Ruff Nights, Better Days

I was planning to post last night, but the storm knocked the out the power at 6:45, and it wasn’t restored until after midnight.

Reyna’s been doing very well the last two days. She’s still limping and she’s a bit wobbly when she first gets up, but she’s moving more easily. She’s napped most of the time (thank goodness), and she’s been very accommodating about the confinement and bed rest. She’s more relaxed on one of the dogs beds than in the crate, so we’ve come to an agreement - I let her snooze on the dog bed as long as she stays quiet, and she only goes in the crate when she wants to (like right now), at night, or if I need to be out of the living room for more than a couple of minutes. So far, that’s working for us. We might have to renegotiate that when she starts feeling more energetic. She hasn’t shown too much interest in licking the incision, either, so I’ve only been coning her at night and when I’m out of the living room for more than a few minutes. Again, I’m expecting that to change in the next few days. The incision looks pretty good so far; no sign of an infection or other problems.

Going out for potty breaks has been interesting. I control the pace, but I let Reyna choose the path. She likes to go for a short meander every time we go out. Sometimes, she heads for the fence and just stands there looking out at the neighborhood. Other times, she does a loop of the yard. She’s been very good about coming in after just a few minutes with no prodding from me.

We’ve had a couple of visitors since Reyna came home, and she’s good about staying relaxed with someone who just quietly comes in the house. A stranger knocked on the door yesterday afternoon, though, and she tried to bolt out of her crate, barking and growling. And a little bit ago, someone turned around at our driveway, which set Duncan to barking, and Reyna thought she had to participate. Of course, her bolt these days is a lot slower than it used to be, so its easy for me to catch her before she goes more than a couple of steps.

Duncan’s been leaving Reyna alone except when we go outside. Then he gives her kisses and sniffs all the important parts. Reyna snapped at him once yesterday morning, and I think that hurt his feelings a bit. The poor boy’s been off his feed, only eating about half of each meal. He’s been pretty clingy with me, even sleeping on the couch with me at night. And let me tell you, there is not enough space on my couch for both of us to stretch out.

Speaking of sleeping…Friday night was a bad one. Reyna’s on a 12-hour med schedule, and we seem to have settled on 6am and 6pm. I slept on the couch Friday and Saturday nights so I would be available if she needed me. Friday night, she woke up several times, not necessarily in pain but obviously agitated. We got up about 5:30. Last night was a little better, as she didn’t wake up as often, but we were still up before 6:00. Both nights, we ended up napping together on the floor before bedtime. I’m planning to sleep in my own bed tonight, but I doubt I’ll actually sleep very much. One ear open at all times, you know. But I need to get back in there, because the cats (Belle) are starting to get very annoyed about their lack of Mommy & Me time.

Here's Reyna when she got home. Those bandages came off on Saturday. We use the leash and sling everytime Reyna's walking or standing for an extended time, like when she's eating.


Before her surgery, I wrote "Not This Hip" on a piece of surgical tape and stuck it on her left hip. They laughed at the vet school and said no one had ever done that before. But they left it on her. The bandage on her front leg is where she ripped out her cathater without waiting for medical assistance. They prefer to take those out when someone is around to stop the bleeding.


Poor Reyna, in all her shaved, naked glory. Its amazing how skinny she is without all her fur.


Here's a close-up of the incision. Its not too bad; not as long as I expected.


I hate peas, but for Reyna, I bought two bags. I've been using them to ice the incision every few hours. She's been remarkably tolerant of it. I don't plan to continue, since the incision doesn't seem to be swollen.