Chasing Charley

It’s amazing how things look better after a semi-decent night’s sleep!  We conked out around 9:30 p.m. & Charley woke for his pain meds around 1 a.m.  I tried to get him to go back to sleep on the floor….  That wasn’t going to happen, according to him!  So I put his muzzle on as a precaution & hoisted him on to the bed with me, where he normally sleeps (only 1 little yelp).  I kept the leash attached to him and put the handle around my wrist & we slept all the way ’til 7:30 a.m.!  Hooray!

We went outside to pee this morning & Charley tugged me across the street to sniff whatever was going on in the cul de sac park.  He was tuckered out on the way back in (we stopped several times), but it was so nice to see some of the “old Charley” in his personality.

Charley is borrowing his big brother’s t-shirt to keep him from licking at his bandages and the scrapes he has on his “good” front leg from the accident.  It’s a little big — maybe we’ll find a smaller one soon.

So far today he’s eaten a can of lamb/gravy dog food, 2 leftover meatballs from dinner last night, some pumpkin and treats, of course.  He regularly gets up to drink out of his bowl or just to find a more comfortable spot on top of his blankets.

We’re just going to chill for the rest of the day.  Maybe we’ll sit outside on the front lawn & enjoy some chilly sunshine (it’s only 52* degrees here).  I’m sure Charley will have some admirers stop by.  And maybe this MOM can clean up the house a little bit (seriously, who fired the maid?!?!?).

And by “I”, I mean Becky.  Charley’s mom.

Charley had 100 mg Tramadol at 7 a.m.  It’s just past 11 a.m. and he’s whimpering/whining with every breath.  He’s not due for another dose for at least 4 hours!  He wags his tail when I pet him.  Stops whining when I talk to him.  But otherwise it’s (breathe in), huuuuuuuuuuuhhhh, (breathe in), huuuuuuuuhhhh.

He seems interested in food, as long as it’s nothing related to dog food.  I made him 2 eggs this morning and he’ll gladly accept cheese and hot dogs.  That causes a break in the whining.  But as soon as he’s licked the plate clean, he’s back to whimpering.

I know the vet doesn’t want to totally zonk him out with pain meds, but I hate to hear him in pain.  Or maybe he’s depressed.  Did you know that I obsessively worry about my human kids like this sometimes?!?  I’m such a softie.  I wish there was something I could do for him to make him more comfortable and/or happier.

Every day gets a little better, right?  Little by little.  And in 2-3 weeks, I’ll see a big improvement in his abilities and comfort level.  Right?  You all have been such a great source of encouragement….  I would literally be pulling my hair out by now if I hadn’t found you!

P.S.  Bear with me!  I haven’t figured out the “friends” thing yet & I hope to start commenting on your blogs (and forums?) one of these days soon.

Shortly after 1 p.m. on Friday & we’re home!  Two days post amp.

Charley wasn’t moving much at the vet, but I visited early this morning & we got him to get up, hop outside, pee & poop.  Hooray!  Now that we’re home, he’s whimpering and whining.  I just gave him a dose of Tramadol and hopefully he’ll be more comfortable soon.

The weather is beautiful outside and I’m enjoying a couple of hours at home w/ my baby before my kids come home from school.  They’re 7 and 9 years old (a girl and a boy) — SO excited to see their pup!

For the next few days, Charley will be corralled in the kitchen area behind a kid fence we borrowed from the neighbors.  This helps to give him his own space and prevents him from wandering off too far.  Half of the main floor of the house is slippery floors, which have always been his nemesis anyway.  So we’ll keep him off those unless I can hang on to his collar.

God bless the vet, Dr. Jim.  He just called to make sure we made it home alright and to answer the questions I already had!  The bandage slipped a bit (I added more padding & wrap on top of it) and we’ll hopefully keep it looking healthy & clean until the sutures are removed in 2 weeks.

Off to bake him some homemade dog treats.  Thank you SO MUCH for all of your kind words and support in just the past day!  I really needed the encouragement and I feel like I’m capable of being a *good mom* to Charley as he continues to recover.  Bless you all!

