Quiet because all is welllll.....but now OLIVER

OK, guess my litte cat was jealous of all the attention his sister got and now he has his own aliment....DIABETES. WTF???? So, let's play catch up.

Cheddar has been amazing. Really. Perfect. She gets around beautifully and nothing gets in her way. She can run and play. Her life is great! She did so well, that we were able to go on our long scheduled vacation for two weeks and leave her with our friends, Uncle Steve and Colby (our nephew-vizsla). She is so fantastic that she is normal. Truely remarkable. In fact, she is more social and happy as she can be. Hooray!!!

WELLLLLL....Oliver isn't. He has been a super healthy guy forever. He was found in the marsh by a friend of mine surviving on a bag of Funyons (really) twelve years ago. I have affectionately called him Baby Fish Mouth because his only health issue has been terrible nasty little teeth. That is it. My white trash kitty. Solid. Sweet little man that you can snuggle like a teddy bear who is potty trained. Yes, he uses the toilet. He is dreamy....that is dreamy, until now.

When we got home from vacation, he seemed kinda scraggley. His normally sleak thick coat was really scruffy and he was shedding like crazy. Gradually as he has matured, he has gotten thinner, but now he looked skinny. Because he uses the toilet, we often hear him going and laugh. During the course of watching t.v., I heard him pee 3 times within a short period and I thought about it...his water bowl was going dry quickly. That was it. I took him to the vet.

We put him on Purina Dietic Management food and he bounced right back. Within 48 hours, the excessive drinking/peeing stopped.Whoohoo...just a bump in the road. Fast forward a few weeks.

It seemed like Oliver wasn't drinking as much...until, I realized he was drinking out of the toilet. ick. Back to the vet for more tests. After two days of insulin, he seemed more his little funny vocal self.

Bottom line. Don't feed your pets corn. Don't eat corn. Corn sucks. Nobody digests it. Especially little carnivore kitkats. :(

SO, today we start the injections of insulin ourselves. Gotta go get schooled

Darcy & Bart

Things are good. Cheddar is great other than incessant whining and being a spoiled little punk. She was headed down stairs for snacks from our receptionist and I barked at her for whining. She solidly managed to turn around in the middle of a flight of stairs and come back up to me. Not too shabby for a 3 legged girl!

I mentioned Barty the Wonderdog and his WonderMom, Darcy, earlier. Bart is a 4 yo Male that won a hunting title 4 months after a front limb amputation and 18 months of chemo. Wowza! Darcy is so dedicated that she is schlepping Barty all over the place so that he may gain his Master Hunter title. He is a superstar!

We were lucky enough to find these two crazies on the internet just by googling "Vizsla amputee." Having the support and resource of someone having gone through this madness before has been invaluable...especially with a Vizsla. They are special!

This weekend, Cheddar and I are taking a roadtrip to meet our new friends down in Nowhere, Florida. The Tampa Bay Vizsla Club is holding an event/tournament and we are going to watch our comrade rock it and drink a few cocktails in the woods. :) More to come.

Almost "normal"

Well, as "normal" as Cheddar can be. Most days are good ones with the occassional "not so good" one thrown in. We continue to see her gaining strength and stability. Her front leg has really turned a corner in strength and that makes everything easier.

Strangely, she will have days where she seems more tired and stumbles a bit. I don't think I will ever get used to seeing her fall. I react with a wince and try not to verbally respond, but it is really hard.

The dumb dogleggs product sucked! We tried to work with it, but he seemed to impede her more than help. In fact, I don't know what I did, but one day her little foot puffed up with that damn thing on. I even checked it each time to make sure I could get a finger underneath it. I don't know. Whatever. The docs said hold onto it...maybe we will need it in the future, but for now we will just monitor her.

The skin thing has improved, but we are still on antibiotics. Each morning, she is getting a little breakfast of sweet potato so that she can tolerate that evil medicine. Sweet potato...mmmmmm.....

It isn't a leg warmer

D is saying Cheddar looks like she should be in "Flash Dance" with her new leg warmer.

