Day 12: Toe Touches

Cosita is doing so much better! It started out with little things, like hopping across the yard to pee over the top of Liberty's pee spot, making her way to the sliding glass door to look outside, and progressed to actually asking to go outside and trying to use the dog door herself! She's no longer on the pain meds. She doesn't act like she needs them.

I'm still carrying her down the stairs, and I blocked all of the furniture so she can't jump on and off of them, but she pretty much has the run of the house now. I'm still crating her most of the time when I leave, but twice now I've left her out. The only thing that scares me about that is that when I come home, she stands up on her hind legs to greet me. I'm looking at it as a good thing that she's trying this, but I hope it's not too much too soon.

Most of the time when she gets going fast, she picks up her bad leg, but every once in a while she puts it down and runs with her two back legs hitting the ground at the same time, like a bunny hop. When she slows down, she uses it just for stability I think. . . toe touches. I'm going to get a video of it.

She seems pretty much like her normal self now, just on three legs, sometimes four. One good thing is that she's lost a little weight. I'm going to try and keep it off of her. It's got to help prevent her other knee from injury.

All in all I'm very pleased with her progress. She's still definitely not back to complete normalcy, but her attitude is back, and the physical is coming along nicely.

She gets her stitches out on Friday, and then I can give her a bath. Yay!

Day 8: Moving Past the Pain. . . YES!!

Time to celebrate! On the night of Day 7, when I put her down outside, instead of making herself as flat as possible on the grass and then standing up right there to relieve herself, she three-legged-ran across the lawn to pee, did #2, and then did the little backing up marking the grass with the paws thing. I almost cried I was so glad! Then she slept from 1:30-6:30, not waking up for her 4:00 pain meds. She's definitely starting to feel better. She is a bit constipated from the pain meds, but a little canned pumpkin should fix that pretty quickly.

In the morning, when she saw me packing up the bags to head to the mountains, she got all excited, ran through the house, out the front door, and onto the lawn (all three legged of course). What she didn't realize was that I was dropping her off at the vet's for the day. She actually did really well there too! She didn't even cry when I dropped her off, and when I picked her up, she was scrambling all over the place, trying to jump off of the seat to run out the door. Dr. Bagley walked in with his cute little daughter. He wasn't working, just dropping in for a second.  At first when he saw me he was worried that something had gone wrong, but then when I told him I was just there to pick her up, he agreed to look at her really quickly just to make sure everything looked good. It did. He's such a great vet!  I could seriously do a commercial for him.

I got her home and she went to the water and had a nice long drink. Then she went to the back door. I was SO glad! Took her outside, and once again, she ran across the grass to go. Yay!!! The only thing is, after she's done, she lays down and waits for me to go get her. Normally not a problem, but in the dark, with no shoes and little poopy landmines everywhere? Not so good. Fortunately we made it back with no incidents. She went to sleep in her crate on my bed and slept ALL NIGHT LONG. 11:00-8:00. She didn't even wake up for pain meds.

I'm so glad to be out of the serious pain stage and into the rehab stage I could just do a happy dance. It's a good day.

Day 6 and 7: Sleep Is Good

So I'm a day behind in updating because I opted last night to attempt sleep early, rather than write. There is a good explanation, I promise.

Cosita's incision one week after the surgery

Since Cosita got home, the night has been our enemy. She just seems to feel more pain when we all go to bed. Wednesday night was the worst night so far. I started her off in her crate, after giving her pain meds, and about 2 minutes later, the whining started. I moved down to the floor with my pillow, with my arm in the crate. She fell asleep. I fell asleep. 45 minutes later, I woke up to whining again. I rubbed her back, talked to her, and 20 minutes later she was asleep again. I fell asleep. Shortly thereafter she woke up whining again. I rubbed her back, talked to her, and yeah. . . you get the pattern. Sometime in the middle of the night I took her outside, thinking she needed to go to the bathroom. She didn't, or she wouldn't, I'm not sure which. At around 3:30, knowing I had to teach school in a few hours, I gave her the pain meds 1/2 an hour early, hauled my pillow and blanket into the living room, and crashed on the floor. The whining rose to a glass shattering pitch and volume, and the next thing I knew, she had three-legged it out of her crate and down the hall to join me. The cycle started again, without me falling asleep anymore, until finally around 4:30 I remembered the earplugs. Whoever invented those I swear deserves a medal.

