Surgery

Holly was spayed and had a gastropexy today.  She went to the clinic at 7:15, home at 1:30.  Surgery went well and she returns January 9 for suture removal.  Leash walking for 3 weeks (this might be the most painful experience of it all).  The one bummer news was Holly tested positive for anaplasmosis during the pre-op blood panel.  Being she is assymptomatic there will be no treatment given.  I’ve been faithful about tick prevention but obviously there was either a lapse in prevention effiiciency and/or one strong willed tick.   Grateful this appears to be a non-issue and hoping the assymptomatic status continues.  And, once again my gratitude goes out to Dr. Lisa Jeanetta who I have entrusted with my pets for 30 years.

The inflatable cone deters Holly from reaching her stitches but doesn’t prevent it forcing me to platoon which recovery collar is worn.  When I am around, the inflatable; when I am gone, the plastic cone and crated.  So far she hasn’t been too interested in her hairless belly having thread tied in knots.

Holly takes Tramadol 2x/day and Meloxicam 1x/day for pain for the next 4-5 days.   She came home groggy due to the morphine given for the ride home.  She did successfully make her way from the garage into the house and plopped on her dog bed by the couch.  As loopy as she was, I could see her puzzled look on why her dog bed is out of place, normally placed in my bedroom.  Her length of time laying would max at about 20 minutes, then an abrupt stand.  If I allowed, I think she would have stood longer than laying.  I couldn’t watch her stand for lengthy spurts, swaying back and forth while staring at the floor as if she was watching fish swim by – which is perhaps what was happening in her drugged mind.

I rubbed an ice cube on the inside of her jowels until she eventually licked her lips and took a few licks from the ice cube.  That prompted a sudden stance with a look toward the doorway.  I asked if she needed to go out and off she started walking towards the backdoor.   I had visions of all those potty training dashes she and I would take after asking her that very same question 10 months ago, me leading her out as quickly as I could.  Now she leads me out as quickly as she can even when under the influence of morphine.

She wasn’t much interested in eating but I did have to get her Tramadol down, with a little food.  Pill popping isn’t Holly’s strength and as is usually the case it ended with me pushing them down her throat.  Even then she managed to gag one back up so I had to repeat the procedure.  Saving grace was one of Lana’s Christmas gifts, homemade peanut butter treat balls!  After a little time passed and I tried options again, it was the peanut butter treat ball that changed her mind about food.  Success!   We wobbled back to the living room for a nap before going to bed.

Her night was restless, more up and down.  I started Holly out with the plastic cone collar.  I was fearful I would sleep through her licking of stitches.  Silly me, to think about sleep.   When I looked over at her and saw the cone resting squarely on the floor with Holly standing, head down as if she was looking into a funnel, I made the call to switch collars.  As soon as her inflatable collar went on, she walked to her dog bed and laid down.  That made for a better night, but still not the best.   I looked over at her another time and she was up staring out the babygated doorway.  She often gets a drink of water at night, water dish in the bathroom across the hall. I chuckled over her insistence to follow the routine, earlier she had swaggered into the bathroom, cone crashing into the doorway and stopped just shy of the sink, then gave a foggy look up at me – it was time to get her teeth brushed.

Holly managed the steps both up & down without any trouble.  This morning she has eaten well, napped appropriately and had a good chewing session on a new chewstick I got her for the occasion. She is tracking Gracie again, giving a half hearted chase on occasion.  Gracie RN followed Holly to any room she went and sat nearby Holly often.  I do think she was genuinely concerned about Holly’s change in behavior and status.   She also recognizes the respite from harrassment & chase games is almost over.

At the one half day mark, Holly has had a two meals, cleaned her lick tray of peanut butter, found a few socks to steal for a game of keep away and chewed her new chew stick nearly to pieces.   20 1/2 more days to go!