The second half of hip dysplasia recovery has begun. Round Two is here in full force. Last Friday, the 25th, I dropped Bacio off for his second Femoral Head Ostectomy (FHO) surgery. We pulled into the parking lot around 8:30am. it was closer to 8:45 when we got in the door, not because it was a long walk, but Bacio seemed to remember what happens there, and he refused to get out of the car. Trying to wrestle a dog out of the car that weighs more than half of what I do turned out to be quite a challenge.
I didn’t have to be there long once I got inside, I answered a few questions and signed some forms. Soon enough the vet tech was there to take him to the back. I took off his collar and leash as they tried to put on a nylon slip leash. The vet tech cautiously asked me if Bacio was friendly. I explained to her that he’s gone through this before and he really didn’t want to do it again. He was glued to my leg. I had to walk him back to the kennels myself because he wouldn’t leave me. It was so hard.
I stayed strong all day. I didn’t think about it too much. I knew he was in good hands and that this was a standard procedure, plus we’ve done this before. To stay busy, I did little meaningless tasks, shuffled around this and that, and cuddled with Yuki. Yuki didn’t seem to mind that Bacio was MIA because she got a new femur bone to keep her company. It wasn’t until about 6:00pm that I started to get a bit worried, the offices closed at 6:00 and I hadn’t heard anything. I tried to calm myself down… I decided to call them.
Once they answered I jokingly told the woman on the other end,
“Hello, I dropped my dog off there for surgery this morning and I just wanted to make sure he was still alive.”
She didn’t think it was as funny.
I was put on hold for what felt like forever. When she came back to the phone, she told me that he hadn’t had his procedure done yet due to two emergency surgeries that came in. Initially, I was upset and nervous. My dog had been in a kennel all day, and these surgeons have been working all day already and they’re still going to work on my dog?! Was this safe? Is everyone ok to keep going?
I completely understand emergency cases, if the situation was reversed and one of my dogs needed emergency surgery, I’d hope they’d be attended to ASAP. I had just wished they would have notified me about the delay. Finally, around 9:30pm, I received the call letting me know my dog’s surgery had taken place and he was now coming off the anesthesia.
I picked Bacio up at 10am the next morning. I was definitely excited about getting my boy back, but I have to note that the waiting room was full of Great Danes! Three of them! Giants!
Ok, back to Bacio. I went back to the kennel to get him and bring him directly to my car through a different door to avoid limping through the dog filled waiting room. His incision looks better this time around, but he is much more reluctant to walk. It’s been three days now and he’s finally getting around more. He likes to stop and just lay in the grass instead of trying to go to the bathroom. He’s only gone numero dos once since he’s been back, and that was quite the ordeal. His back legs are really shaky so when he had to assume the position, he lost his balance as the turd was halfway out. To avoid falling Bacio pushed off his good leg and jumped forward, poo flying out his butt as he did. Then he looked up at me like… is the poo gone mom? It made my day. No skimping on the details for you all on that one.
Now he’s enjoying being spoiled and Yuki is ever-so jealous of all the attention he is getting. She has been moping around and hiding under the table. I try to cuddle with her but she’s mad at me and trots off. She knows Bacio isn’t 100% right now too, she’s been staying close to him but not too close. I’ve only been crating Bacio when I leave them alone. We all just hang out on the floor in my dad’s spare bedroom, and it’s been one big cuddle puddle when Yuki puts her jealousy aside to join the fun.
I’ll post updates along the way, but more than likely not as frequent at the last time. I think you guys are all probably sick of FHO talk by now…