This is the "Dog Leggs" product that is essentially wet suit material and big strips of Velcro. Wish I came up with this idea! Well, it definitely changes how she uses her foot. I makes her have to kick the leg out further, but she does place it down straight instead of side ways. So, my m.o. is to have it on her at work or during activity and take it off at night. We will see how it goes. If anybody knows a doggie orthopedist, ask them what I should do. (thanks) My Vet didn't give me an answer.

Just thought I would throw this next shot in because it doesn't get much sweeter...

Sawing LOGS....damn.

Cheddar is snoring so loudly that she is distracting me. I just peeked at her (she works with me everyday...if you can call what she does work) and she is curled up in a ball on my old Bert and Ernie comfortor with her paw over her nose. Sooooooo cute.

We are still working on this darn skin thing, but she is looking great. The antibiotics they prescribed most recently, erythromycin, is upsetting her belly. They wanted her to have it 3x daily at 500mg. That is a lot. She barfed after the first night on the way to work in the back of my car. Hot dog barf. Nice way to start the day. Poor kid. We backed off to 2x daily starting last night. So far so good.

I will get the video of her from this weekend posted. I will. I will.

Just before she settled in for this nap, she was nesting around on her blanket using her paw. Pretty cool stuff!

She is doing so amazingly that I we are relaxed now. I can even shift gears and start getting excited about our big trip to Greece.

Triumphant Return

Before her surgery, we tried to get Cheddar out to her "doggie paradise," Cumberland Island, but it did not work out. Our dear friends live there and we are lucky enough to visit with Cheddar. Cheddar's was practically raised with her best buddy, a Basenji named "Hobbes," who we don't see very often now that he is one the island full time. Over the years we have watched Ched and Hobbes develop goofy little games and behaviors. With this visit, we weren't sure how things would go.

Cheddar knows exactly what is up when we head in the direction of the marina and is a fantastic little traveller. Upon on arrival Cheddar would practically skip around the island. We typically do a lot of relaxing, walking, and eating on our visits. Walks in the woods and playing on the beach are some of Ched's favorite things to do. Since her surgery, we haven't taken any long walks, so this was all uncharted territory.

Well, our trip was perfect and our little inspiration did beautifully. She got extra attention from the other folks on the boat, but other than that, she was the perfect little sailor...even getting so excited as we pulled in to dock that we had to hold her back. Just like the 4-legged days.

Hobbes and Cheddar got along just fine. Now that he is older, Hobbes, is a grumpy old man set in his ways, so we were concerned that he might be extra ornery or pecky with the 3-legged girl.

After a chilly boat ride, we arrived and it was obvious that Cheddar was thrilled to be there and Hobbes was too. It brought tears to my eyes to see my kid so happy and not missing a beat.

I could go on and on about Cheddar chasing an armadillo, eating oysters, walking all the way to the garden and back, but the bottom line is she had a wonderful visit and owned it!

The only accomodation we made for my 3-legged doggie was driving to the beach when we would normally have walked. It was great. She ran around like an idiot, got her tootsies wet, and even attempted to dig. I say attempted. That isn't fair. She did dig...sand was moved. She dug! I will post photos and video.

Dig it!

when is this going to be done

Good god. We went to the dermatologist today. Looks like our little puppy is just baking cakes covered in critters. Today they scraped her crusty bits and ran slides...then determined they needed to grow a culture to find out what nasty little critters are growing on my girl.

NOW, we get to start treated shampoos and leave in conditioners every other day. On top of that, twice everyday, we get to do coochie and footie antibacterial wipes, cooch neosporin application, and an extra treatment goo on her amp incision.

We are going out of town this weekend to celebrate Valentine's Day and Cheddar's first big outing. You know her "My Little Pony" back pack is going to contain treats and vulva wipes. Yeesh...

THANK GOD we jumped on treating her.

So, the deal is on top of being allergic to everything with the trama of all that she has been through her immune system is in the toilet and the normal everyday cooties are taking advantage of that.

D asked how he could help, but I doubt he is going to wanna wipe Cheddar's cooch twice a day.

Give a girl a break....geez

Well, Ched's rash/skin irritation hasn't gotten better. Even being on a high dose of Cephalexin (again) it has gotten worse...so back to the vet yesterday.

