Well, we just got home from seeing Mac for the first time as a tripawd. He was excited to see us, but definitely veryyyyy drugged out. It was honestly quite difficult to see him like that, but I guess on a positive note, he was walking all by himself?
The floors are so slippery so I know that was a problem. Anyway, we pet him and loved him for about 30 minutes. He was due for his pain meds so we didn’t want to keep him.
Here’s Day 1 of Mac as a tripawd. It can only get better, right?
Poor guys nose was sooo dry…We offered him water from a bowl and he drank the ENTIRE bowl!!
Trying to stay strong. I know everyone is telling me the first week is the hardest, but it was pretty hard to see him like that. At least we got him to wag his tail and even lick Connor’s hand. I think at that moment – seeing him for the first time – made everything very real.
I just can’t wait to bring him home…
Awww…such a sweet, sweet face…druggy eyes, but sweet face!
So he is up and walking on those horribly slippery floors? That’s impressive! Drinking while all druggy? That’s impressive too!
And YAY for wagging his tail and kissing Connor!
They always shave sooooo much! I think that’s what is so startling at first, more so than the actual incision itself, which looks very good btw!
Once you get him home, you may be able to take the cone off. At least while you are there watching him anyway. My Happy Hannah never needed the cone. Some dogs will try and gnaw at the incision though. Just play it by ear.
This IS major surgery and he is not going to feel like pawtying quite yet! He will feel better being home, as will you! It’s a looong week or two, but it does indeed get better!
Grab some shut eye while you can! Look forward to your update tomorrow!
Extra hugs…nice reassuring hugs to you both!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle too
Thank you Sally. You truly do make me feel better with every comment! We did stop by Petco on our way home and got one of those inflatable cones that look like one of those airplane neck pillows. Should definitely be more comfortable. Also brought the Pawz rubber socks with us today, but they seemed a bit too tight around his ankle. The doc said he’d try them on Mac tomorrow to see if they help.
Will update tomorrow when we get him home…
We tried the pawz rubber boots for our Dobe nitro, and while they accomplish what they need to do, they were tight and caused his foot to swell horribly! Use with care. Runners, rubber backed mats are still the best. Good lick!
Paula and Nitro
I did notice that – it seems a bit tight around his ankle. Definitely don’t want to decrease circulation on his remaining 3 paws!
I remeber the first night. Couldn’t even move my dog without her howling. Vet said as the meds wore off she will be rather vocal. But as the days went by she improved pretty quickly, as will your pup. Just show alot of love and support and that makes a world of difference. And alot of praise for small progresses made. My girl kept licking the lower portion of her incision. I just bought a doggie shirt and put it on and that seemed to eliminate the licking problem. Best of luck!!
We got one of those inflatable neck cones that are supposedly more comfortable than the cone – I hope, at least! I hope they give us enough meds to control his pain. I know they started him on oral meds this morning.
What a sweet face! I’m sure he’s still whacked out, but walking by himself and drinking are good signs! Slow and steady wins this race. What Mac needs most now is supportive care and time to heal. He’ll be happier at home (who can sleep in a hospital?) so hopefully you’ll be able to bring him home today.
Denise, Bill and Ellie.
Thank you! Yes, that sweet face of his gets me every time…
It sure is hard not to focus on things like ‘how are we going to get him in and out of the car?’ ‘Will he be in pain tonight?’ ‘How can we help him heal?’
I know he will just feel better being with us, but still!
There is so much i wish i could tell you. I have been there the last few weeks. Its horrible. You will regret your decision but hang in there. It’s worth it.
My Kasey pulled thru so good. Amputation was never an option for her cos she has arthritis. But she has to deal. I got her stem cell therapy. Stay positive. They adapt so great.
I know, I think knowing that it will be pretty rough is making it easier to deal with? I guess since it is not unexpected. Well, we shall see…
What a beautiful boy! He’s so lucky to have you. Like Sally said, make sure you get as much rest now as you can. Once he comes home, you’ll be on Mommy alert and even if you wanted to rest, Mac won’t be far from your concerns. It’ll probably be that way for the next 2 weeks. But I already know, you’re going to do great!
pam
Thank you very much!
I know, even the past two nights I have been having trouble sleeping even with Mac gone! I suppose since we are doing nothing this weekend but hanging with Mac, at least one of us will get to sleep…
Poor Mac! Yep, those pink elephants are tough on dogs and people and as for slippery floors in vet’s offices…geez, you’d think there would be some new invention that made traction easier on pets in the hospital right?
It’s hard to see our dogs like that, which is one reason why vets usually tell folks not to visit but I’ll bet Mac was really glad to see you guys.
Remember, it doesn’t have to be hard. Grab onto the positives every chance you get. YES! He is WALKING! Yes, he is alert, he made it through and things get better from here. That bad leg is gone, and he’s gonna rock life on the three. Every single thing you thought was ordinary is now EXCEPTIONAL, celebrate and never forget.
Hang on, you’re doing great. Love the blog design too! xoxo
Yes, I like your thinking. I am trying to be super optimistic and positive. I hope I can hold on to that tonight!! I just can’t wait to see him!
Murphy only had to spend one night, thankfully, I’m not sure I could have taken 2 nights!
He’s also a right front tripaw 🙂
He never had to wear the cone. We did put old t-shirts on to keep the incision covered and clean. He never really seemed to bother with it much though.
Like everyone has told you already, the 1st week or so is by far the worst! Murphy didn’t want to eat…and maybe he milked it a little lol sometimes he still does!
We bought the Pawz boots, but only use them when I take him to the vet. I don’t like to leave them on for any length of time. We have carpet throughout our house, except for the kitchen, and we threw a rug down for him in there.
Murphy came home on 3 different pain medications and all 3 had to be given at different times. What I did was to write out a medication sheet with the times on it so that as each dose was given we would cross it off. Since there are 3 of us in the house it made it easier to make sure that we didn’t get the meds mixed up or miss any doses. It also made it easier when we started weaning him off.
I also put a couple of those little tap lights around the house so that at night when we went to bed I would tap them on so that Murphy could see at the couple of places that I was worried about .. we live in a ranch-style house, but there are a couple of places with just 1 step. I thought the lights would help him see the depth of the step.
donna & Murphy 2 year survivor