Prepping for Surgery

We have set up a GoFundMe for Dino's veterinary expenses.

Hi everyone,

Dino's surgery is tomorrow, July 3, 2024. There isn't too much to do to prepare him - he needs to fast for 12 hours and no water for two hours before. He is allowed to have a painkiller the morning of. We did this three times last week: Tuesday for his X-ray at the local clinic, Wednesday for his consultation with the oncologist near Toronto, and Thursday for his CT scan, again with the oncologist. Since we have to drive for 2-3 hours (depending on traffic) to the clinic, the no water before is pretty easy, but Dino isn't a fan of no breakfast (to be fair, neither am I). I think the hard part is the time in the car - Dino is sore and he'll be hungry and then he is stuck in a car for all that time so he can't even move around much. But he is tough, and they will take good care of him at the vet, and we will take good care of him when he gets home. He is very stoic, which can make it hard to judge when he is in pain or uncomfortable. But we've learned how we can help him as much as possible.

As for preparing ourselves - I am a mess today. I am very anxious.  I think we're making the best choice for Dino, but what if we aren't? I'm scared of complications with the surgery, or in his recovery. My friend Sarah had some kind words this morning, and she reminded me that we have made all of these choices under the guidance of multiple very experienced, very skilled, highly trained veterinary teams. She reassured me that we are making the kindest choice we can, and that helped me feel a lot better.

The oncology team suggested that we join the three-legged dog community Tripawds. I spent the weekend looking at their resources, and I made a post on their forums about Dino. The other users were kind, and had good advice. Ben and I went through one of their albums of large "tripawds" living their best lives post-surgery. It was very sweet, and some of the dogs were built like Dino. Many of them were much larger.

We also went through an album of post-surgery photos to see what to expect. There were a lot of photos immediately after surgery, as well as recovery progress photos. It was hard to look at, but helpful to see things like the level of bruising, where pressure sores can form, and that it can be stitches or staples. I am not sure which Dino will get.

To prepare around here, we have moved our spare bed into our dining area on the first floor and shoved the table into the corner. I moved my home office from upstairs to that same table, and I am typing from that set up now. In my exhaustion yesterday I nearly panicked when my work computer's screens wouldn't turn on, thinking I'd broken my work PC in the short walk down the stairs. Fortunately I had just forgotten that the monitors have to be plugged into the video card, and once I moved the cables we were good to go. I am expecting a lot of such mistakes in the near future, and I am going to try to remain calm as best I can while problem solving.

We've set up raised food and water bowls for Dino, so he doesn't have to bend down to eat. Our home is entirely hardwood, so to prevent Dino from slipping we've covered the floors with rugs, rubber gym tiles, and yoga mats. Dino seems to like the extra traction already. Luckily our stairs are the only part of our home which are carpeted, so no action required there. We did block them off with chairs though, because Dino wants to go up there very badly (it is where we usually spend most of our time - days in my office and nights in our bedroom).

Our traction-mosaic of strategically placed mats. You can see the get-well card Ben's niece made for Dino on the shelf.

The oncologist suggested we get a sling for Dino, to help him out while he adjusts by holding him up when he is doing his business, or needing to step over something. I'm going to measure his chest today and order one, and in the meantime Ben plans to make one out of an old towel (something the oncologist suggested, and we saw another patient with at the hospital).

I think Dino will adapt to three legs quickly. He is already doing most things on three legs, just to help manage the pain from the tumour. I made a post on the Tripawds forum and mentioned this, and got some very nice replies from other Tripawd parents who suggested that this is a sign Dino will adapt quickly. They also reassured us that this is a sign we've made the right choice for Dino - that leg is only slowing him down, so let's get rid of it! Actually, when Ben got home yesterday Dino was so excited that he wanted to do a zoom around the yard. I had him leashed, and he was holding his bad leg up, but I still had to run to keep up with him! I imagine once he is not hurting any more, he'll be even faster, and I am very impressed at that thought.

Dino last night, post-zoomies. You can see where they shaved his front leg for his IV last week. We affectionately refer to his skin patterns as his "cow spots." He has lots of cow spots on his thighs too.