So, I had a giant list of areas to point out that were itchified/flaky and some questions. In addition to the skin thing, I am really concerned that her little front dainty-girlie wrist sure gets contorted in weird directions with her movement.

Asside -> Illustration:
1. Hold your hand out palm down.
2. Rotate your fingers 90 degrees clockwise
3. Rotate your palm down, pinky first 10 degrees.

WELL....with each hop Cheddar takes when going a slower pace, this is how her foot lands on the ground. Now you see what I am talking about.

So, I asked the doctor to make some recommendations on what to do...and we ordered a carpal brace fit to her footie. Nothing intense, just something for a little support. Hope it works. :)

That brings me to something else. Why is it that you don't get the information you really need to support your pet ahead of time or even at all? If I did not ask the 8 zillion questions that I do, I would be floundering and my kid would suffer. Thank goodness, once again for my friend, D and her 3-legged Vizsla, Ch Razn the Bar JH "Bart" and the online boards and the REAL advice that has made life smoother.

I think next I will work on a supply list of all the crapola I know of that has helped make life easier....hmmmm....

a new milestone

We have been on such a good train of progress that a minor step back yesterday seemed MAJOR.

As we started our workday, Cheddar fell down some stairs and it was painful to watch. She really did not fall, but her front leg got tucked underneath her body and she kind of slid down. It is hard to see a stumble because she really has been back to our new normal in behavior and activity. Her stumbles really affect my attitude to her progress and probably knock me down when she just gets up and keeps on hopping.

WELL, when we got home another, she kicked my attitude right back up with a huge milestone. I was sitting on my bed talking to D and his whole face changed. Cheddar jumped onto our bed for the first time as a tripod!!! AND I missed it. Before she could easily take a flying leap or even delicately bounce right up. In fact, we would often play fetch with the bed being home base. Evidently she pulled some sideways manoeuver and got right up. Just a little while later, I encouraged her to do it again and she did it! NICE!!!!

Her weird skin stuff is still evident and doesn't seem to be improving. We are headed back in to the Doc on Monday to see what is up. Wish that would away especially since she is still on Cephalexin...ugh. Hate antibiotics. Give the pup a break!

See for yourself what my girl can do

How about that? A week later and she is looking really solid.

I am having issues keeping clothes on her and it is pretty cold here. AND, she just scratched the crap out of herself right in front of the amp boo-boo. Yeesh.

Regardless, she is getting stronger everyday and almost back to normal...but, new and improved normal.

This is a photo from the other day of her surgery site. (Taking pictures of her is tough) The lowest portion of the site, near her sternum is irriated. This and some spots around her belly site is what put us back on antibiotics. OTHERWISE, it is looking nice and fuzzy.

Everybody BOO-ROO

We have boo-roo! Yesterday afternoon our silly ritual of two foolish humans howling with their dog returned! A "boo-roo" involves not only a vocalization, but on Cheddar's part hopping backwards for emphasis! She did it and it was awesome!

On top of the boo-roo, we had another first and another awesome one at that! Prior to her surgery, upon returning home from work, Cheddar would run inside, find the nearest stuffed animal and instigate a came of catch/fetch even throwing her "baby" into the air and going airborne to catch it! Not only did she play, but she jumped up in the air and used her front foot to assist in the duckie catch! It brought tears to our eyes.

We have been watching some flaky spots on her groin and a weird speckled rash around her belly incision. Today she was also licking the lower portion of her amp site. She has some kind of skin irritation and maybe even staph. SO, back on the damn antibiotics for two weeks. Supposedly this is common, but we are both tired of the doc!

Inspiration at Three Weeks

Today marks 3 weeks since Cheddar joined a new very special group of 3 legged dogs. Just 2 weeks ago we were down and low as low can be, but today is a very different story.

Everyday we have lots of firsts. These mark little Ched behavoirs that mean she is getting back to her regular old self. At work she won't keep still, she is all over the place up and down and back again looking for treats from those who contribute to her habit. Yesterday, she caught one of her babies in the air for the first time in 3 weeks. Cheddar's Daddy is still holding out for a full-fledged boo-roo...so far we only have quiet woofs. I was cruel and tried to see if she would "shake" with her remaining front paw, but I did not push her...she looked at me like "are you crazy, woman?"

