Monday, October 19, 2009

Yes! It's Another Post

This is my third post today; do I win any sort of award?

A few of you asked how the house showing went. We heard back from the realtor and she said that the people loved the house and the overall "look." However, they had wanted a master bedroom on the first floor.

Sigh. It would have been nice if they would have confirmed that little detail before we spent two hours (with a recently discharged-from-the-hospital dog) cleaning and rushing about like crazy people.

Snowy's had a challenging afternoon at home. Most of his sutures are in his abdomen but they also placed one stitch in an area that makes him feel like he has to go to the bathroom.

All. The. Time.

Without exaggeration, he has asked to go outside fifteen times today and when he gets out there, he will do his little "leg lifting" routine twenty times. Then he'll come inside, sit there for about five minutes and act desperate to go outside again.


Since we are not supposed to let him run around our fenced yard (running isn't good for his stitches), we can't just let him out the back door like we usually do. We have to take the leash and walk him around and wait for him to do his leg lifting routine over and over and over. And over and over and over and over.

It's a good thing we love him!

We did take his cone off for a while to see if that would help him eat; he did well for about thirty minutes and then Steve noticed him trying to lick his stitches. When Steve tried to stop him, Snowy snapped at Steve. (Which is very unusual for Snowy; I think he's still "emotionally" raw from the weekend.) And so we had to put the cone back on, where I'm afraid it will have to stay. I'm not sure how we can get a dog to eat with a cone on but I'm sure we'll figure out a way!

He seems anxious a lot of the time; the only time he's calm is when he's sitting with one of us and wrapped in a blanket. I can certainly understand how he must feel; he just spent three days having some very uncomfortable things done to a very personal part of his person. He was in a strange building with strange people and a lot of things hurt and he had a needle in his paw and he was not with people he knew and loved. I'd be surprised if he wasn't a bit traumatized.

Although he usually sleeps in his large kennel at night, we figured that for the next few nights we'll have to take turns sleeping with him so that he has someone near him all the time. Steve and I were saying that dealing with him right now is very much like dealing with a two-year old!

I know that as each day goes by, he'll feel better and be less stressed out. It's just nice to have our family circle complete again--well, except for Nathan.

And speaking of Nathan, I asked his girl friend, Meagan, to take a few pictures of him. She sent me several which I'll post tomorrow.

For tonight I'll just post one of them. Looking at the picture makes me miss him all the more, but it also makes me thankful that he is in a place where he is happy and he is in God's will, pursuing his calling and vocation. (Not to mention, pursuing a certain lovely lady.)

That makes this mama heart smile!





14 Had Something To Say (Just click here!):

Anonymous said...

Don't you just love the cone?! Not! When our dog had her little adventure she too came home with a cone. She is a dainty 60 pound dog. It was rather entertaining after the first week. She did learn to eat with the cone in place. She just could not navigate tight turns or our legs very well. My shins ended up wearing several bruises thanks to the cone. She also learned to take the cone off. It was on when we left in the morning, off when we came home from work. Such the little stinker. Since she had the cone on around Easter, we made bunny ears and taped them to the cone to let her be more festive.:) Anna

Anonymous said...

PS Love the photo of Nathan and Meagan. Anna

Amanda J said...

If the hard cone becomes to bothersome for Snowy, they do make softer, nylon fabric cones. I believe they are called "Comfy Cones" and Petco sells them. Not sure how good they work, but thought I'd mention it.

You mentioned taking turns sleeping with Snowy for a few nights. It reminded me of our experience with our second dog. Our beagle found our pitbull-mix abandoned in some grass near our house when he was just 1 day old. We had to bottle feed him every two hours, around the clock. We slept on a mattress on the floor of our family room for over a month so we could be near him and wake up for all the feedings. Crazy stuff. (He's now a 60 lb 10 month old pup so I guess we did okay.)

Hope Snowy continues to do well!

Marysienka said...

Oooh do we have experience with surgeries in dogs... Our dog got a few ones already, and each time, the cone part was challenging, to say the least! In fact, even with the cone, he could reach his stitches so they had to put one for the big dogs, while he is less than 20 pounds... At some point he got so anxious we had to put him on valium! No kidding... we also had to take turns and sleep with him. He always had to touch one of us...

Hopefully Snowy will get better very soon!! In the meantime, I can only emphatize with your situation!

Ann Martin said...

Prince had to wear the cone when he had his surgery at 6 months. He ate and drank water without any problem. We still have the cone in case he ever needs one again we hope not to have to buy it. He probably weighed more than Snowy at 6 months because he weighs about 14 pounds now and he is 21 months old. So glad Snowy is doing better. I had checked earlier today and almost called you when I couldn't find an update. You know how we are with our "sons." Take care and give Snowy a hug for us. Someone will come along who falls in love with your house. I just pray it will be soon.

Anonymous said...

there wasn't an update when I came home from school this afternoon, and I headed back to school at 4 to get our dinner ready for the Preschoolers and their families. then we went to Boo at the Zoo. so now that I'm home I wanted to check on Snowy before I went to bed. The Preschoolers said a prayer for Snowy this morning.

mrs pam

Anonymous said...

I am so glad to hear Snowy is doing well. Give him a hug for me. A little tip that might help Snowy be able to reach his food and water: try elevating the bowls a little maybe place a book under them or something that will keep the bowls off the ground so his cone does not hit the floor. I hope this helps. Hope Snowy recovers quickly from here on out and can get rid of the cone on Friday.
~Kristin in AZ

Lisa from GA said...

Becky,
How can I access the video you made for Sarah with "Like a Blanket" and "You Raise me Up"? I showed that to my students last year when we talked about bone marrow and cancer in 7th grade Life science. I would like to show it again and I cannot find it. Do you mind if I show it (again)? and if so, where can I locate the video? It was so meaningful to my kids. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Aw...the house buyers who want to change the layout of your house...like it's your fault. ARRGGHH!! But remember, they may get in the house and decide they like it enough to reassess their "want list." We've had to do that many times.

Glad Snowy is home and hope he's able to relax soon so all of you can relax. When things get back to normal, he won't know what to do with so little attention!

Love the picture of Nathan and Megan. Where are they that they are so dressed up and looking adorable?

Hugs,
Connie F-G

Anonymous said...

Snowy is so precious! What kind of doggie is he? I'm so glad he came through everything OK. I was nearly in tears just reading about it!

Cheryl
WR, GA

Cindy said...

Welcome home Snowy! I hope the recovery is quick and painless.
Hopefully the first night home was uneventful.

Anonymous said...

When one of our dogs had ACL surgery he HATED the cone. I "adapted" an old pair of tights to cover his stitched area and he couldn't get to it. Maybe a t-shirt or something to cover the stitches? Or a belly band worn up higher than the usual location? You might even get away with a scarf cut to fit fairly snugly and use velcro to fasten it closed. Poor little Snowy...I hate it when they feel horrible because there's just not a lot we can do, and they can't really tell us what's wrong.

A long time lurker...
Chris

Anonymous said...

My daughter brought her dog over after she had surgery and I picked her up and said, "Why is the wound wide open?" My daughter had taken off the cone for just a few minutes and the dog quickly picked each staple out! She had to go back to the vet, and after a stern lecture, some glue (they couldn't put staples back in because it had been too long?) and the cost of x-rays to make sure she hadn't swollowed a staple, I think she realized how fast dogs are! =] L.

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