It's four days after Star's TPLO surgery for a ruptured cruciate ligament now, and it's been a rough four days for us all, but especially Star. She doesn't take pain well, and I don't blame her if I'm honest. She is normally such a cheerful dog and it's been upsetting to see her spirits and her tail down for so long. She refused to drink until yesterday, so we've been dosing her with water using a syringe from a bottle of children's medicine. She has objected to the procedure, but eventually resigned herself to it. However it was dose her with water or let her dehydrate so there was no option really.
When it came to food she was not much more enthusiastic. At first dog food was rejected out of hand, but cottage cheese was acceptable. This was a great way to administer her pain medicine, which is a liquid she has to have on food. Then she went off cottage cheese, and the only thing she would take from us was toast. But not in any old way, we had to go through a whole pantomime of pretending it was our toast, giving some to Buddy, making her think she was missing out, and then offering her some. At least it go the pain med into her. Today she has turned her nose up at every delicacy we presented until I was driven to make her a dinner I suspected would tempt her - baked potato with grated cheese, mixed vegetables and some chicken. As I hoped, she wolfed it down. I had to give Buddy a small portion of it too, he had such a worried look on his face when he sniffed such tasty grub was around.
Buddy has put up so well with all the attention and tasty treats we have lavished or attempted to lavish on Star. He has been gentle around her, and generally been the good old chap I know him to be. Tonight Star's spirits seem to have improved - maybe all she needed was a good meal. She's walking better, although still not using her affected leg, and she has demanded water several times. Her system seems to be processing both food and water effectively too.
Her recovery will take around eight weeks and we have so far got through four days - so tonight I feel like four down, fifty two to go!
Take care,
Julie xx