Day 15 - Poop! Hurry up!

That was me standing outside at 8:05am this morning because i slept in, had to be at work in 25 minutes and hadn't even been in the shower yet.

And Koda likes to sniff around for a while before choosing the perfect spot to dump.

There was noticeably less limp in her this morning, so i guess the metacam is doing the trick. I think i'll leave her on it a week and see how that goes.. maybe reduce the dosage instead of yanking her off of it.

She was bouncy this morning and rubbing up against me like the family cat.

My dogs are the only things that can make me smile before my first cup of coffee.

Day 14 - was it something I said?

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Day 14 - Owwwwww!

So.. We're back on the metacam. Vet figures koda's left leg healed enough to make her right one more uncomfortable..with the first surgery, they were both bad enough there was no limping.

Oh..and she's on meds for Kennel Cough now. Not sure if it's KC or an infection from the trach..either way she needs antibiotics. At least it's an easy fix.
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Day 14 - This does not happen with MY doctor!

Called the vet.. we have an appt for 3pm. Woot!

Day 14 - Oh, were you getting comfortable? Let me fix that for you...

Koda awoke this morning with a limp. She has never regressed before so it surprised me. Especially since she hasn't had a limp since a few days after surgery.

I wonder if she may have slept on it wrong..since technically she has laid on that side since she came home. I always wondered how comfortable that would be.

I guess we'll have to be super careful with her .. that bouncy girl is going to have to relax. That's going to be hard!

Also the cough persists. I wonder if it's kennel cough? It's only when she whines for her food..or whatever it is she's whining about. The vet opens at 9am.. so i'll have to make a real appt for her.

Day 13 - Bouncy paws with an attitude!

Princess Gimpy is quite full of herself these past few days.. obviously feeling good and not afraid to show it. "Keep them quiet" are words I laugh at when referring to my Labs. I mean, come on! The second I let koder out of her crate she's all vinegar and bounce.. bounce bounce bounce.

Stop that! You quit being happy right now, bad girl!

Ridiculous, right?

Anyway.. things are going well.. that weird cough I was talking about 2 days ago persists.. but only when she whines.. which is usually in relation to meal time and i'm not going fast enough to her liking.. which means the speed of light.

It's disturbing.. but on the plus side, has reduced her whine-fest a bit.. it's hard to whine and wheeze at the same time.. though obviously not impossible.

I need to call the vet tomorrow to set up a followup check.. i'll have to ask them then what this could be.

Day 11 - look! I'm naked!

No more stitches! No more cone! First milestone passed!

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Day 11 - at the vets

Of course there's been no coughing since she's been in the truck. I wonder if she's playijng me!

Oh..and I put her in a wait, opened the back hatch and Miss Thang LEAPED in the back before I fully turned around. I swear she is MUCH more active much earlier this time around. Either that, or I have a short memory.

Well...in we go!

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Day 11 - That's a new one.

Koda goes crazy at meal time. This morning and again at dinner when she got excited she started coughing. The sound a dog makes when there's something stuck in their throat? What the hell is this?

Well...we're off to the vet shortly. I hope she knows.

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Day 10 - In stitches

Why does that mean funny? It's so not.

Looks good, eh?

Hmm.. now that i look at it on a screen bigger than my blackberry, that bottom part doesn't look great.. tomorrow she goes to the vet to get the stitches out.. we'll see what the vet says.

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Day 9 - wheels up

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Day 9 - Gross! Don't do that again.

I suppose that's a better subject for yesterday, Day 8. When i came home from work and fed Princess Gimpy she was so anxious because i was inside/outside throughout the next couple of hours helping with the deck, that she barfed up her entire dinner in her crate.

Not a good thing since she probably barfed up her meds at the same time. And then she was probably hungry for the rest of the night.

But, she had her breakfast this morning and seems fine now. Maybe it's anxiety, but it could be the metacam she's on.. i did this a few times last surgery and the vet took her off the metacam after she had her stitches out.

Speaking of which.. monday = no more stitches!

As i've mentioned before, that's a HUGE milestone.. not having to worry about a dog licking their stitches out will be a huge weight off my shoulders.. then it's just a matter of waiting for the leg to heal.. sure, there's some therapy hot/cold stuff but that's about it.. she's crated, she wines, we move on.

