Having just read about Bandit’s surgery two years ago, I got nostalgic about Gabby’s surgery, just a little more than two years back. It’s now been so long that I am hard-pressed to remember her with 4 legs. I love the pre- and post-op pictures of my special brave little girl, so here they are.
"I'm ready for my surgery Daddy!"
"Ahhhhhh no more hurty leg!"
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At first it made me cry to look at that post-op picture, but it’s become a treasured memento after more happy times like these:
Early spring camping trip dinner stop
Summer chillin at Happy Hollow
Dad's-eye view of a fall walk
This is what happens after just one night of fun family camping:
Tired Gabby and Biff
Sleepy Sunshine
Everybody loves a good night of camping. Especially when there are so many exciting raccoons around!
It all started when there was a tripawd in the local newspaper and everyone called to tell me about it. At first I was able to ignore them. How could we handle another dog? Could we? Well … why not? You can see how the train of thought went. Needless to say, after meeting her, we knew we should bring her into our home.
Sunshine is a sweet, loving 10-year-old boxer/beagle mix who is missing her right rear leg. She had been hit by a car two years ago, and today is healthy and exuberant. She adores her new canine younger brother and sister, and she gets along well with the cats. Welcome to the family, Sunshine!!
Sunshine and Gabby, happy new sisters
Yesterday when I asked Biff if he wanted to go in the car, he seemed somewhat interested. Not the through-the-roof excitement he had before surgery, but some. It turned out he was afraid to get into the car. I think he was afraid jumping up would hurt. He bravely got into the car, and there was no pain! He turned and looked at me with a big smile on his face. 
We went to a forest preserve with Gabby, and there Biff seemed to gain even more confidence. We hopped up and down some stairs, across wooded areas, and next to a stream. When it came time to leave, he jumped into the car with full confidence!
Biff says there is nothing like a trip to the park to boost one’s spirits.
Biff’s stitches were removed last Thursday after some nose-wrinkling and tooth-baring at the vet. He was still yelping and whining when he would lay on the surgery side, so we got some more Tramadol for the pain. The vet thought perhaps the stitches inside might be causing some discomfort, and they will dissolve on their own.
So after a few more days of Tramadol, Biff is already improving! We went on a nice morning walk with Gabby and now the dogs are resting on the sun porch. I will know Biff is feeling even more like himself when he wants to go on car rides again
Biff resting after a nice walk
Gabby resting on the cool floor
After several days of continual improvement, Biff hit a plateau. He wasn’t getting any better, but he wasn’t getting any worse either. At first this felt like a set-back. I want my baby to get better! I had to remind myself that he just needed to continue resting. The stitches looked great, the initial swelling had gone down, he didn’t have a fever, he didn’t have increased pain. So there was nothing to do but wait and keep resting!
Finally, yesterday Biff started to improve again. We were able to take a nice walk, and he didn’t whine all day. There is hope!
Biff is recovering remarkably quickly! Today we took a nice hop outside, and Biff was very happy and eager. After Gabby’s amputation, she seemed to take a longer time to recover. For several days, she relied on a towel sling to walk. Biff, on the other hand, rejected the towel sling and has walked well on a leash. Gabby was more painful, while Biff is already going a longer time without the Tramadol. I guess this goes to show every dog is different. It is hard to know what to expect for the recovery time, and the best idea is probably just to be ready and be flexible.
Biff has left the stitches alone, and the wound is healing beautifully. However, several times he scratched an area of shaved skin and now it is red and irritated. I called the vet, and they said it is most likely razor burn and I could put a small amount of diaper rash cream on it. This has worked well. He hasn’t scratched since I applied the cream. Now the trick will be to keep Biff calm and still for the next few days while he continues to feel better and better. This is a good challenge to have!
See the red area to the left of the stitches? That is the itchy spot.
Our second tripawd, Biff, came to us with a small stump remaining of his left front leg. He has been with us now for almost two years, and the stump has become more of a problem. It has atrophied, and it pulls on his spine and puts extra pressure on his remaining legs. The muscles in his shoulder make him think he has a full leg, and that causes confusion in his gait. As you may or may not know, dogs put 60% of their weight on their front legs. Therefore, a stump in the back is not as much of a problem as a stump in the front.
After consultation with the vet and much deliberation, we decided to amputate the stump. The surgery was yesterday, and Biff is in pain and sleeping like a good boy. Today he ate and drank well and even took a quick trip outside in the yard. He is already walking much better! No more flailing, no more twisting spine. It is nice to see the surgery is already helping him. We definitely want his remaining joints to stay healthy as long as possible.
Biff (L) and Gabby (R) await Thanksgiving treats
Gabby had her checkup back in November and received the coveted “no disease found” results we pray for. Yay!! With this coming spring, Gabby will reach two years since her amputation
Both dogs are very happy in the new home, which is worth writing a little about. When we had to move to a new town and went looking for a home we looked at one house that we really liked, but it had too many stairs for comfortable hopping, so we had to pass it by. After considering and passing by several houses with basements, we chose a ranch on a slab. Now, we are a little concerned about the unresiliency of the slab (even with carpet) and the long-term effects on their joints, so we are very attentive to their joint-support tablets and such. So far it seems to suit them very well. We’re thinking about lowering our box spring to the floor to reduce the jumping distance down from the bed.
Gabby will be 8 years old this summer, and she’s been having some arthritis and is taking rimadyl to anti-inflame. It works very well for her but definitely must be with food. So far she’s on half a pill per meal. Without it she clearly is stiff and less spunky.
All considered, those are pretty small concerns compared to Gabby’s cancer and Biff’s puppyhood abuse. We’re glad every day for the joyful presence of both dogs and for all’y'all and all’y'all’s dogs too.
Hoppy New Year!
Biff and Gabby both have endured many car rides this summer, and we are thoroughly dependent on the harnesses that you can see (sort of) in these pictures. In fact we have spares for laundry cycles and just-in-case. Biff is shown watching windmills from the highway. Gabby is shown sun-napping in the back seat. The harness is handy for belting them in, and the handle on the harness is quite necessary for lowering them gently from higher cars to the ground. Biff is ok with the harness, but he really wants to bite the leash so we’re lately using the “Gentle Leader”. Anyway we highly recommend the harness. I would even have one for a four-legged dog.
