I spent the day laying down a room-sized rug we had in the attic, gripper carpet pads, and a yoga mat to give Darby traction when she came home. Picked her up at 3 pm. Doc says she’s doing well: getting up and down from sitting/lying down by herself. Actually walking quite well! Her incision is not covered — the vet said it heals better/faster when exposed to air. She also has a catheter for local pain medication. We got a tutorial on how to administer that.
I learned that dogs have lymph nodes! The vet said both her limb and the lymph nodes were sent to the lab for analysis. This will help determine her care from here on. I was a little scared about how we’d get her in and out of our Camry’s back seat. The vet helped at the hospital, and between the two of us, I think we can handle this. It’s awkward, but doable.
Darby was sent home with a hard, transparent cone. She doesn’t have it on now — the vet said it’s to prevent her from messing with her incision. If she’s not tempted to do that, no need for the cone. We’ll get an inflatable one from our local vet tomorrow. I think Darby’s local pain medication still has the incision site pretty numb, so I suspect she might be more tempted to try to scratch in days to come.
We anchored her dishes on a box to make the height a little easier for her. I don’t have the entire kitchen lined with gripper pads, and what do you know: Darby was walking fine on the bare floor. Oh well! If it works for her, I’m happy!
Way to go! Looking good, hang in there. Recovery can be a bumpy rollercoaster so put your seatbelt on and hang in for the next couple of weeks. Please post in the forums for any questions/ concerns that need quicker attention. The forums are easier to follow you in.
Best of luck in recovery❤
Jackie and Huckleberry❤
Welcome home Darby! You look pretty alert in that photo, I hope you’re feeling real good from what sounds like excellent pain control.
Be good to that incision OK? We’ve seen many a Tripawd destroy sutures almost right in front of their people’s eyes. Don’t do it or you’ll end up back in the clinic and nopawdy wants that.
Rest up, you’ll be back into your routine in no time at all. xoxo
Thanks for the advice on being good to the incision! My husband took off the cone, and later caught her licking the lower part. Okay! We’ve learned our lesson — cone went back on!
WELCOME HOME BEAUTIFUL!!!
I’m in love with Darby! ❤ Her jncision is lookng good. I just saw your first blog with her photo. Such a sweet looking Soul with a beautiful “frosty” mug.
Just so you know, we have many senior dogs with arthritis and that doesn’t seem to be a factor in their mobility. She’s already showing you she can hop around, and that’s while heavily drugged and just out of MAJOR zurgery!!
You’ve done a great job of preparing your home for her. Very nice.
And yes, as hard as this decision is to amputate, getting rid of the pain is what usual brings us all to thos decision. And, after reco, we can all say we are glad we did!
She may have a bit of a crash in a other day or two once the hospital meds wear off. That’s when tweaking the pain meds can be necessary.
Keep us posted and let us know any questio s uou mah hace. Recovery is no picnic fot a couple of weeks, so slow and easy…and ,lots of patience..
Extra hugs to that sweet girl ❤
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
PS. You can also find lots of support and information by posting in the forums too.
She is just beautiful. She lost the same leg as Brownie. Front left. I believe she is going to do just fine.