Honey B
8-01: The bandage change today gave us a big thrill. Honey's leg wound is healing faster than ever and is down to less than half the original size. It's begining to itch, too; and I have to watch her to make sure she doesn't chew on her splint. She has now learned to run on 3 legs, and gets all excited when the other dogs are out running. She wants to join in, but is afraid of getting knocked down. She has shown herself to be very social with other dogs, and actually craves their company when they are outside and she is not. She has also taken to whining to be put on the bed. She sleeps with Roger in the bed as he goes to bed early, having to rise at 5am to go to work. She's not happy when I come to bed and take her off. Then, I have to put up with occasional circuits around the bed and whining as she tries to figure out how she can get back up. She gives up and lays back on the big dog bed with the other dogs if I pretend she's not waking me up.
8-02: Honey has gone with me to the local big 3 day show. I park my trailer there to have a comfortable place to go with the dogs, especially if the weather's bad. Honey needed to be there so I could potty her as she cannot use the dog door at home, and I needed to keep an eye on her splint. We had a cardiologist (Dr Wood) from OR there to do auscultations for SAS and other heart abnormalities, so I took the opportunity to have Honey checked along with a couple of my other dogs. I am pleased to say that she passed for OFA heart. She got microchipped, too, so she won't ever get lost again without a contact. There was a calendar photographer there, and Honey got her picture taken as a possible calendar girl!
8-11-03: Honey's surgery to fuse the hock joint was today. My husband assisted and I took picutres which will be posted on a seperate page for those who can't look at surgical photos. Joe (the vet) was extremely pleased by how good the leg looked (pic) with the original wound closed down to less than a little finger in size. The joint had gotten back *some* stability with the filling in of the wound, but still needed to be fused. The proceedure went very well; we closely monitored her heart, size she's a boxer, but she had no problems. She slept until the next morning as she had some IM painkillers.
Surgery page
8-12-03: Honey is getting around so well, that we didn't need to use any of the stronger pain killers the vet sent home with us. She is getting rimadyl twice a day for now along with yet another round of antibiotics. She want's to go out and play real bad, and I feel bad for saying no. She will get a cast Monday, after swelling has gone down.
8-18-03: Honey got her new fiberglass cast today. It's has a yellow self stick foam liner over tube gauze. She really seems uncomfortable with it, and is whining constantly and very unhappy. She's bothering the top of the cast, also, so it appears to be putting too much pressure behind her knee. We are keeping the vet apprised, and may have to trim some off the back edge.
8-20-03: Honey is getting very red and starting to look raw behind the knee, so we trimmed about a half inch off the back and lined it with moleskin. Also lined the inside of the leg with moleskin as the rough cast surface was making a couple of her nipples raw where she would rub it. She's a *lot* happier, but it still seems to bother her a bit so we will keep a close eye on it. She's been going outside with the other girls in the yard, laying in the sun and doing some playing. She's really happiest when she's in the yard with a few of the other dogs.
9-21-03: Honey went to live with her new family in Ancorage about 3 weeks post-op. They wanted to finish her care with the leg as they were so anxious for her to join the family. Honey now lives with an old cat, old deaf cocker, and a 6 1/2 yo boxer girl with the boxer heart disease. Honey has been so good for their sick boxer (Cajun), that she has perked up a lot and is interested in playing again. About a week ago, Honey's new owner, Cindy, was concerned about how Honey was handling her casted leg so made a trip to the vet. It was apparent she was having pressure problems around the point of the hock, so they enlarge the hole in the back. When that didn't appear to help, the next day the cast was removed and a pressure sore was uncovered. So, Honey is back into a splint with strict bedrest, no stairs or running. Her new owner's backs are being tested as they haul her up and down stairs at night since she sleeps in the bedroom with everyone. Their commitment hasn't waivered, though, as she is anchored in their hearts.
Honey with her new pal, Cajun.
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