Dr. Jim called at 5:30 p.m. tonight to tell me that he wanted to keep Charley just one more night.  He was expecting Charley to try to move around a little more during the day today & he wasn’t.  So we wait.

Bless his heart, Dr. Jim just called again (9:30 p.m.) to tell me more about Charley.  He just can’t figure out why he’s not trying to get up, especially since he had been basically managing for the past week or so on 3 legs.  Charley ate a little bit, but Dr. Jim said he has somewhat of a “defeatist attitude.”

Poor little pooch!  I’m going into the Animal Clinic at 8:30 a.m. after I drop the kids off at school to hopefully perk him up a bit!  I didn’t get a chance to visit today because I was wrapping things up at work & expecting to bring him home today.  So I’m overdue for some Charley kisses!

I just hope & pray that his pain is being managed well and that he’ll respond positively to me!  And hoping and praying that he’ll come home tomorrow!  I have no clue how I’m going to deal w/ this 3-legged dog, recovering from surgery….  But I think he’ll do better at home.

Charley is our much-loved English Setter.  He came into our home shortly after my husband moved out — the kids and I needed something to fill the void.  That was more than 2 years ago.

On Tuesday, October 5, Charley and I were in the backyard together.  I was pulling weeds, he was investigating my yard & that of the neighbor’s.  For whatever reason, Charley ventured a little further than he usually does — over a berm that borders our neighborhood and a busy street.

I heard the crash.

Charley was hit by an SUV going about 60 mph.  The driver said Charley jumped out from behind a bush.  I know the driver didn’t even have time to react — it happened so fast.

To make a long story short, Charley sustained radial nerve damage in the accident and lost feeling/control of his left front leg.  He spent 2 nights at the animal clinic and came home.  We worked together to figure out eating, going potty outside, etc.  Charley was his happy self and was learning how to get around on his own, dragging that bum leg along with him.  We were going to wait 2-4 months to see if the radial nerve would regenerate so that he could use the leg again.

His left front leg had a bandage on it because there was also a large gash beneath the elbow area in addition to the nerve damage.

I came home from work yesterday to find that Charley had chewed through the bandage and had destroyed most of his lower leg.  The sight was pretty horrific and luckily I was able to shield the kids from most of it.  I shuttled them off to friends’ houses quickly and with the help of a neighbor, I loaded Charley into the back of the car and raced off to the vet.

I returned to the same vet office that saw Charley on the night of the accident (the on-call vet in the area that night), though this time we were greeted by a different vet, Dr. Jim.

Dr. Jim carefully carried Charley into the exam room and examined the leg.  Muzzled just for a precaution, Charley wagged his tail throughout the exam.  The nerve damage was actually a blessing at this time — Charley had no pain due to the mangled mess of his lower leg.  Dr. Jim noted that there was more joint damage from the accident than they had realized during his initial exams last week.  Given the damage Charley had done to the wound, the joint damage and the nerve damage — Dr. Jim said that the radial nerve was extremely unlikely to regenerate/heal at this point.  The best course of action was to remove the leg.

And so the decision was made.  During the last week, I had prayed for clarity in how to deal with Charley, how to help him heal & recuperate, how to support my children through this ordeal.  The decision for amputation was one that needed to be made, but it was very clear what needed to happen to help Charley live a long and happy life.  For this I am very grateful!

Charley was sedated almost immediately and the surgery began shortly thereafter.  I returned home to clean up the mess and comfort the kids.  Dr. Jim called at 7:30 p.m. to tell me the surgery went well and again at 10:30 p.m. just to let me know that Charley was wagging his tail.

Charley is supposed to come home with me late this afternoon/evening.  I’m currently waiting on the phone call from the vet and I’m researching canine amputation care.  And so our journey begins once again….

Dr. Jim assured me that Charley’s recovery would be complete — his life would be full and active.  He even told me that I could take him bird hunting!  Though I don’t think that particular activity is in my future (it never really was….), I’m really looking forward to chasing Charley again.