Because I was in the living room, I didn't hear my alarm go off and had 35 minutes to shower, dress, eat, med and feed dogs, and get out the door. Needless to say, the day didn't get much better. Dr. Bagley called to see how she was doing, and I explained the challenges we were having. He prescribed an anti-itch spray called Genesis and told me that we'd get through this.

I'm not sure if she's whining so much because of pain, because she knows I'll come running, because she's itchy, because her stomach hurts from all of those pain meds, because she's just sick of the whole thing or what. I just want to figure it out and help her.

Last night my very dog-savvy friend came over to see her. After listening to our 5 days of no sleep sob story. . . by that time both Cosita and I were sobbing. . . she had a few suggestions. First, she suggested that I try putting the crate on the bed. She also suggested a heating pad for the sore leg, and made me promise that if I still hadn't slept by 2:30, that I'd go downstairs to the guest room where I couldn't hear her, and just let her cry, because being this tired and worn out, I'm not able to help Cosita or myself either. She had a point.

After she left, I hauled Cosita and the crate up on the bed, stuck my arm inside, inserted the ear plugs, and started petting her. She fell asleep pretty quickly, and so did I. I was even able to extract my arm from the crate and turn over! (simple pleasures I guess) She only woke me up a few times during the night with whining, and fell asleep again much faster than the night before. I only had to get up once to get her meds.

Our new sleeping arrangement

Yay! I feel like a whole new woman, and Cosita seemed a lot more relaxed this morning as well. It's amazing what a difference a night's sleep makes.

Improvements: She's doing a lot more sitting up for me to pet her belly. We also took her outside yesterday and instead of throwing herself on the ground making herself as flat as possible, she layed with her head up, sniffing the air and listening.

The canned food is working well, and she's drinking a little water when offered, but I sure wish she'd go to the bathroom more often.

Day 5: Escape!!

So when I got home from school today, Cosita had somehow worked her way out of the bitenot collar and she was all wet from licking herself. She'd taken the scab off of her incision, but it didn't really look irritated. She had also licked herself all over the other half of her body, almost to the point of giving herself a hotspot on her belly! I called the vet's office, and the tech said she thought a vet should see it, so I left a message with Dr. Bagley's machine. He had someone else call me back to tell me just to watch it and if it looks irritated to bring her in, but otherwise it should be fine.

I was worried that the pain meds were making her itch. I know when I've been on pain meds after surgeries that I itch like crazy. . .hate that! They said that it was a side effect of oxycodone, but I hadn't even had a chance to give her that yet, so probably not. It's also possible that she was cleaning herself, which makes sense, since she has that funky "vet" smell on her. I don't know. Regardless, it freaked me out. The bitenot collar will go on a bit tighter next time.

She wouldn't pee all day, but I was able to get her to eat half a can of Wellness Salmon. She LOVED that! I'm still doing water in a syringe to get her to drink, though the skin pinch test shows that she's plenty hydrated.

I kept reading about dogs who seemed mostly out of pain by the end of the first few days after this surgery. We are not one of them, but I sure wish we were!

Day 3: Pain Management

It was the first day of school for me, which means I had to leave her for 8 hours. I think it was hard on both of us. Before I left, I took her out to potty, which she didn't do, and gave her the meds before walking out the door. By the time I got home, she was in pain again. I just hate seeing her like that. Even when the pain meds are in full force, she acts like she just really doesn't want to move. I'll pick her up and set her down, and she just crumples to the ground, like a 2 year old who doesn't want to walk. I did hold her for a while today while I was sitting at the computer, and then she wanted off of me and onto the bed.

This afternoon she was laying in the dog bed in the living room when someone slammed a car door outside and she growled. It seemed like such a normal thing for her to do in the midst of all of this!

I also found something she was excited to eat, and actually had to work at. They're kind of disgusting, but she loves them. . . dried fish skin wrapped into the shape of a knotted bone. Gross, huh? She would actually take it and gnaw on it. I called and arranged to have some more shipped to me. Thanks Karen! It was good to see her distracted from her leg and not feeling so miserable, even if it only lasted a few minutes.  These were the only thing I could get her to eat, besides licking the peanut butter from my finger.

She wanted company last night, but wanted to stay in her open crate, so I started the night sleeping on the floor next to her. She scuttled out of the crate and right onto my pillow, so I ended up with my head on a towel, watching her enjoy my pillow.  She wouldn't potty until about 3:30 in the morning, when her crying woke me up. I'd just given her the Tramadol at midnight, so I figured it couldn't be pain. She pottied outside but couldn't get comfortable when she came back in. We tried the bed again and she decided she could get comfortable there. . . at least for two or three minutes, until she started crying again. Finally, I called the vet's office at about 4:30 to tell them that her pain meds weren't enough, and that neither one of us was sleeping. They told me they'd talk to the Dr. and call me back.  Shortly after that, she fell asleep, and so did I. At 6:30 the phone rang, and I was told that I could give her oxycodone every 8 hours, alternating every 4 hours with the Tramadol. Unfortunately by that time, it was almost time for her Tramadol again, and a little too late to save our sleepless night.

