Ruby, the wiggle dancer

Ruby - Xmas a.m.

A little bit of a rough morning for Ruby . . . she was panting somewhat last night which I believe is pretty normal post-amp, drugs, pain, etc.  She seemed to sleep quietly all night.  This morning when she stepped out of bed, she let out a screech that seemed to last a minute but probably only was about 10 seconds.  I comforted her as she just stood totally still screeching.  Once it passed, she seemed pretty normal (well, her new normal . . . ) and hopped outside without any help.  After doing her biz, still waiting for the second #2, she ate her breakfast and laid at my feet for quite a while before I coaxed her back into her bed.  She’s laid their quietly for a couple hours, looking pretty much the whole time like this picture.  Very quiet and still, slightly fast breathing but not really panting.  As I type this she’s popped her head up, is looking out the window and panting harder – still doesn’t exhibit any other signs of pain.  I’d like her to just lay there as long as possible.   Don’t really want to hear that screech again . . .

Oh yeah . . . let’s not forget the other one, Latte.  She can’t really figure out why Ruby is getting all the attention and gets the really really nice ortho bed all to herself . . .

Latte with Ruby - xmas a.m.

Let’s see . . . this would be 3 days post-amp, Christmas Eve – wow, when did that happen!  It was a good day – nothing really Christmas-y about it but it was all about Ruby and she had a good day so we had a good day.  She’s now walking (hopping) unassisted out to the lawn.  Basically didn’t want to move forward with my assist using the sling.  I took away the sling and off she hopped.  Ok then – that’s a good thing!  She spent most of the day lounging . . . wouldn’t you?  Here she is soaking up some sun in her pen.  We now have to clip it closed because she busted out of it when I went upstairs leaving her unattended for just a few minutes.  Of course she was just sitting at the bottom of the stairs which are blocked off waiting for me.  She must be feeling better . . . notice her doggie get well card and Christmas card on the top of her pen . . .

Here’s her new gear . . . a Web Master harness, in the perfect color,  that she’ll wear once her stitches are out.  It will allow us to  grab the handle and give her a lift when she needs it.  Also a bootie that provides traction – I think that’s the most important thing when she gets hopping along – she must not slip.

Ok – off to bed for me – yes, it’s not even 8:00 but Jim and I have been splitting shifts to stay with her.  I’ll sleep from 8:00 til midnight or so, then we’ll switch and I’ll move to the sofa near her – I’ll get a few more hours there.

Merry Christmas go to you and yours from Cindy, Jim, Ruby and Latte!

Here’s Ruby in her own t-shirt (picked up on a quick trip to the kids section in Goodwill) instead of mine.  I think the color is just perfect.  This shot was taken yesterday about 48 hours after surgery.  Amazing to her people how well she is doing now.  Doesn’t seem to be in pain, each trip to the backyard is easier and easier – especially now that she knows she gets a treat just for completing the trip!  She’s lounging most of the day between meal and trips to the grass.  She’s getting the hang of “the hop” and has only face planted a couple times fortunately either in her bed (of course she’s has to spin circles even on 3 legs to find that perfect spot) or in the grass.  We’re still supporting her on the walk to the yard (across a large swath of concrete patio), but once in the grass, we let her run free – well, hobble free more like it. Waiting for the second #2 and then I think we’ll know she’s back on a regular schedule.  Her people seem to have come out of the fog that surrounded us the last week.  Someone said Christmas was tomorrow . . . really?  Well, Merry Christmas, because the cards aren’t going to happen this year!

Who would have thought I’d be sharing clothes with my dog???

If you saw my last post, you saw what we now refer to as Ruby’s “good side”. This is her not-so-good side. For those of you not in the Tripawd community (and I’m finding out there are gazillions of tripawd pawrents out there who are blissfully deluging me with support) you’ll no doubt find this picture hard to look at. Believe me, it is hard to look at but look long enough and you’ll see Ruby who now is on a different path, taking us along with her. Repeat after me . . . leg gone, cancer gone, move on . . .

Thought I’d spend the night on the sofa, turns out I was mostly on the floor halfway into the pen we fashioned for Ruby.  She was restless and whiny I think from the anthesthesia/meds.  Think I finally got to sleep around 4:30 a.m. Good news is that we’ve taken her out several times – each trip to the back yard gets a littler easier. She’s accomplished #1 and hooray #2, had her second meal at home (there’s absolutely nothing wrong with her appetite), opened a get well gift from her neighbor, Star, a golden retriever also diagnosed with cancer – mast cell. The gift was perfect – a Christmas hedgehog, hedgehogs being Ruby’s favorite stuffed toys.

Time for Ruby and me to take a little nap . . . . zzzzzzzzzz

Ruby comes home from the hospital

Ok . . . she’s home!  Picked her up about 6:0o p.m tonight.  I was anxious about seeing her for the first time minus a leg, shaved, and with a huge incision but once I saw her sweet face that’s all that mattered.  She was really doped up (a very good thing) and having much difficulty trying to hop/wobble/limp around.  It took both Jim and I with a towel each slung around her belly to get her into the house.  Got her settled in her pen in the family room – she whined a little and slept a little.  She did manage to wolf down a half bowl of food – she’s is a lab after all!  She drank a little water, slept a little more. We did the 2 towel fire drill to get her back outside for “her business”.  She peed like a race horse.  We “towelled” her back inside and she flopped down for another nap.  She’s now sleeping on her good side – that must be more comfortable but not necessarily pretty to look at . . . move on! I’ll be sleeping on the couch nearby for the next couple nights.  Sweet dreams sweet Ruby!