August 10th
With every passing day Snowy is acting more and more like his usual self. He’s chewing on his nylabone again which he hadn’t done for weeks and he’s even playing with his unicorn plush again.
He’s tried to walk up the stairs a couple of times which is a reminder to immediately take him upstairs with me if I intend to stay in the office for more than 10 minutes. Because he WILL do it himself as there is no more patience to squeak at the bottom until I come get him.
But other than him doing the illegal act of walking stairs… he’s golden!
We also have these small fenced dog areas outside where I go every morning that I don’t work and just let him sniff around an enjoy being outside for about 20 minutes before finishing our walk around the pond. Usually he walks around for a bit and then just sits down with his nose in the air, eyes closed, basking in the sun.
July 31st
And here it is, the 6-week post op checkup that decided wether we were even good to go on our trip because I can’t dump a dog that needs extra care on the sitter.
But I was super relieved when the vet saw him walk in and was surprised at how good he was walking to begin with! The X-ray was exactly as it should be, everything was healing very well without any setbacks. And she was even surprised at how much muscle he still had on the leg they performed surgery on. They were also surprised that he lost an entire kilo since the surgery because most dogs put on weight.
Snowy’s cleared for hydrotherapy and further physical therapy to try and strengthen him up again. And to be 100% honest… He’s literally getting more exercise now then he was before the issue started. Which is a good thing!
July 30th
Today Snowy had his first session of physical therapy. It was more or less just an extended intake and the physician walked me through everything I could do for the next 3 weeks. Because of the summer holiday period and the fact that there are very few aqua therapists around, it’s a bit of a wait. So today I went to the physical therapist in Epe, and the rest of the aqua therapy sessions before and after our trip will be in Apeldoorn.
The good news is that Snowy’s actually doing much better than expected. The muscles are stiff and a tad cramped up which is also why he’s hopping. But he didn’t lose much muscle tissue and his fascia isn’t even that badly cramped. She expected it to be worse, especially for the ‘elongated’ breeds like the corgi. So that’s great news!
Snowy was a little hesitant at first, especially because driving and taking him places really stresses him out now because two car rides ended up in surgery. I’m trying to take him with me on a lot of things now just to show him that car rides also means happy things and treats. Not surgery. But once the therapist started massaging he was fully on board and thoroughly enjoying the relief.
July 26th
Thank god the poops are becoming more firm and less ginormous. Sorry for this T.M.I. but hey it’s part of the process and owning a dog. He’s going great, happy, alert, wants to run but can’t and his 6 week checkup if planned for Wednesday the 31st.
July 25th
8 slices of gingerbread went in yesterday… 3 more in the morning. against my expectations I was not woken up by a whining doggo that needed a desperate shit at 3AM and he’s been his usual quirky self. It took until noon for some of it to pass and man it wasn’t even routable to clean up. (It’s mandatory to clean up your dogs poop here, I did the best I could).
Thankfully that’s exactly what we wanted to see… sludge to ensure all the metal bits slide right through and out. Because I really don’t want to see disco confetti intestines on next week’s X-rays.
Jylu 24th
Again there’s good and bad news but this time it’s the other way around. Laika, my 14 year old shepherd mix, is doing better. However Snowy strongly disapproved of me not applying his vetramil honey cream as frequently anymore and was craving some honey. So he decided today was the day he would eat an entire 30mg tube…
TUBE AND ALL…
So for the first time in my life I called the vet and with zero hesitation pressed 1 for emergency because my dog apparently wants to take out a subscription on the O.R. Because the tube itself was made of metal… coming in for a vomit treatment wasn’t an option as it Ould destroy his oesophagus. All I could do was feed him gingerbread, make sure he stays alert and wait. And gingerbread he ate because I fed him 5 slices straight after… and 3 more in the evening… Whatever good we’ve done with his diet food in the past 6 weeks had probably been undone…
Fingers crossed.
July 20th
There’s good news and there’s bad news unfortunately.
The good news is that Snowy’s cone has stayed off for the last couple of days, there’s still a red spot on the hotspot and one piece of his surgery scar. But that’ll heal eventually. The puncture wound on the knee has fully closed and healed by now and apart from what we referred to as the ‘Butters waddle’ he’s walking very well.
The Butters waddle is what my old Corgi did too, every few steps he suddenly skips a step causing him to hop a bit. It’s an indication to walk slower for us.
The bad news isn’t about Snowy but his big sister Laika. Our 14 year old Shepherd Anatolian mix. She’s had dog dementia since 2019 and her health has been slowly declining physically. But this morning she’d had an accident in the kitchen which included some blood. It was pretty obvious she has a bladder infections so I put her on anti inflammatory painkillers since I have them by the bulkhead for Snowy. I’ll bring her urine in after the weekend to get it checked up. With her slowly declining this was food for thought. And obviously, she’s 14… it’s coming…
For now well see what the cause is and treat that. Thankfully I mostly work from home so I can walk her every few hours. But incontinence is where my line for the desired quality of life lies and we’re very well aware that this might be the beginning of the end for her.
July 15th
The past 2 weeks unfortunately were filled with the cone only coming off for walks and meals (he can drink with it). And the occasional couch cuddles while watching our series after dinner.