I can't wait for this pain management stage to be overwith. I just hate seeing her so miserable.

Day 2: Coming Home

I'm so glad my little girl is home! So far she's doing well. . . as well as can be expected.

Cosita right after she got home

Her incision is smaller than I thought it would be. . .no complaints there! It only has 7 stitches, which come out in 2 weeks. She's holding her whole leg pretty straight.

She's on 3 different medications. Rimadyl, which is taken 2x a day, Simplicef (an antibiotic), and Tramadol, for pain. The Tramadol seems to wear off after about 8 hours. After some experimenting as to where she was the most comfortable, on my bed or in her crate, she slept all night last night in her crate. When I woke up the first time at 6:30, she was stretched out on her back looking quite comfy, but by 8 a.m. when I woke up again, she was shivering, and kind of whisper crying. I went racing out of bed and came back with the Tramadol encased in peanut butter. That did the trick. Within 15 minutes she was resting comfortably again. That dose wore off around 4:00.

Her little speckled chicken leg Day 2

She isn't too interested in drinking so I've been using a syringe to slowly squirt water into the side of her mouth. She actually seems to enjoy this, and sits up when she sees me coming with it, licking the air as she swallows. Tomorrow I think I'll pick up some pedialyte to get down her. She's actually doing better with eating than she is with drinking. She's had no problem licking the peanut butter off my finger. Meds were hidden inside, but don't tell her.  She also ate about 1/2 a cup of dog food with a little shredded tuna and tuna water, and a small bite of the yogurt I was eating.

What goes in must come out. . . and nothing came out until around 10:45 tonight. It's like she's holding it until she absolutely can't wait anymore, and then she hurries to get it overwith. Not that I blame her.

I really don't like seeing her in pain like this, and am looking forward to getting past this "pain management" stage of the first few days.

Waiting. . . and Waiting. . . and Waiting. . .

This was the first time I've ever had to leave a dog at the vet's office, and I think it was harder on me than it was on Cosita.  I called to check up on her every 4 to 6 hours, and kudos to Cottonwood Animal Hospital's staff for their kindness and patience in keeping me updated.

The following were updates over the phone:

6 p.m. Cosita woke up well from the sedation  and was receiving some pretty serious pain meds. They said she was happily zoned out and not showing any signs of being in pain.

Phew! This is about when I had my comeapart. It's been 9 1/2 years since I've been in my house without her. I don't like it one little bit. I am glad that she's in good hands though.

1 a.m. They took her outside to do her business, but she just kind of sat there. She did this the first night she injured herself, so I wasn't really surprised. They said she seemed happy to be back in the crate after her trip to the grass.

They must be giving her some pretty serious meds, because Cosita is a whiner. . . which escalates into screams when she's not happy. I'm also soooo glad that she's crate trained. It's making this experience so much less traumatic for her. I wonder if I crate trained myself if it'd be less traumatic for me? Doubt it.

7 a.m. She started to really feel the pain during the night and became very "vocal." They quickly got her some more pain meds, and she went back to resting peacefully. She still wouldn't pee for them, but they were planning on taking her out again in a bit, letting her off the leash, and giving her a little more time.

I can only imagine her becoming more alert to her surroundings and feeling the pain of the surgery, along with feeling abandoned by me, and confused by all of the strange sounds and smells around her. Poor baby, my heart hurts for her. I bet she seriously started blasting their eardrums. . . she has some serious vocal cords.  I'm now glad she stayed overnight. What if I had taken her home and the oral pain meds weren't enough? She's had that IV for 19 hours. . . she can't hold it forever can she?

12 p.m. The dayshift hadn't heard a peep out of her, though she was watching them from her crate. She did finally get so full that she didn't have a choice, and decided to use the grass. They're planning on pulling the IV full of the "good stuff" about 5 hours before I pick her up so that she's on the oral pain meds before she comes home.

It's so good to hear plans for her coming home.  I ordered some doggie pjs for her to wear so she doesn't get the wound dirty and she can't lick it.

6 p.m. She's doing great. They pulled the IV, she's now on oral meds, and she isn't showing any signs of distress. She's just waiting for me to come get her.

