Casey's Home

Got Casey home and he was definitely not himself. All to be expected. Very whiny which he is with sedation after x-rays, so I knew after a major surgery he would be a wreck as well. He seemed out of it from all the drugs and coming off everything that happened this day. Casey came home with a Fentanyl patch on his side, Tramadol, and a fancy new hair cut! We were told to encourage eating by giving him some yummy food so we tried boiled chicken with rice. I also put in some of his kibble. He gobbled it up. Poor boy was starved. Casey didn't drink much the first 24 hours either, but he did have an IV during surgery which pumped in plenty of fluids. A few hours later we iced his incision for 10 minutes and he tolerated that very well.

Generally he looked very well. A bit glassy eyed and an out of it state, but he did just have a major surgery and come home the same day! We had the option to leave Casey there for the night and into the next day with a vet on 24 hours whom sits in the room with the dog, but opted not to do this as Casey has a history with anxiety and we and his orthopedic felt he would be more comfortable at home.

Our first night was made up of two shifts. I took the first shift and my husband took the second shift. Casey now had to sleep in the living room. He had several options of places to rest. His brand new orthopedic bed! His new fun loving place...his crate with a comfy bed in that, and per ok with the orthopedic, our chaise lounge. Most dogs are not permitted to do any furniture, but this chaise is his absolute favorite and quite low to the floor. He steps onto it and it isn't much higher than his orthopedic bed! Later this chaise posed to be a help too as it is impossible to get a dog to elevate their leg, but Casey did so by laying on the chaise with his head down and leg up. Helped some with swelling!

One thing I did not expect on this day was Casey peeing where ever he was and then just peeing on the carpet. I took him out several times and he wouldn't do anything while out. I know the meds and IV do make them have to go a lot. I think the epidural was still wearing off for him. This is unusual for most dogs once home. Again I think we had to deal with this since he came home earlier than most dogs do. Lots of laundry was getting done. Thankfully I had covered his beds with waterproof pads in case his incision drained...never thinking of a peeing pup!

So I was on the first shift. Sleeping bag and pillow on the floor laying next to Casey where ever he was. He cried almost ALL night! Broke my heart. It seemed to help if I rubbed his front leg with my hand or was some how touching him to let him know I was there. He seemed to have trouble sleeping a bit as he just couldn't get comfy or settled. Later I learned that it was probably the Fentanyl patch doing this. A slight side effect...uneasiness. He seemed to move almost every 30 minutes. So then I did too. Later my husband took the next shift and he seemed to settled in better the second half of the night with him. Casey was exhausted as were we, but we got through it together! First day and night was now over.