That must be the title of a book somewhere. If it's not, it should be.
There is nothing we won't do for the love of our dogs. For me, at this moment, it's sitting still on my couch with Lady lying on my feet asleep as she recovers from surgery to fuse the knee joint in her right rear leg.
A year and a half ago she torn her ACL and while she had that repaired, a damaged meniscus resulted in her raising that leg and discontinuing to use it. After months of deliberation, we decided the best option was to fuse the knee joint into the natural standing position. This would allow her to put weight on that leg and walk on all fours which would be beneficial should her left ACL and meniscus go (which is often the case).
Wednesday she was operated on and apparently, what was found "in there" was a mess which meant the surgeon could not put in a plate but had to secure her leg into position from the outside. So she now has an enormous contraption pinned to the outside of her leg and presently swathed in purple. This is probably a good thing. I think I am going to be horrified next week when I have to redress it and get an up close view of all that metal.
Hidden contraption
She is still walking on three legs (as she's been doing for months) and is happy to be home but getting the anesthetic out of her system is making her uneasy. She follows me around like a shadow not understanding why her body is feeling so strange and uncomfortable. While I can get her to lie down, she requires a warm body, massage and lots of stroking to lie still. After about an hour or so of agitation, uneasiness and whining, she finally wearies and drops off to sleep at which time I try to ease my foot out from under her so I can get some work done, namely upholstering a chair to replace the broken one in Patrick's apartment (next blog).
Lady coping
So right now, thankfully, Lady is asleep......breathing deeply......on my feet. I suppose I could move but that runs the risk of waking her, and she is a wonderful dog and companion who deserves the best and the most that we can give her. So for now, I'll stay put, feet trapped by a heavy dog and stuck on the loveseat forced to watch The Price is Right, The View with Rosie O'Donnell, Martha Stewart, or the Food Network where I can learn the recipe for Kansas City's "best" barbeque baked beans.
Hmmmmm.....tough decision. Come to Thirsty Boots' annual summer picnic in August to taste my decision.....and hopefully see Lady walking on all fours.