She does appear to have some light rash around her belly slice and a little edema at the bottom of her amp scar, but we have a call in to the doc to see what that non-sense is all about.

At first you might think this is silly, but listen to the words...it is Cheddar's new theme song compliments of D J Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cW1-N717Ttc

No words...just watch her at 17 days

Special Olympics here we come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MY 3-LEGGED DOGGIE JUST RAN!!!!

Cheddar saw my receptionist, Rebekah, go to her crack (a.k.a. snack) jar and from across the room. She ran! Not hopped. Not loped. SHE RAN!!! I lost it. I was laughing and crying at the same time.
I looked around and asked our sales guys, " Did you see that? Did you just see that?" They had. Thank god because I don't think they would have believed me, if I they hadn't see it for themselves.

I asked Rebekah to take a treat and go to the other side of the lobby...AND she did it again!

My 3-legged amazing little girl just ran only 17 days after having her beautiful little leg hacked off!!! Who needs 4 legs? They are extra baggage for dog's like mine.

Cupcakes & Good Riddence

Yesterday Cheddar said "See Ya" to her surgeons today! We had our final recheck and they gave her two thumbs up for being the most fantastic beastie ever! We took the nice folks cupcakes as a grateful "kiss off." Although they were good to us and have a nice facility, we are incredibly happy to never go there again.

Today is the first day without any meds. We have a bright-eyed girl on our hands. I have to be on top of putting a baby gate up at my office door to keep her contained. Just for a week or so longer, I would like to keep tabs on her and the flight of stairs just outside my door. When she was worn out at the end of the day, she stumbled going down them yesterday. For now, an extra eyeball on her to pick her up or cheer her on still makes sense. BUT, it is going to be a tough job because when she is up, she is raring to go and she GOES quickly.

Cheddar is really getting the hang of this new body. I had her in the back yard yesterday afternoon and she was cruising along and sniffing as she went. I will work on getting video of her in motion now. It is very different. Everyday she is covering more turf and doing it well. Her little tail is a powerful tool in balancing and the stance of her rear legs is more spread out to create a wider base. When she is sitting or squatting the position of her front leg varies. Sometimes it is planted in the middle, while others it is on it's normal side and she leans a bit. When laying down, she is all over the place. Actually, she lays down more than she sits now.

Something else that is new is really, really sweet. My cute little pup is the snuggliest most affectionate thing on the planet. With 4 paws, a typical vizsla maneuvere is to sit and place a front paw on you, or maybe even both. Kind of a means to keep you there petting them. WELL, this one cannot do that anymore. She puts her head down either on your shoulder or tucks into your chest. I love my dog.

She is just shy of being back on her regular full diet (3 C of a limited protein kibble...venison and sweet potato). I am on a mission to get her back on her old schedule for everything....feeding, going outside, playtime, bedtime. We are almost there.

I know she is feeling better because my opportunities to get photos are dwindling. I got some nice belly shots and will work on a amp one to post later.

Working Vizsla

When you think of Vizslas working, you envision them out in the field; however, this Vizsla is working on her year end financial analysis of our family business and doing a damn good job!

Little lady worked the flight of 8 steps to get up to her office after cruising all the way from the car. That is our longest excursion yet. She followed that by a hop out to the executive puppy potty at midday with grace considering she is still on narcotics.

When we got home, D suggested we take off the t-shirt and give her a good scratch! Here she is having dinner, only her regular venison and sweet potato diet with fresh sweet potato for some extra deliciousness... The one dark area of the amp incison, just needs to be cleaned up. It was the one spot that was not 100% when the staples were removed. In addition to her amp shave marks, she has belly shave upon shave from the ultrasounds, aspirates, and lipoma excision. Please ignore her large "lady lump," as she has is one of the lumpiest ladies around. That goofy pop song was written for Cheddar.

kick assed puppy...video link

So, I have tried for forever now to get video uploaded here and it isn't flying. Here is a link to a video of our rockin' girl today. She is looking strong and feeling more like herself!

Feeling good on a lazy Saturday

This is how we started the day. Nice huh? A far more with it Cheddar greeted me this morning. We got a great night of sleep and only woke up to adjust a few times. It was so snuggly and warm in our bed that she only got up to go outside when it was absolutely necessary. Then it was down to business and a quick sniffing, but that was enough. It was too chilly outside so we followed her lead and hopped back inside.

