The Morning After….
After we got Nikki settled in last night and my bed made, Mary headed upstairs with Sasha and Buddy, and I laid down next to Nikki to read. Nikki was pretty much passed out from the pain meds, but was starting to stir somewhat. When I turned out the light, Nikki started to whine a bit, then some more, and then it turned into a wailing session. She was also trying to get up and make her way to the makeshift door we put on the room to keep the other dogs out…. After about 20-30 minutes of this, with me trying to hold her back, she finally slipped out of my grasp and drug herself to the doorway, where she proceeded to scratch at it like she does when she wants out. The noise brought Mary down, and she took one look and said, “She has to go out to the bathroom”.. Here I am thinking all the whining is pain, and it’s really just the fact that she needs outside badly…
We took her outside, she did her business, we brought her back inside and she settled down nicely.. I felt like an idiot…..
I laid down, shut out the light and went to sleep as well. Nikki woke me 3 or 4 times throughout the night, but for the most part she slept comfortably until it was time for me to wake up and get ready for work (yeah, unfortunately I can’t miss any work time this week, we have big-doings in the office that require my presence). Mary came down to sit with Nikki while I went up and got ready. When I came back down, we took Nikki outside again in case she needed to go (she didn’t) and then brought her back in. She took her pills just fine, and Mary was able to feed her some breakfast as well…
So, all in all, the first night went OK…
Here’s a picture of our bed:
Sasha is very upset over all of this, but hopefully as Nikki recovers a bit more today we can let them together for a bit. Buddy seems upset too (remember, he’s only been a member of our household for a couple months) but I don’t think for him it’s anything more than everyone else is upset so he should be too….
Will update more when I get home and learn all the goings-on for the day..
January 20th, 2010 at 11:51
You have plenty of reason to feel upset, just don’t let Nikki know! She’ll just pick up on your feelings and follow your lead. What she needs most right now is strong pack setting the example that all is OK. The best thing you can do for her is to pretend like it’s business as usual in the pack. Remain remain strong and balanced around Nikki, and she will be too. Thanks for the update, so far so good! 🙂
January 20th, 2010 at 16:37
A similar thing happened to us in the middle of the nite when Jake woke me up crying… I was so sure he was in pain… I gave him another dose of tramadol… then I asked him if he wanted to go and pee, and he jumped up into a sit position… so I put the sling on him and took him out. He had to go and poop! Guess that the surgery and the pain meds messed up his usual pooping/peeing schedule, and when I finally brought him back into the bedroom, he plopped down on his bed and slept the rest of the nite. Whew! So you are not the only one that felt like an idiot! 🙂
I think it’s important to let Sasha be with Nikki as much as possible. If they were always together before the surgery… then you shouldn’t change that… unless she is hurting Nikki or her incision in some way. I know with Jake, Wolfie was always with him… sleeping, eating, playing… Business as usual in the pack, as said in Admin’s post above…
So… so far so good!!! Keep us updated!!
Angel Jake’s Mom
January 20th, 2010 at 17:46
Sounds like a good first night! Don’t feel like an idiot with the bathroom thing. Sometimes we are so nervous we forget about the simple obvious things! Hopefully today went great and Nikki is feeling good. When looking at your previous post at her pictures she looks great! When we got to see Peyton for the first time I think what caught us off guard was how much hair they shaved. It was hard enough losing a leg and then half his body was shaved. The hair grows back pretty fast! I hope your other two treat her well and are sensitive to her situation. Remember the first two weeks can be a roller coaster. Keep a positive attitude and spoil her rotten and you will be fine!! Keep us posted!
January 20th, 2010 at 19:40
Ted,
Thank you so much for chronicaling this trying time. I love my rotties very much and only fellow rottie owners can understand why the breed is so special. I meant what i said today, even 3 legged she is still beautiful, and its her spirit and love that keep that light in her even when she is in pain. Never doubt your decision you did the right thing. Let me know if you need anything or if you need a fellow rottie owner to talk to…
January 20th, 2010 at 20:50
I bet you felt as RELIEVED as Nikki did when she went out and did her business, heh heh heh! But yeah, your reaction was totally understandable and congratulate your household on realizing what was going on as quickly as you did. Still… I did get a chuckle out of how you told it. Good blog!
It IS so hard to go to work while they’re recovering, but on the bright side, that’s 8-some hours a day you won’t be obsessing over every thing she does or doesn’t do, and time won’t drag on quite as badly as it would if you were home. I’ve gone through an amputee’s recovery both ways, more or less, so I’m not just assuming – that’s a silver lining that I found to not being able to take any time off.
January 21st, 2010 at 03:59
My Kangal/Mastiff is getting her right rear leg removed tomorrow (Thursday) morning, I can’t sleep as evidenced by the time of this writing, I’m physically ill and not doing very well. The timing of your Nikki (my mom’s name) is THE ONLY THING KEEPING ME SANE. I have the kitchen set up with a pillow top twin bed – it and the kitchen floor and walls are getting steam cleaned in the morning after I return from dropping Kanga off. I’m so emotional I can’t stand it. This website has been a bonefide God send, why do I feel so awful when everyone’s dogs are doing so well? God help me if I ever had REAL kids! I have a 18 month old black lab that’s going nuts with all the attention Kanga is getting and the only way to keep them apart is a heavy duty baby gate in the kitchen, otherwise your set up in the living room seem much more cozy and relaxed. We’ll make it, we have to…thank you for your blog, more than you know. PLEASE KEEP WRITING IF JUST A LITTLE BIT so I know what’s coming next. I cannot stand to hear her in pain, and why the leg has to go. The orthopedic surgeon closed her up and said he couldn’t save the leg (actual birth defect or injury that didn’t manifest itself until a bit ago) so this is our only option. I don’t know that I could have gotten through this without you, Mary, and Nikki.
Paula