So far the leg and stitches are holding up.. this time last surgery she was bleeding all over her covers and sending me into a panic tailspin.

*fingers crossed*

Day 7 - Seems so much better than 6, doesn't it?

One week later and we're doing well.. this morning's poop was MUCH better.. dare i say normal? I do!

More construction today and tomorrow.. so she'll be somewhat stressed but i see this as an opportunity for her to learn and become okay with more situations that make her anxious.

That's my theory..

Man.. i've never been more excited for a Monday in my life.. i can't tell you the amount of stress that leaves once those stitches are out.. it's huge!

Fingers crossed, because the last time i got too comfortable, her leg swelled up the size of a softball and i had to rush her to the emergency vet in a panic.

=)

Day 6 - it's a good day.

Koda and I had a pretty good day. She even tolerated the construction noise well but growled at my mom. She's a bear in that crate but a different girl outside of it.

She's calm and relaxed tonight.

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Day 6 - Is it only Day 6?

This morning was better.. we had a rough one last night trying to figure out how to get koda in and our of the front door safely. I knew i had a problem when tuck nearly fell off the edge of the stairs coming in.. so now there's an elaborate dance we have to go through to get both of them out and back in w/o sending my heart into convulsions.

When i got home from work yesterday my dad was there tearing down my old deck. I say deck but that's not a great description.. more like a small porch w/o walls. An ugly one.

So of course the dogs were barky and excited .. but after awhile with me there they calmed down enough to nap.. even with the saw going .. i hope they'll remember this today when they start building the new deck.. i worry..

She didn't poop last night.. but she did this morning.. light in colour and loose.

Now i know some of you are.. yeah, thanks for that.. but i figure this blog may live on long after koda has recovered and SOMEONE out there is going to wonder what post op day 6 poop looks like!

So there you go..

Otherwise the stitches are holding up.. and so far so good.

I think i'll go visit her at lunch. I used to go at lunch in the beginning of her first surgery recovery.. the problem is she'd get so excited and worked up, i think i ended up doing more damage than just letting her rest all day.. so i tend not to visit her if i can't stay home. But she may need some reassurance with all the work going on outside her house.

Day 5 - I'm already losing my mind.

I maintain that the first 2 weeks are the worst. Add a deck build to the mix and I'm ready to scream.

Koda is full-on uncomfortable and making sure I know it. Because my back door can't be used I have to take her out the front and it's really tricky with no landing to get her in position with her sling.

Sigh

Once the cone is off both of our mood improves. She can't get comfortable in her crate. But taking it off isn't an option.

So..for now we muddle through. She gets her stitches off Monday. I can survive until then. I hope.
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Day 5 - I'm whiny

And mom ain't falling for it.

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Day 6 - more on poop

My poor girl..

This morning I took Koda out to potty and she sniffed and sniffed so i brought her back in and began my morning routine.

By the time i was almost ready to go, she was panting so hard in her crate i became concerned.

I took her out of the crate and she went straight to the door.. by the time i got there she had a small poop on the mat.. so i rushed herout and had some pretty big deposits out there.. poor thing..

I'm not sure what that was about.. if she's having a reaction to her meds, her food or if it was anxiety over the fact that i was leaving for the first time.. but now i'm a tad nervous about the construction that's taking place outside my house today.. she's not going to be a happy camper.

I'll go home at lunch and check up on her.

*sigh*

Day 5 - Wounded

Here's today's shot.

It's such a beautiful day out today. Koda's going to miss most of those. So I have to keep reminding myself of the greater good. One summer lost, 10 gained.

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Day 4 - that face!

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Day 4 - The Wounded

So this was taken a few minutes ago. Looks good! Her bruising is already better and damn is she didn't saunter across the kitchen floor without so much as a limp.

What I learned from her last surgery, it can go downhill quickly, so I'll stay positive, but alert.

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Day 4 - oh poop

Yay! She pooped! Not having kids my excitement for this was a surprise. She poops and we're both relieved!

She had a great night last night. Didn't wake up or complain and she walks right into her crate after every potty break. No coaxing.

