It’s day three and Winnie is making remarkable progress. Here’s a run down of the day:
First thing: I make her poached chicken. She won’t eat it. She had hamburger last night. The girl’s got standards. I hand feed her a little and she takes it. Just enough to justify giving her 7 pills. Which I do and she every so slightly acquieces.
Later in the morning: I make a bed for her on the front porch so she can get some fresh air. She stands at the top step. I say, do you want to go for a walk, and she clearly says yes. I grab the harness and she walks to the end of the block!! She stops about every 40 feet to take a break and then keeps going. I know it was too far but I couldn’t disappoint her. It took 5 minutes to get there and about 10 to get back. I thought I had overdone it for the day but she didn’t seem too bad.
Midday: Naps, visitors and one non peeing trip to back yard.
Evening: Some rotisserie chicken and then…she asked to go outside. Couldn’t believe it. She walked outside — no harness – and walked in the back and pooped! Small poop but HUGE victory. I ran outside to help out – worrying she would fall – but she ran to me before I could get there.
I know we’ll have big setbacks ahead but we’re celebrating every little thing today. And I’ve realized that most of the lovely things in this world are a little…well…a little unusual. I guess that’s what makes them special. And Winnie couldn’t be more special to me.
That sounds like a pretty darn good day to me!! Good job Winnie!!
That’s wonderful progress! Thanks for sharing. Keep up the great work healing, Winnie!
Nicole and Lily
I don’t know how she jumped into my heart so fast, but everytime I see her face my heart just melts more!
YAAAAAY FIRST POOP!! Yeah, we’ll celebrate anything around here! “little” victories are HUGE when you’re a recovering tripawd!
And yes, yo already are aware she really needs to take it easy right now. Muscles, joints, etc. are all still adjusting and need to build up slowly right now. It’s WONDERFUL that she is feeling so well right now!
Love yo Winnie! You’re doing great…..and so is mom!.
Look forward to your mext update AND photo!
Hugs snd love to all!
Sally and Happy Hannah
Hi Winnie and mum! Wow she is doing sooo well, I loved seeing her pic this morning, I’m crediting her with giving me a much needed reality check yesterday. Sorry to hi jack your blog, it’s just so comforting to have someone ” one day ahead” so Indi came home late yesterday, she is being a trooper and I’m a nervous wreck. So many things I didn’t know, this site and it’s members are amazing – a real lifeline. My diagnosis and decision were so fast that I feel totally unprepared, my vet has been great clinically but the carer support and information is very much lacking apart from ” she’ll cope really well”! After the tip with the hessian shopping bag which I took when I went to pick her up and the nurse who prepared to shovel a 40kg dog into car with me remarked – ” what a good idea!” My biggest problem is the wooden and laminate flooring that I have downstairs , she fell and is now a little nervous, I have got a vet bed path to the water bowl and back door and am going runner shopping later!! We had a first wee this morning – relief for her and me! Winnie seems to be on more meds than Indi? We only have an antibiotic, metacam once a day and tramadol 50mg twice a day? I did give her an extra tramadol during the night….. What’s Winnie on if you don’t mind me asking? Much love to you both xx
Hi Kerrill. You and Indi are on your way. It’s super hard but agree this community makes all the difference. A couple of thoughts after reading your note:
1. In terms of the canvas bag turned into a sling – mine didn’t work quite as well. For the first couple of days, I found a regular beach towel to be a little kinder to the incision. But if Indi is managing, that’s terrific. As the gang here always says, every dog is different!
2. Carpets are an absolute must. And I think – at least I’ve read – that rugs are necessary from here on out now that Winnie and Indi are tripawds. I bought some cheap rugs and runners at Home Depot here ($20 a piece) and have pieced them together over most of the house while I look for a more permanent solution.
3. Winnie’s meds. So she’s 70 pounds (or was before the amputation) – keep that in mind. Jerry says vets handle pain management all very differently so this is just one example. Here goes:
– Novox (it’s the generic NSAID. Brand name is Ramadyl): 1 75 mg tablet every 12 hours
– Tramadol: 1 or 2 50 mg tablets every 8 – 12 hours (Quick not on the Tramadol. I asked to try 1 first after having had an experience with Winnie where the Tramadol/Gabapentin combo made her kinda drunk. So they said start with one Tramadol and move to 2 if she’s in pain)
– Gabapentin: 2 100 mg capsules every 12 hours
– Cephalexis: 3 250 mg capsules every 12 hours (the antibiotic)
– Pepcid: 2 20 mg tablet every 12 hours (she’s had a little acid reflux from being on antibiotics for more than 2 months)
– Sulracate: 1 syringe full every 8 hours – this is to coat Winnie’s stomach since her bloodwork shows some elevated enzymes from taking the Novox for so long. So, she’s only on the Novox for one week and then we’re done with that.
I know it seems like a lot and, frankly, it’s quite a bit to manage. But, she has seemed overall reasonably comfortable. We have about 10 days of the regimen and then the only pills left are the tramadol and the gabapentin and I’m not sure how long they’ll ask Winnie to stay on those.
Hope this helps! Hang in there! If you panic or are worried, just write. Your comments show up on my phone when they come in.
Woooohoo! Congrats on the potty dance!
She may be sore after doing that walk. Gentle massage, ice and rest will help. I’m glad she got out though, that’s wonderful.
Hey alibetty, we found $11 runners at Costco, very cheap and decent quality. Thanks for all your great tips.