Surgery is over

Buster's surgery was Thursday morning. They called me when it was over and said it went great. He seemed to be resting comfortably. They called me later in the day to say he was doing well - just as they expected. He seemed be in some pain but not too bad. They tried to take him outside but he didn't want to stand or walk. His temperature is great - they're checking it every hour. When my friend went by to drop off his meds and the girl told him that they had been rubbing his head and if they stopped, he would wimper. Thursday night, the vet had someone check on him about 9pm and she called me to say he was doing well.

This morning she called me at 7 and said she was really happy with how he's doing. He still seems to be in some pain but not bad. She took him outside and he stood by himself but acted like he didn't want to and he wouldn't walk. She said sometimes it's harder with little dogs because the bandages are pretty overwhelming and the dogs feel kinda like they can't move because of all that (makes sense - just like with Gidget and how she won't walk if you put clothes on her). This afternoon they called and said he's not eating much though...they've had to force feed him a little. He still doesn't want to walk - they've been using a sling to support part of his weight and he's gone outside a few times and walked just a bit like that. She said sometimes little dogs are a little slower to recover because they're used to being babied...I think that could be very true in his case.

I went to visit after work. They were changing the bandage. I can't stand to look at staples or stitches so I tried not to look but what I saw looked like a lot bigger incision than I was expecting. He was really happy to see his mommy!! I was so glad to see him. I held him for about 30 minutes...he loves being held like a baby and resting his head on my shoulder so he got into his normal position pretty quick :) It was nice to hold him!! He seems to be feeling ok...he seems really alert and very calm. I brought some treats (they said to bring anything I thought he might eat) but he didn't want the treats. They did get him to eat some baby food earlier this afternoon. The tech said she left the little dish of baby food in his crate and then a little later found him sitting in it! He's had a few potty accidents in the crate. I was sad to leave him and he struggled I gave him back to the tech - he really didn't want his mommy to leave!! They were getting ready to close. She decided to give him another shot of morphine before she left just to be sure he was comfortable tonight.

I asked the vet if she thought I did the right thing about deciding to remove his leg and she said yes, she would have done the same thing. That really made me feel better.

Everyone at the vet's office kept saying how sweet he is. I can tell he's been getting a lot of lovin' and attention there. The crate he's in is in the middle of the area in the back between all the offices so he's definitely not all alone. They had the crate all fixed up - big fluffy bed, blankets, and a heating pad for him.

I'm nervous about bringing him home tomorrow. He seems so delicate and fragile! It's going to be really emotional and dogs can totally sense your feelings so I've got to be calm and relaxed about things. That's going to be hard!! I will be sooo glad to have him home!! And I know Gidget will be so happy for him to be back home. I hope he'll eat once he's back home. That part has me a little worried.

I think I had my expectations set a little too high about how he would recover. I thought he would be doing a little better than he is but the vet seems really pleased with how he's doing so that's good. I still can't believe all this is happening. Just doesn't seem right that my sweet little baby had cancer and lost his leg. It breaks my heart that he's having to go through all this.

This is my attempt at a family photo the morning of surgery: