He's home

Dodger got home this afternoon. I shot a video of our picking him up, but my computer refuses to recognize the camera when I plug it in, so I have no way of getting the video off of there. Actually, it probably is the camera's problem (it's a digital video camera, but it's several years old). It wasn't going to win an Oscar anyhow, so I won't worry too much about it.

Anyhow, Dodger is a hurting puppy. He has a pain patch that stays on for a couple of days (strong enough that we have to wear gloves when the time comes to take it off, so it doesn't knock us on our asses). He also has pain pills and antibiotic capsules to take.

He needs to take it easy for several weeks. When he goes out, even though he will be in the yard, he has to stay on a leash, so he doesn't exert himself (in case he should see a squirrel or cat or some other thing that needs chasing). When we got home, the first thing I did was take him for "a walk" in the back yard.

He has a cone to wear, so he doesn't mess with the big suture line on his back right leg... or the patch on his back left or the IV site on his front left.

On top of all that, the poor boy is missing a lot of his fur! They shaved the whole area around his back right leg. He looks like he is indulging in some new punk doggie hairstyle. To call him displeased would be a great understatement, but it really is for the best. I don't know if he'll ever really understand how any of this is helping him. He'll just know that his pain is going away at some point, and he'll be happy for that. Why his leg works again probably won't occur to him.

One other thing we'll need to do is carry him up the stairs. No stair climbing for him for the foreseeable future. Plus, we'll probably let him stay in the bedroom all day. If he spends his days with Mandy (his usual routine), they might wrestle around, and he could get hurt.

So that's the update. The main thing is that Dodger is home and recovering. It will take time, but I'm very happy to have our boy back with us.