She has some bruising around the incision but it's mild. I'll get some pics of that soon. So far, so good.

She's been putting weight on that leg since Day 1, apparently. The vet was quite surprised and pleased.. as it stands now.. her limp is very mild. She did this last time too and but i thought it was because both of her legs sucked and she'd have pain putting weight on either leg..

poor tuck wants so much to play.. i almost throttled him for bouncing around her this morning, but he doesn't understand.. a few days ago she was playing bitey face with him and now mommy gets mad when he goes anywhere near her.. he's so confused and i feel bad for him. Plus Koda got here in late October.. 3 months later she's in for surgery.. 3 months later she's in again.. this girl is going to think i'm the devil.. in 3 months from now, she'll probably start hiding under the bed =)

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Shhhhh

It took me a while to realize...she's asleep! Hmmm built in pillow.

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Day Three - We're Home!!

Safe and sound. Long trip, she slept for an hour. Hopefully she'll settle down now and sleep. Barking at Tucker means she's in pain.

I'm hoping the inflatable cone works and is more comfy for her.

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We're in Parry Sound!

Another 1.5 hours or so!

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How long will this last?

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Day 3 - I'm coning home!

We''re in the truck and heading home! Vet said her left leg is great and will continue to improve over time.

The little monster pulled her bandage off last. But vet said she was so good and he's pleased with her results on both legs.

More to come when we get home.

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Trish

Trish is driving. How many people out there would road trip 10 hours in one day only to end up back at home?

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Day Three - 7am

Trish is on her way here and then we'll get going. I can't wait to see koder!!

7am and I'm awake! On a Saturday! Of a long weekend!
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Day 2 - The day we celebrate urine.

Just called to check on my girl.. she went out for a pee this morning and balanced herself into a perfect tripod that only a lady could pull of with grace and dignity.

She's doing great!

I'm less apprehensive about this recovery and more excited to do it and be done with it, quite frankly. She was such a good girl the last round.. 8 weeks in a crate except for pee breaks? She was an angel.. i hope she does that again, because it really made things quite easy to deal with.

Tomorrow morning me and my friend Trish will make the treck back to pick her up and bring her home. Last time we sedated her so she'd sleep on the way home.. she didn't sleep for one single second.. but she was so sedated she was totally out of it.. add a cone to that mix and it was the most pathetic looking face ever. I wanted to squish her the whole way home!

Good squish, not bad squish.

So, I guess baring any medical emergencies.. i'll update tomorrow when I pick her up.. I can't wait to see her.. it was so quiet last night w/o hours of bitey face at my feet. (Really, there's an entire house here.. must you do that at my feet?)

Tucker

Someone wants to say hi..
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I'm Home!

Just talked to the tech, surgery went well. She was in some pain when she woke up but her meds kicked in and she's sleeping right now. I'll get an update in the morning.

It's good to be home. I wish she was here, though...it feels like something's missing.

Oh..the reason I leave her there is the first 72 hours are the most critical for the ligaments. You have to be so careful not to let her damage it..and with such a long drive, this gives her some time to heal a bit before travel.
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Getting There

I'm back in Parry Sound for a rest. It's another 1.5 hours home. Tuck must be waiting!
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We're Here!

Just dropped my girl off. I feel so bad leaving hwe so far from home. She's in good hands and I know Ma will keep her safe.

Now begins the long trip home.
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Parry Sound - Day One

So, we're almost half way now. The highway is finally a divided 4 laner which is much better than the 2 lane death trap to here.

Koda is well and a willing Co-pilot, but her sense of direction is worse than mine. Thankful for the GPS!

I guess our next stop will be at the vet! Hopefully I don't panic when it's time to find my exit onto the toll hwy!

Talk soon!
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This is early for us! Day One

And we're off! It's raining today. That's fine with me. Right no all I want is coffee. Off to Tim Hortons!

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Eve picture

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The Eve

I'm a bit nervous about the drive, but I had no trouble last time so I don't expect any tomorrow. I'm looking forward to getting some real input on koda's left leg as well. She's so full of herself this past week, I'm taking that as a good sign. She's napping on a dog bed now. Oblivious and content. I'll test a picture upload shortly.
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