Well, Porter arrived home today! He did well in his surgery – it only took 2 hours (he’s 93 pounds), but it took an extra half hour (and two suture packs) for his stitches! Dr. Brown also did a post-surgery treatment with a laser to help speed incision healing. Dr. Brown also reported that he was already trying to get up when we picked him up 2 1/2 hours later. He wagged his tail when he saw us! Right now, he’s pretty dopey and stoned and resting comfortably on his bed.
The vet loaned us an AWESOME simple harness (he’s wearing it in the photo above) that has a handle right at his neck and an over-the-shoulder arm strap. Which was great, because once his “going home” pain meds (hydromorphone) kicked in, he was no longer interested in walking! Daddy rode in the back of the car with him, and had to carry him inside. Porter has been whimpering on an off since arriving home – not sure if that’s from readjusting his position and laying on his incision, or from the weird effects of all the medications. The vet also applied two Fentanyl patches which should kick in at 3am tonight, the same time as the hyrdomorphone will wear out.
He starts back on his Rimadyl and antibiotic (cephalexin) tomorrow morning. The Fentanyl patches will last until Saturday morning, when we’ll start back on the Tramadol. His next appointment is on Thursday, when we take him in for his second laser treatment and a check on the incision. He also went home with some Acepromazine, which supposedly will help sedate him if he gets too agitated and wants to be up and around before it’s time.
Daddy plans to sleep on the floor with him tonight (I told him the number one rule was No Babying!) but I figured this first night will be important since he’s not in a cage. We don’t want him trying to get up in the middle of the night without us knowing it. So one night only! Let’s face it, I already broke the “no more bad food” rule by giving him a small piece of pizza crust (which he groggily ate – let’s be honest, I think this chow hound would eat just about any time!). I mean, they’re patients…but we’re all still parents! 🙂
Yay – Porter’s doing so great! I hope the healing is uneventful and worry-free. Sounds like you had a super vet.
I think being nearby for comfort tonight is a fine idea. The nice thing about being so drugged is he won’t remember all the spoiling and when he’s healed he’ll be happy to get back to his normal routine. My vet had told me to put some ground beef on Baby’s food at first because she really wanted to get Baby eating. I was sure she would never eat food without the beef again, but as we’re finding our new normal she’s up, eating her regular food, even standing up by her bowl.
Just pour on the love! It’s good for Porter and his humans!
Wags and Hugs,
Judy and Baby
So far, buffalo jerky has been my friend! Of course, he’s happy to eat people food, but his new diet won’t permit that, so I’m trying to not rely on it. Water has been going down well, which is the most important anyway!
Sandy
It sounds like Porter is doing well. I am glad your vet is into pain management. We did 1 acepromazine on Boomer (left rear amputee), it made him literally look like he was dead, his breathing and heart rate slowed down so much I couldn’t give him anymore. Sounds like we have a lot in common, good vet, sleeping on the floor (my hubby and I are still sleeping on the floor with Boomer we moved a queen size mattress down to our entrance room.) Remember, spoiling isn’t a bad thing, it brings you comfort too in a weird sort of way.
Here is to an uneventful recovery for Porter. Remember; grab some rest when you can because worry and stress take a toll on you even if you don’t think it does.
Looking forward to reading about Porter’s recovery,
Tina and Super Boomer
Thanks for the advice – we’re hoping to steer clear of the acepromazine and so far have been successful. Tonight, we hope he can be solo on the floor!
Sandy
glad porter is home – home is for healing. the first two weeks can be tough, but once porter is healing and the pain meds are reduced and finally out of his system, he’ll be back to his perfect self. medicinal naps for all of you – when in doubt, nap!!
charon & spirit gayle
Good advice. We’re happy Porter is home and look forward to hearing how he does once off all those meds! Please keep us posted.
So glad that Porter is home. You’ll feel better having one of you sleep next to him. Even a few days of sleeping next to him isn’t so bad. I’m a big spoiler though. Hoping that all of you can get some rest and start the road to recovery. Praying that Porter has a super speedy recovery and all of you can get back to happy times together!!
I posted a comment again and had the same thing happen where it doesn’t show up and I try to repost and it tells me that comment has already been submitted. So Porter, I did respond that I was happy to see you are doing good, but it mmust be lost in blog limbo land somewhere.