Yes! 4 1/2 more hours!

Surgery Day



Today was the big day!

Packing List:

The Bitenot Collar

• A comfy blanket that smelled like home
• Her bitenot collar in case she started chewing her leg (these are great alternatives to lampshade collars) see http://www.bitenot.com/  Plus, I'd rather not pay for a new one if I don't have to. :)
• A baggie full of her food, not that I think she'll eat it if she's feeling yucky and not at home 

She was most excited to go in the car without Liberty, though her excitement dwindled significantly when we pulled into the parking lot of the vet's office.

Most people drop their dogs off for surgery between 7:30 and 8:00 in the morning, but Dr. Bagley knows I like to stay with mine until they're asleep, so we got there around 10:30. Soon after checking in, the tech came out and gave Cosita a presurgery shot and me a towel, for any throwing up. This is one time when vomiting is good, because it empties her stomach of anything that might be left, preventing vomiting during surgery. She got that task overwith pretty quickly and continued to get more woozy, as I sat there and tried not to let my nervousness travel down the leash.

Dr. Bagley came out while we were waiting, and we talked a bit about her care after surgery. I was thrilled to learn that she won't need to be on crate rest! He said that movement is good, and to expect her to "pack it," or hold her foot up, for around 2 weeks. As it heals, she'll start to use it more, all on her own. After the first two weeks, he'll give me some physical therapy tasks to do with her. The tech suggested blocking stairs and furniture to prevent her from attempting any heroic leaps. Probably a good idea, knowing Cosita!

They came out to get her around 12:30.  The presurgery shot worked so well that I'm not even sure she realized that I handed her over. She didn't make a sound. Usually I wait in the waiting room during the surgery, and then Dr. Bagley comes and gets me before she wakes up, so she never knows I left her. This time I decided that it would be best for her if she stayed at the vet's until I get off of work on Saturday, rather than coming to work with me as usual.  So as soon as they took her back, with promises that they'd call after the surgery was finished, and encouragement for me to call as often as I wanted to check up on her, I left.

Dr. Bagley called around 2:30 to report that the surgery went perfectly with no surprises, her vitals looked good throughout, and they were at that moment waking her up.

Getting Nekkid



Cosita after her last groom

Dr. Bagley said we didn't need to crate her, because she wasn't using the leg at all, so it wouldn't make much of a difference. After the surgery however. . . that's a different story. She's gotten pretty good at running around on 3 legs. It didn't take long before she was navigating the doggie door and back steps with ease.

Cosita's new 'do

Surgery is tomorrow, so tonight I shaved her down. She's definitely looking tiny and fragile in her never-before-seen super short hair. I have 3 reasons for doing this. First, it'll be a long time before I can bathe her, and I think it'll be easier to wipe her down if her hair is short. Second, I know that Dr. Bagley's techs will do their own version of a great groom on the affected leg, taking it down to the skin, and I think her healing leg will look less conspicuous if it's all growing out at about the same time. And third, who knows how long it will be before I'll be able to groom her again!

It was tricky getting her legs because she couldn't put weight on the injured one. I didn't even try to shave the sore leg. I figured I'd leave that for the experts to do tomorrow while she's asleep.

Food and water were picked up at midnight. I sure wish she didn't need to do this at all.



The "Incident"

Meet Cosita. She's a 9 year old bichon frise who acts more like she's 2 or 3. Her favorite things are blitzing around the house and yard, hiking in the mountains, stealing pencils to chew, and snuggling first thing in the morning.  This picture was taken shortly after she rolled around in the freshly mowed lawn. She was so proud of herself!

Last Sunday she really wanted to go for a walk. After running between me and the door, dramatically flopping herself down on the bed, and staging a whining protest to her boring life, I decided to take her on a short hike. I opened the front door and she went racing out to the car. As soon as she leapt off of the porch steps I knew something was wrong. She started screaming and holding her rear right leg off of the ground.  She was obviously in serious pain.

Our most favorite vet, Dr. Bagley, palpated her leg and diagnosed the injury as a severed ACL, or cruciate ligament. It exibited the "drawer" movement, where the knee actually separates from the bone below it and shifts back, much like the movement of a drawer. X-rays backed up the diagnosis. I was just glad to see there wasn't a bone tumor or anything like that. Surgery was scheduled for Friday.

After doing interminable amounts of research, and being frustrated as to the lack of anecdotal information on ACL repairs of small dogs, I decided to write a blog to document our experience. Hopefully someone else going through this will benefit from it.