Day 3 – A Day of Firsts!

Well, last night had a few challenges but overall went very well!  We brought Porter to bed – to the same bed he’s slept in every night for the past 5 years, in the same place it’s always been – and he whined.  Persistently.  For over an hour.  Not a pain whine, but an unhappy whine.  I tried laying with him on the floor.  Giving him a drink.  Nothing.  So, as a last attempt, we thought maybe he’d be ok in the living room, where he’s spent his days since his surgery.  So dad took him back out to his living room bed & set up shop on the couch.  He was fine, no whining!  So we have no idea why, but it worked.  Happy to report that we both got a straight solid 8 hours of sleep!

A great day for Porter!  Getting stronger and more stable on his three legs.  Every trip outside, I barely supported him with his harness, just enough to get him up & down the two stairs on the porch.  It seemed like he needed the mental support more than the physical support!  The vet called this morning to check in & we were happy to report that he was doing excellent!  He even jumped up on the couch with me.  Back to a normal personality.  But still no pee.

He had his second laser treatment at noon with Dr. Brown.  He thought he looked and acted fantastic, the incision looked great, and he was doing ok on his three legs.  After his laser treatment, he brought the ultrasound in to check his bladder status.  Totally full to the seams!  So the doc and I took him for a quick walk outside (his longest walk yet), and then he gently pressed his bladder.  Voila, pee!  Gallons of it.  A couple minutes later (ha), on his walk back to the car, he even smelled a bush and tried to lift his leg on it (nearly tipping over).  So the mental pee barrier is hopefully broken!  On the way back from the vets, we stopped by my office where a couple of friends were happy to come out and say hi to him & tell him how great he looked!

After dad got home, I ran some errands.  When I returned, my hubby happily informed me that as he was making dinner in the kitchen, Porter got up (all on his own), drank water off a bowl on the floor (all on his own), and walked himself over to the kitchen (all on his own)!!!  It’s true, his belly really does rule him 🙂  So, a really great day for the whole family!  We’re very happy with his progress.  Now, we’ll just see where he decides to sleep tonight!