Cheddar is MUCH better today. In fact, she is following me around from room to room. In fact, she kept me company in the bathroom while I showered. She has even joined her Dad in the sunroom for some coffee time. Her eyes are brigher. She seems more interested in what is going on around the house. Hooray. Even after a hop around the house or outside, she isn't winded and panting as she has been. She seems steadier on her feet. Although she did whine for a few minutes out of nowhere last night, I don't sense that she is in pain right now. Hallelujah!

I got more carpet runners to lay down as runways (more like hop-ways) on our hardwood floors. That is going to happen today.

I have been trying for 3 days to upload video of her in motion without any luck.

So, here is a photo of her amp incision at 11 days post surgery. Looking great! One spot is a little scabby, but the two sides appear fused overall.

The second photo is the belly incision. This is much, much better. It lays between her lady blubber so it doesn't get a lot of air and from the beginning was inflamed and irrated by those crummy staples.

UPDATE:
I went outside for a minute. Often the door to the backyard doesn't latch properly and either Cheddar or Oliver can open it and come into the screened in porch. Well, Oliver, the kitty, looooves to be on the back porch. Did I say I went out for a minute? Well, the kitty came out on the porch on a very chilly day. When I got to the porch, it wasn't kitty...it was PUPPY!!!! Hooray!

AND, if that wasn't good enough, Karen came to visit and got the most exciting and enthusiastic reception from Cheddar. Ched popped up and zoomed over to say "hi" with full body wiggle/waggle! AWESOME!!!!

What a fantastic day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got my baby back

Cheddarina is feeling better today! In fact, she felt good yesterday afternoon. I did get video of her moving from the backyard, up a few stairs, and into the house; however, I could not get it to upload after a zillion tries. I will try again over the weekend. More importantly, my girl is back. She is not 100%, but she definately feels better than yesterday's lump of a pup. She is interested in treats. The tail is a-waggin'. THank god....she slept great and only woke up here and there for ~15 minutes to circle around and fluff her pillows (well, my down comforter). In fact, I had an hour long meeting in another part of our building. When I returned to my office, she was waiting at the baby gate for me. She got right up and even allowed our vistors to pet her while she showed interest in checking them out. NICE!!!! D is still looking for our kid to boo-roo for crack (a.k.a. treats). When that happens the Champagne will flow and I promised her some icecream.

maybe not sideways...we have a fever

Well, after Tuesday night's weird episode, we took Cheddar to the doctor yesterday. Not only did they want to see her, but we got out staples out!!! So, that was awesome because the belly staples were looking really raw and appeared really uncomfortable. One little spot on her amp incision was a little weepy, but otherwise fantastic!
So, we found she had a fever. We will continue the Baytril (antibiotic) and Tramadol (pain med) for an additional week. I swear, the minute you told her she had a fever, she went limp and lethargic.
Although she ate well last night, she was quite quiet. Once I settled down to go bed, she did hop up and sleep ON me. We woke up at 2 a.m. on the nose (hope this routine changes soon), and fluffed around the bed for an hour, but did not go out.
We are back to work today. She did not walk in like she did previously...her sweet Daddy carried her. I plan on giving her pain meds on her new schedule. My fingers are crossed that our animated pup is back soon.

Two steps forward...one wobbly one sideways

Cheddar had a great day at work. It seems like getting back to our regular routine is the best plan of action. She did not over do it physically, but maybe mentally. At the end of the day she was worn out. When we got home, she had her 30 minute heating pad and massage treatment, a little dinner, and then a snooze.
Later in the evening, I could hear her respiration and it sounds really irregular. I paid closer attention and it was all over the place and really fast. It was really upsetting. She wasn't exerting herself, in fact, she was laying complete flat and just huffing & puffing without any pattern. Ched even fell asleep and dreamt during this period. All of the muscles in her face and around her wound were twitching and the crazy breathing continued. I didn't know what to do. D told me to call the ER and they said I should check that her gums were pink indicating her O2 levels were o.k. They were. This passed after about 45 arduous minutes. Misery.
Then, we both got some sleep, with a 2 a.m. potty break. Not sure why, but she doesn't settle down after the potty breaks for a long time. She is just trying to nest and get comfy. Finally, she laid down behind me, on top of all the fluffy bedding, leaned against me and passed out. Yeah, so here she is snoring, the cat is curled in a ball in front of me and it is a Mom sandwich and I am the meat. The meat that cannot move.
This morning, she was up raring to go. Hopping around the house to keep and eye on us. She got her last dose of her Tramadol. I think I may get some more just in case. The idea of the pain script being complete is scary.
p.s. I tried to take some video of her following me around last night, but I blew it.

