Carly's Story

Wow….the will power that animals have is something that I envy! We have had an up and down week, but, the downs were just us being worried parents! We praised Carly when she went out and peed for the first time. I’m sure we looked pretty ridiculous, but, we didn’t care! Then, we got worried when she hadn’t pooped, but, I guess it’s normal for them to not go for 5-7 days after surgery due to the medication and such slowing down her system. So, we praised the first poop when it came on day 6! Carly has never really had a no appetite day. She loves her chicken and brown rice. I’ve snuck some dog food in there a few times, but it did not go un-noticed! Then, we had a good scare with her back left foot, the one opposite from the one that was taken off.  But, after a few days of adding some heat and massaging, it went down.  The vet said it will carry the brunt of the weight now that her front paw is gone.  We have had bouts of insomnia, like the first week and a half, she couldn’t sleep at night. She slept like a baby during the day though! But, think we have her medications straightened around, antibiotic is gone, Rimadyl is gone. So I’m sure that is helping. Then, we noticed some episodes of trembling, like she was cold. So I would cuddle her wherever she lay, sometimes in the middle of the kitchen floor, cover her with a blanket, and she would eventually drift off to sleep. Come to find out, this was probably a side effect of the Tramadol, so we backed off on that and started the Gabapentin again, and this seems to have subsided.   Then, miss stubborn, decided that she wanted to climb the hill in the back yard where she used to go to poop. So, by golly, she did it. Didn’t hesitate, didn’t struggle. It was amazing. It was just like being a tripawd is second nature!  Got her stitches out, and she is allowed back on her couch, which is her favorite place!  So, definitely been an emotional week for us, but, Carly is doing well! Chemo starts on Monday, so I’m scared about that, but, I’ve heard good things about it, and if it helps give Carly some more time to enjoy life, then I’m all for it!