But in 6-8 months, Cora will be 10 1/2, and OS takes some years to develop (if at all), so it's going to be a tough decision.

I'm so sorry. I'm glad that Presley found you and enjoyed several good years. Godspeed Presley.

A mini update: I just spoke to one of the vets (the one who worked on the weekend), and she said Cora is much happier this morning--her ears are up more, and she's brighter. The swelling is down about 50% from what it was on the weekend. They found a canned vet food that she is willing to eat. Last night, she went down the steps, with assistance. She was about to go for a longer walk when I called. I'll see her this afternoon. The current expectation is that she'll be home tomorrow or Wednesday.

What a horrific shock. I am so desperately sorry. It shouldn't have happened. Godspeed Bodhi Dogma.

Beau. I hope you feel better soon. The weight gain is FANTASTIC!

I'm sorry.

Yippee!!!!

I'll do a Weekend Update tomorrow after I see her, but the short answer is: just fine. I was a bit disappointed, because there is now more swelling further down her leg, and she seemed a bit uncomfortable. But the swelling is just part of the process, and the discomfort was because her Fentanyl patch had been changed and the new one hadn't fully taken effect. Still, she was quite happy to go for a walk around the parking lot and (small) front lawn a couple of times. I'm to go in at 9am tomorrow to help get her out for her first walk.

I hope she feels better soon.

I'm sorry.

I'm so sorry.

I'm so very sorry. Godspeed Caesar.

I'm so very sorry. What a wonderful story. Godspeed Isis.

This morning I spoke to the senior vet, who said that he was very pleased with Cora's progress. I asked if I could visit, making it clear that I would not if he thought that it might upset her; he indicated that he does not mind clients visiting their pets, and that he thought we could give it a try. I went over at about 11:30, and he asked one of the vet techs (Nancy) to take me to see Cora and go with us for a walk. When I got to the door of the little room containing the "runs" (cinder block enclosures roughly 2 1/2' wide X 5' long with ceilings close to 8'), Cora's head snapped up. She got to her feet (!), and started wagging her tail. Her tail kept going for almost a minute. I talked to her for a bit, then we took her out. I had the leash and Nancy held the sling. When we got to the stairs, Nancy carried her; Cora wagged her tail for that too. Once she was outside, Cora walked across the parking lot with barely a limp. Nancy held the sling so that she could catch her, but she was not supporting her. We got to the grassy area, and Cora had a pee; Nancy did support her for that. Then Cora headed off down the side of the lot, stopping for a poop. We continued around (it's a small lot--perhaps 8 spaces long with cars on either side of the central drive) until we got back near the building. Cora stopped to sniff. We noticed that she was shivering and decided that she was cold; we agreed that I'd take over a coat (the temp was just below freezing). We took her back in, and I sat on the floor with her while Nancy applied cold packs to the swelling, and massaged the leg to move the fluid up. She also washed off both legs--there is so much swelling that blood-tinged lymphatic fluid is weeping out of the tissue. After Nancy finished the treatment, I sat with Cora for a while longer. Then I got up to get my camera to take some pics, and Cora got back to her feet. Since we didn't want her wandering and slipping on the tile floor, I thought we should put her back in her run. Just before we closed the gate on her run, I asked if I could give her a treat, and, as Nancy said "Yes", Cora was licking her chops. I spoke to Nancy again at 5, and she said that Cora had been quiet after my visit (which had lasted about an hour), and had had a nap. So the visit clearly did not upset her, and I can go back tomorrow. Cora had also eaten about 3/4 of her dinner, and had another walk--she'd even trotted a couple of times, going around the lot twice. Anyway, here are some pics. The first several are of the x-rays. The "before", from an x-ray taken in Nov 07 when she injured her right hip. The x-rays were clear, so the conclusion was that she had a nasty soft-tissue injury deep within the joint. The now-broken left leg is on the right: A similar view, showing the broken bone: Another similar view, but with her leg drawn up: A closeup of the same x-ray, showing the break on an angle, and the bone shards above: An x-ray taken when she was lying on her side: A closeup of that x-ray: Back to the original lengthwise view, showing the hardware. The three circles are the wires; the two screws that seem to go nowhere are the lag screws holding the big shards in place; and the rectangle is the plate held in place by eight screws: The repair seen from the other side. The wires, lag screws, and plate are visible, but the screws holding the plate are not: The next two pics are of her actual leg. They're not that bad, but I'll leave some space so you can avoid them if you wish. There are two more pics of her face after the two of the leg. The incision. It starts in the orange rectangle above the strap from the sling: The inside of her leg, showing the pooled blood and swelling. Note how big her foot is: The patient patient posing. That's the Fentanyl patch on her side: The patient says, "OK, enough pictures." And yes, that is a Mercedes SUV in the background. Guess who drives it?

I am so sorry.

I saw her! Took her for a walk. Pics and report later today (late afternoon/early evening). Right now the others need a walk.

I'm so very sorry. Godspeed Lewis.

for "It's Nothing. Nothing at all."