Slave Driver! Get back to work!

Yesterday, Cheddar stayed home with D. He has had a crummy cold/flu for far too long.
When I got home from work, D said Ched had not been drinking today. So, I poured her a bowl of chicken stock and she drank quite a bit. *sigh*
After a quiet evening, I woke up at midnight with a Vizsla standing over me. ONE WEEK to the day after a scapular disarticulation of her front right limb and abdominal surgery to remove a necrotic lipoma, girlfriend moved from the bed, out the door, down the stairs, rocked #1 & #2, got a drink and went back to bed. All of this was without any support, sling, or help at all! *SIGH*

10 years ago, I came to work for my family business. At that time, the only request I made was to bring my dog to work. Well, we don't play around here and Cheddar is back to work today. She has a lot of catching up to do. Hell, some of our employees who have a minor first aid issues don't get back to work this quickly. D helped me set her up. I thought I would have to carry her up to our office, but Nope. She made it with a little help from the sling.

P.S. I found a great link on limb amputation from the ACVS.

http://www.acvs.org/AnimalOwners/HealthConditions/SmallAnimalTopics/LimbAmputation/

Also, I have some good pics of the incision and will post them later.

Woohoo for poo...

We woke up at 5:30 a.m. and went outside, just Ched and me...so that was cool. When D woke up, we trekked outside together and had some relief.
You know things are back to basics when you get excited when your dog poops. Well, this was a major achievement of the day in addition to a nice long walk from our living room outside and back. We aren't talking little girlie poop...this was serious business that warrented applause.
After that, I ran to the store to buy her a wife beater t-shirt (for lack of a better name). The plan is to take her to work with me tomorrow and the shirt will protect the wound and keep it clean. I was at the store 10 minutes and got a phone call from D that Ched was crying, uncomfortable, and her muscles were conctracting along her whole leg-less side. So, I grabbed the shirts and got home quickly.
Commence puppy massage. For the last two hours, after a dose of meloxicam and half an hour of the heating pad, we have chilled and massaged the patient. She is resting comfortably with Ina Garten on the tube and brother Oliver supervising.

Got a joke for you....WHAT was that?!!!

Cheddar had her first visitor just a little while ago. Uncle S is always there when you need him. He added a little levity with a joke" What did the nurse say to the doctor after Cheddar's surgery? Who cut the cheese." Thank god for Uncle S

Holy &^%(%! just as I was typing there were some thuds coming from the living room....I turned to the door of our office and there was CHEDDAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She got up to find me, to tell me she had to pee. We scooped her up and took her outside.

I gave her a little rawhide as a reward and now she seems annoyed that she cannot hold it down with her paws. I tried to hold it for her and she wasn't having that. She is now fast asleep with what looks like a cigar in her mouth. (She hopped all the way in here to ask for help!! OMG! OMG) What a girl?!!

side note: there was a lot of swelling below her incision...today it is WAY down.

Bad Mom...poor dopey.