Poor thing developed an infected foreskin shortly after the 2nd procedure with a sore hot spot near the surgery scar that bugs the heck out of him. Thankfully I keep the medication for that on hand since male dogs get this pretty often. My precious corgi Butters had this too and I’ve gotten pretty used to applying the meds in the past 10 years lol. I don’t mind and thankfully it started clearing up pretty fast as well. We’re just keeping everything clean and apply honey ointment several times a day to aid the healing process.
July 1st
When I left for work this morning I didn’t expect to leave within 50 minutes to rush Snowy to the vet. When taking care of his wound I noticed the fixation pin had punctured the skin. Something we expected to happen but we had hoped to delay it until the 6 week checkup. I got to work and called the vet only to run away from my office 15 minutes after I got there.
Snowy had to come in immediately to get the pin removed because the plates and the open bone were so close under the skin it posed a major risk of infection. I never expected them to want to operate immediately but he was in surgery the same morning. Poor guy though, he started shaking violently from stress and dread the second he realised where we were. I walked in with a dog whose head was on my shoulder anxiously staring at the way out. I picked him up a few hours later and he was less groggy than the first time. Unfortunately he did have to keep the actual cone of shame on for a while until it all closed up. But he’ll be fine.
The vet took an extra set of X-rays to see how the bone was healing so far and it was all looking very good. And they did the extra procedure and X-rays at no extra cost.
June 24th
Over the weekend Snowy’s actually been his usual quirky self and he’s been walking through the house on his own accord as well which is a good sign. His swelling and bruising is almost gone as well. He’s slowly starting to try out putting some weight on his leg and is very exited to be carried to the lawn 5 times a day to do his business. (I swear he’s mocking me…)
I did call the vet because it seems that one of the fixation pins might be prodding against the skin from the inside. It seems to be a sore spot and it may need to come out before the 6-week checkup. Thankfully that would only be a very small procedure.
The vet requested some pictures of the area and I’m currently waiting for the verdict on wether or not we have to come in to get that checked or not.
June 20th
The wound is actually healing rather nicely. The swelling is going down and since I’m working from home the rest of the week I can keep a close eye on everything. So far he’s been eating, but drinking is still a problem. So Snowy’s eating soup from steamed chicken dogwood with water, peas and carrots.
The little guy probably eats healthier than I do.
Since my diet consisted of cookies, chocolate milk and… chocolate…
June 18th
Surprisingly enough, we had a calm night. The vet advised the anaesthetic could cause a lot of restlessness and confusion for Snowy while wearing off. But we just put his bed next to my bed, made sure he couldn’t accidentally roll anywhere, tucked him in and he pretty much slept through the night. I didn’t because I was checking on every little snore and sigh 😴 But hey sleep is optional.
June 17th
To say I was a nervous wreck would be an understatement but Snowy did just fine and I got to pick up a VERY loopy little corgi dude at 7PM. He was quickly dubbed ‘captain chicken leg’ by a friend since, apart from a fluffy sock, his entire leg was shaved and the resemblance is uncanny and hilarious. But nothing that couldn’t be fixed with a heat pillow, a soft blanket and lots of love couldn’t fix.
And doggy-morfine of course.
June 6th
Unfortunately, the surgery had to be rescheduled to June 17th.
They will make an exception for Snowy to do an orthopaedic surgery in the afternoon just to fit him in as soon as possible.
There is a very small chance Snowy has to stay the night if he takes longer than usual to recover from the surgery as the anaesthetic needs to wear off and his temperature needs to be good for me to take him home. Just in case, I’ll make sure he has a PJ that RIEKS of me as much as possible for comfort when he wakes up. And I’ll probably be allowed to visit briefly if he has to stay the night for observation.
May 31st
Spent my entire day off calling all sorts of specialists to compare pricing and procedure for Snowy’s TPLO surgery. Prices varied from 1400 to 3300 euros, depending on the level of education the vet or surgeon had received. Carefully weighing all the options I chose a veterinary practice that most vets in the area recommended. It’s only a 15-minute drive home after the procedure (which is much more comfortable for Snowy than the 60-80 minutes from Amsterdam).
The price of the surgery is 1999 euros and the practice has been specialising in orthopaedic surgeries like this, doing it on a near-daily basis for well over 20 years. I also get to stay when they administer the first sleeping agent and I will be allowed to see him as soon as he’s stable and on temperature.
Surgery is set for June 12th.
May 30th
The vet referred us to the MCD (Animal Hospital Amsterdam) for a consultation with an orthopaedic specialist. They confirmed that his cruciate ligament was completely torn and he would need surgery. They walked me through all the procedures and weighed the pros and cons of each one with me. The best course of action was TPLO surgery where they re-angle the top part of his joint.
More X-rays were taken to determine the exact angle for the chosen procedure and more painkillers were given.
May 24th
Called the vet because he was refusing to put any weight on that leg, brought him in at 4PM. The vet suspected damage to the cruciate ligament and made X-rays to see if there was fluid in the joint. You can’t see the ligament itself on an X-ray, but it did reveal a LOT of fluid in the joint. So I was referred to an orthopaedic specialist.
Snowy was put on ‘crate-arrest’, painkillers and weight control kibble.
May 23rd
What started as a lovely 2,5km walk in the ‘dog forest’ near us (an off-leash area) ended up in Snowy developing a limp in the evening. Since he is getting older we thought he might’ve just pulled a muscle or something, so we’d see if it solved itself.
