surgery and the sexgenarian

Thistle after first arriving home from surgery

This has been a wild night, that’s for sure.  Poor Thistle, my Golden Retriever, had corrective surgery yesterday for a recessed vulva. Now, believe it or not, this is a pretty common occurrence in puppies.  The problem is that they get endless urinary tract infections if it’s not corrected.

We picked her up after surgery about 3 p.m. yesterday and boy, was she groggy! The vet gave us pain pills for her, along with antibiotics and some muscle relaxers to help with the recovery.  For the last 14 hours, I’ve been by her side, trying to keep her comfortable.

I feel so bad for dogs when something like this happens. They really don’t have a clue what’s happened to them and they are so confused by the sudden pain!  We’ve been laying on the floor, on the couch, in her kennel (I have one that’s portable that opens on top) in her regular kennel, with the Elizabethan collar on, without the collar on, with a cold pack on her bum, without one.. Right now, Rob is holding her on his lap while I write, bless his heart.

That’s the other big news! Today is Rob’s 60^th birthday! Poor guy, he’s been up with Thistle since 4 am and has a full agenda at work today.  I think he has two sessions with the Commissioners this morning and then he has a Planning and Zoning Commission work session that starts at 4 pm. It’s gonna be a long birthday, that’s for sure!

Rob, the birthday boy!

We’re going celebrate it right tomorrow night with some friends, though.  Going to take the birthday boy out for dinner!

We just need to get through these next few days with Miss Thistle right now. I need to have her well on the way to healing by next Monday when I have my own surgery.  She’s a trouper, though, and certainly hasn’t lost her appetite!  She’s been treated like a queen, of course, and has quite enjoyed the ricotta cheese mixed in with her regular food. She’s been getting lots of snacky treats as well.

Well, my head is swimming with visions of puppy and lack of serious sleep right now so this is going to be short today.  Wish us luck!  Miss Thistle is in good hands, no worries, as I used to do this for a living before I was a “people nurse”! Knew that vet training was gonna come in handy again someday!

Thistle in her portable carrier beside my chair, looking a little brighter