The sedative worked. A little too well. I gave her a whole pill and knew I should have tested one half first. Stupid me. I REALLY know better.
It is 12 hours since she had the pill and she is still out of it. I did just get a meager tail wag and, of course, she ate her morning pain med with cheese, but she is super dopey...so much so, D & I don't want to risk taking her outside.
On the bright side, I don't have to and this is why.
In the night, maybe around 3 a.m., Cheddar got up, stepped down off of the mattress, and settled down on her own bed. All by herself. I was impressed even though I thought it was weird as I watched her in the darkness. In fact, her movements were very fluid and seemingly solid. Maybe she just wanted to adjust. NOT! She was so doped up on the Acepromazine that she had wet the bed.
Now, let me share a little of Cheddar's character. She is so well behaved that even for the smallest bad deed, she essentially tattles on herself. For example, she has a thing for q-tips, used ones. So, if you find the tip less stick of a q-tip on the floor, she hangs her head and removes herself from the situation. Whatever it might be, it is so minor that it is almost amusing...poor dog, punishing herself.
SO, poor baby, what was she thinking, in her ultra-sleepy state, when she moved to her own bed after her mistake. I hope it was she just wanted to get away from the wet spot. UGH. Lesson learned...I will take my lumps.
At least she is getting a lot of rest. Also, she is so sleepy that I managed to get this picture...albeit not so flattering with her eyes glazed over.

INTENSE, but not afraid. 24 hours home. 72 hours as a Tri-pawd.

The patient is resting now on a queen sized mattress with 600 t.c. sheets under a down comforter. Watching some show on Bravo.

Before bringing her home, we got only glowing reports from the Vet staff. Most significantly to me, hearing that they had never seen a old lady amputee do this well and comparing her to a 3 year old pup. Most significantly to Cheddar, she wasn't interesting in her own food, but preferred sharing the nurse's pb&j. They said she had successfully walked within 14 hrs of surgery and was walking up to 50 yards including navigating a small step or two. This gave me more confidence knowing she would be coming home soon and, we would be the ones to help her learn how to walk on 3 legs.

We brought her home yesterday around 4p.m. after a two night stay post surgery. When the nurse brought her in to the waiting room on her shaky 3 feet, I thought her wagging tail might be enough to knock her down, but she made it out to the car, after a quick pee. We really needed the nurses help to figure out how to lift her causing the least amount of pain. Evidently, it was hard for them to figure that one out, too, considering her abdominal incision to remove a large necrotic mass in addition to the removal of her leg. By wrapping one arm in front of her leg and cupping the incision and wrapping the other one behind he back legs, with only a little squeak, we got her into the car and headed home.

SOOOOOO, our kid has a foot long wound from where her shoulder to her chest and another one from he belly button down. YIKES. (I have to sneak to get photos later when she is sleeping, since she is so camera shy.) There is some edema, or fluid, collecting below the cut on her chest and fresh pink bruising.

When she got home in her own bed, it took her a good 2 hours to get comfortable and finally sleep. We rearranged the furniture and got settled in to keep her company for the night. When she woke up 2 hours later, we took her outside to pee. It was exhausting for all of us. She was quite shaky, but got from the bed, to the door, down 3 steps with our help. Following that, she was panting and happy to lay back down.

Being able to manage/eliminate her pain is my priority. I know that she will adjust to her tri-pod status, but I just don't want her to hurt. She still has a morphine patch from the vet and is on antibiotics and other pain meds, too. Still with all of this, last night, she was uncomfortable and would whimper on every exhale. She slept for 2 hours and then would be up for ~3. All I knew to do was to pet , kiss, whisper, and spoon her until I could give her more meds at 6 a.m. D helped me get her out to relieve her self and he headed to work. After that, both she and I got to sleep a little more.

When we woke up, I got a call from the vet to check in and ask for something to help her with this uncomfortability at night. Then, I called our new friend, Darcy. Thank goodness, for our new friends, Darcy and her tri-pod Master Hunter (another Vizsla) Bart. Knowing they have not only been through this but conquered it is HUGE!!! Darcy is full of empathy, encouragement and kindness.

Since then, Cheddar has been resting comfortably on the mattress and I swear she is watching t.v. for the first time ever. Surprisingly she hasn't slept since this morning. One new pill from the vet will rectify that later.

Calm before the storm

We are doing all we can to get prepared for my 11 year old Vizsla's amputation. Her right front leg has a large spindle-cell sarcoma tumor, a soft tissue cancer, above her elbow that reared it's ugly head on Labor Day. Since then, it has been a roller coaster of inconclusive tests, negative results, then positive results.

She is a healthy and HAPPY girl otherwise.

Today I bought the last thing on my list, Rescue Remedy, a holistic calming supplement.

Our appointment is Tuesday morning.