11.02.15
Baloo’s First Two Days Home
When we went to pick up Baloo from surgery last Friday, we may have walked in to see him for the first time while he was mid-physical therapy session, unannounced. Oops! Baloo was still hooked up to the TENS unit when he caught a glimpse of us, but wires weren’t about to stop him from tearing free for a greeting. He was fired up! Seeing him barrel my way was picture perfect.
Our well laid plans to assist Baloo to our car went out the window as he hurled himself down the sidewalk so fast I had to reconsider my own pace. My friend assisted with a towel sling at the breakneck pace as our pup set out towards the parking lot. He was at the car before we could even move it to the loading zone and could barely slow him down to frame a photo with my buddy, and then try to assist him up and inside.
Baloo ready to for the trip home thanks to UCD and to great care from an old friend!
After our two hour trip, Baloo walked in the door, straight into the kitchen, and rather than collapsing, he did what any good lab does – lowered himself onto the floor to check the kitchen baseboards for scraps of food my other lab might have missed. It struck a nice note of grace and comic relief.
The first night home was tough. My friend’s parting reminder was one of the few things I hadn’t thought about – he said Baloo hadn’t slept much in the hospital, and to remember that on top of his surgical issues and medication, that he was was just plain exhausted. We were also having trouble restricting Baloo his normal activities, which confused him to no end. On normal nighta he grunts when he would like an invitation to get up on our beds, and when he did not receive one Friday night, he was restless for the rest of the night, and clearly in some pain, as were we. By Saturday morning things looked up considerably.
Baloo, wearing my favorite, now one-sleeved t-shirt, actually resting, with Dad and Maverick keeping him company
We were relieved to find that “relieving” himself came without balance issues, or other complications. Though we bought a support sling, he has not had fatigue or balance problems, so we involve it sporadically with trips to the grass.
Also not surprisingly, Baloo insisted on immediately resuming his favorite job of retrieving the newspaper (though I run out first to bring it from the end of the driveway to a more reasonable 5′ trek from the front door). Pre-surgery he also prided himself on taking our elderly neighbors’ papers to their doors, so I’m sure there are several seniors down the street wondering why their newspaper carriers have suddenly stopped delivering their papers to their doorstep over the past week.
Baloo’s Favorite “Job” Pre-Amputation, which has already been resumed!
Last night he was feeling so spunky that he even decided to try hopping up on the bed WITHOUT asking for an invite. Luckily we’d put the mattress at ground level. He even felt good enough to pick up a couple toys and give them a good squeak today.
But he fatigues quickly, and wants to do more than his single leg is up for. We are hopeful it’s a matter of conditioning and not his age limiting him, because his spirit is raring to go, and we’d like to see his leg and body willing to keep up very soon. I remind everyone that it’s only been a couple days, but we see how much he wants to do, and can’t help but think ahead. His heart is in it, and we sure hope the rest of him follows suit!
November 2, 2015 at 5:20 am
Goodness gracious Baloo! You better slow down a notch or two you crazy pup! I guess you forgot to read your homecoming instructions! Rest, just go out to potty, no jumping, rest, go out to potty again and no jumping!!
Baloo’s hospital meds should be out of his system around the third day, so he may have a tiny crash…or not! Some dogs really do have a pretty easy recovery…it sounds like Baloo may be one of them!! After all, he has newspapers to fetch and crumbs to find on the kitchen floor!
As far as being fatigued…he should be! Really! He just had MAJOR surgery! It’s exhausting for a dog to get around on three legs and they tire easily…ESPECIALLY this early in recovery! I know it’s hard to make him slow down. Muscles and joints are still readjusting and he could strain himself very easily and make himself sore.
This update just warms my heart. I really am grinning ear to ear! Looking forward to more “living life to the fullest” stories on Mr. Baloo!! And pictures!!! His happy mug makes me smile!!
Cheering for you Baloo…cheering loudly!!
Hugs!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle too!
November 3, 2015 at 6:13 am
Thanks so much for such great comments, and encouraging us Sally (and of course Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle!) and everyone following our “tail”!
It IS hard slowing him down when he tries to go all out, but somewhat fortunately, he can’t sustain them long. None of the humans mind an excuse to sit around on the dog beds petting the dogs and ignoring life’s “to do” list – it’s the dogs who miss our regularly scheduled adventures.
Seeing those playful sparks emerge to constantly remind everyone that our boy is a fighter, and that his spirit is 100% even though the body is not, is sure healing for the humans! :o) E&B
November 2, 2015 at 10:38 am
Silly boy! It sounds like Baloo doesn’t “do” rest and relaxation! It is such a big change for his body but I guess he doesn’t know it. When I read stories like this of pups rarin’ to go after an amputation it makes me wonder what kind of pain they were hiding pre-amp. Now that the pain is gone, he’s got some living catch up on…..
November 3, 2015 at 6:39 am
You’re right, he was more stoic than we knew. As early as we thought the diagnosis was, the pain may have been around quite a while.
He has always been a REALLY mellow-yellow, so we’re cracking up at his ‘celebration’ of feeling well!
Everything we do is centered around our pups, so he was living it up before, but NOW he’ll be able to enjoy it pain-free 🙂
Thanks for the kind words and following along with our journey – I’m sure I’ll have questions for you wonderful veterans soon now that we’re starting to settle in a bit! Xx E&B
November 2, 2015 at 8:52 pm
I thought the same thing. He obviously feels way better having that leg gone! Glad things are going so well for you Baloo and your pictures are just precious!
Linda & Max
November 3, 2015 at 6:53 am
He SURE does! No better reassurance after that residual guilt for what he’s gone through with the surgery itself.
But that mad dash to the car on pickup day compared to the weeks before surgery was an incredible improvement in itself!
No matter how chemo goes, we accomplished the quality of life improvement we wanted for him, and that alone makes me very, very happy.
Thanks for sticking with our story – I have a feeling it might have a few funny ‘tails’ along the journey!
Thanks for everything Linda and Max – hugs from E&B
November 4, 2015 at 5:35 am
Hey sweetie, sure sounds like a normal recovery. And a big boy like you will definitely take some time to find your groove but we can tell you’ll get there quickly. Going back to rehab will absolutely help with that too.
By the way, if you are in Northern CA you do know about our Tripawds chapter right? They meet in Mil Valley a couple of times a year and in fact will be getting together soon. Might be too soon for Baloo but based on what we see here, maybe not. Check out our “Tripawd Parties” topic, it would be great if you could go!
https://tripawds.com/forums/tripawd-parties/save-the-date-nor-cal-meet-up-november-14-2015/
November 6, 2015 at 11:36 pm
Hi Jerry!! Thanks so much for following Baloo’s progress, and filling me in on the NorCal tripawd fun! It must be a great group because a member named Karen reached out too. I’d love to bring our boy some day a bit further into recovery. :O)
We live way up near Chico, but will follow the meet-ups and hopefully make a special trip some day.
Beyond our great UCD help, this site is our only connection to others who have been through this, and it’s wonderful. Hope to meet all you NorCal TriPup-ers someday soon! E&B