The First Drake Update

Whew!I had meant to update everyone on Drake’s condition before this, but his rehab has been so labor intensive that I’ve kept notes, but didn’t have any time to write them up. He’s sleeping now, so I’ll try to update everyone.

In July, Drake was diagnosed with a torn cruciate ligament in his left rear leg. Given his breed and activity level, the vet advised us to have a TPLO, which stands for tibial plateau leveling osteotomy. This would, the specialist assured us, return Drake to 99% of health…after an extended and rigorous rehab.

That’s where we are now. On July 31, 2010, Drake had the TPLO. He stayed at Seattle Veterinary Specialists in Kirkland over night. We picked him up the next day.

He was pretty out of it, then and the next day, and we got our first surprise: he had tried to lick the stitches, which would eventually tear them out, and so had to wear the cone of shame (pictures are coming). They tried a floppy cone. Drake, um, ate it. Well, he shredded it. So, he got the big plastic cone. He hates it, and it was too big for the crate (at least for him to turn around in it), and since he is supposed to sleep with the leg stretched out, that left us with him sleeping outside the crate. The problem with that? He’s not allowed to jump, climb stairs, get on a couch by himself, or move quickly for some time. That means he has to be in a crate or be watched. Since he can’t be in the crate, that meant Kathy and I were suddenly sleeping on the floor to keep him safe.

We put down cushions and blankets, but Drake has been restless with pain and drugs (we can’t always tell which), and so gets up often. He also bumps the cone into things: things like chairs…faces…groins. He loves being on the couch, and seems to be sleeping there better, some of the time, so we put him up there. Taken together, this means we’re sleeping on the floor and waking every hour to lift Drake, keep him from jumping, move his cone from where he’s stuck, etc.

He started feeling better a few days ago, and that’s not good. Drake is supposed to be kept quiet and still; Drake’s nature is loud and springy. That means when he stopped hurting, he started trying to self-destruct.

This has led to many battles of will, some compromises, and some use of vet-approved sedatives. The battles of will are over how far Drake gets to walk: the vet says only into the yard to pee; Drake says let’s go way down there. As a result, we do a lot of standing at the edge of the yard (as far as I can justify) with me saying “Other way, Drake.” The vet said don’t let Drake go outside, but he goes crazy inside, so I walk him a few feet out, and we sit down in the grass. I then crouch or sit over him, with a hand closed around the collar, so he can’t jump up and blow out his knee. Again. The sedatives have helped calm him down, as we were promised, but the suggested dose was waaay too high, and he ended up loopy. My favorite example of this is that Drake nibbled my nose to say hi…and then fell asleep with his teeth closed on my nose. He actually snored.

Thus far, on Day 9 after the surgery, Drake seems to be healing well. We, however, are exhausted, and counting the days until Drake’s 2 week check up. That’s when he gets his stitches out, which means he can sleep in his crate and we can sleep in the bed. That’s also when he gets to start taking little walks, and (cross your fingers) going for brief swims.

Let’s see, what else is interesting about the post-surgery days? Oh yes, between the empty belly on the surgery days and the side effects of the pain killers, it was days before he pooped. This meant Drake got to extend every “walk” for a long time, with me waiting for…well. Things to move through the system.

Also, the signals. Drake gets regular walks, and the back yard is fenced, so he can go to the bathroom whenever he wants. What this means is, we’ve never had to learn his “I have to go outside” signals, and he’s never had to give them. So, some of the time he’s whining, due to frustration, and we read it as a need to pee. Some of the time he’s whimpering to poop, and we think he’s frustrated. It’s led to some confusion.

Drake’s extremely affectionate, but he’s more than ready to be done with this. In fact, I’ll close this first update with the best example of that. He whimpered, and I thought I read it right: he has to poop. He hobbled outside (I’m supporting his hindquarters with a sling), past the nearby bushes, and…led me to the car. Where he sat down, to wait for me to open the door and drive him to the lake to swim.

Sigh.