Walks!!-- Two steps forward, one step back

This week mom let me go for walks outside on a leash. We walked towards the park and I was so excited. I saw other dogs over at the park past the block from our house, but mom only let me walk one block and then I had to come home. I tried to tell her I was fine, but she wouldn't listen. She used to love it when I ran and played with other dogs, but when I tried to pull mom to the new dogs on the street she told me no. On our second walk a dog came over to my yard and he wanted to play the king of the mountain game on our back legs. I was sooo very excited. I Love jumping on my back leg, but mom said no. I pushed awy from her and tried to play anyway, but something happened and my legs wouldn't work right. As we walked our block mom and I could hear a little clicking sound coming from my surgery leg. click click. click. every time I stepped. Mom was worried, but when we got home, it was actually the other leg that mom didn't have them fix that hurt me. I walked on three legs all day using my new leg and not the one that still has to get fixed. Mom didn't hear any more clicking, so she hopes it is just my right leg making that noise. Either way, mom says we are cutting back on walks to less than a block again.

Geesh. She totally doesn't get anything!! I mean, I could have gone all the way to the park. I have so much energy!! And my new leg is so strong!! And, well, I don't really care if I have to hobble some when I get home-- it's sunny out and there are sooo many dogs outside and I want to make friends with them all. It's been so long since I got to play with friends. The last time was in the cages at the doctor's office when I had my surgery and all of those dogs felt just as icky as I did, so we couldn't even play a game of nose licks in our cages.

Still, mom says it's not good to put all my weight on the surgery side. She says it's still healing and we still have to get another picture of the leg from the doctor to make sure the surgery took. She doesn't believe me! She also says she wants to get the surgery on my other leg as soon as possible, but that means I won't play at all this summer, even on three legs, and that sounds like a total drag. I don't think I can be so bored all summer. I jumped up on the bed and the couch this week just to prove to her that I don't need the doctor and I don't need restrictions. But then I yelped and now I"m limping a little, and mom thinks she gets to be right again and I have to be back on "restriction." I hate "restrictions." I so much prefer bones, and treats, and greenies, and hikes. Ugh. I hope she gets it right soon!

If you are a dog reading this, please send your letters to my mom telling her I can play and that doctors are dumb. just address your letter to Kayla Dog Mom at Kayla's dog prison in the white house with the red canoe near the peeing tree by the cracked sidewalk, eight sticks from the little park and across the field from the circle walk. It should get there fine. Oh. And please don't leave p-mail. Mom never reads it and usually she only lets me get the headlines. Oh and about that--- to the dogs in my neighborhood. I tried to catch up and leave you all messages on our walks this week, but as you see, I didn't get much time. I'll do better next time. Kajaal has begun to take some dictation, so she can pass notes between us. I'm especially interested in hearing about the new families of squirrels up at the circle walk park. We have new squirrels in our yard too, and I heard there are lots and lots of little furry things at the park, so tell me your stories of chasing and catching. For now, that will have to do.

-Kayla

Thank you ATT in Pontiac! I received a nice card and a contribution of $130 for my next surgery!! Aunt Jenny's mom, Pat organized a 50/50 raffle for me and all the nice people at AT&T joined forces to help me out. I am so lucky to have so many nice humans in the world. I wonder how I'll ever get a chance to lick them all. Mom says she's going to send a big thank you to AT&T, and, because they are so close, we might go there to say thank you in person!! That would be really fun!

Kayla

A bit of a limp

Well, Kayla has been doing GREAT!! She's been allowed outside to potty on her own two times and has slept upstairs in the bedroom twice! but her increased independence seems to come at some cost of discomfort, and today she seems, while not in extreme pain, a bit uncomfortable, with a bit of a limp. Time to back back off the independence. She has three more weeks until follow up x-rays for the first surgery, and we should get the go ahead to begin walking and exercising in increments. Of course, I don't know what all this says for her other leg still waiting for surgery. It's a tough balancing act. This weekend she will get a car ride up north and a stay in a hotel while Mom visits family. She likes the car these days, mostly for the change of scenery, and I have a friend ot help with any lifting, though I'm not sure she still needs so much at this point. New photos coming this week!

Brett

Happy Days!

I got my stitches out last Tuesday (February 6), and it's been three weeks since my surgery. In five more weeks I can start going for short walks-- if only my other leg were ready for walks, too, but mom says that means another surgery . . .I'm trying not to believe that yet. I have a little thing on my knee that i can't stand, so I pick at it and have made a red callous and mom seems dismayed about this, but not concerned so much as she was when I came home and was bleeding. Last night, when mom slipped on the ice trying to help me in and lunged forward, I ran a few steps. Mom said it looked really good, that my legs ran independently instead of bunny hopping like I usually do. She also said never do that again until the doctor says I'm allowed to run.

At night time mom lies on my bed with me and makes my leg go long and straight and short and bent and pets my belly and tells me I'm a good dog. It is uncomfortable. Sometimes I take my leg away from her, and she says that is also good. I can't really tell what she is doing, but I sometimes limp when she is done. I wish she wouldn't fuss with me and would just rub my belly where I like it, and I try to get her to focus, but she's always with that leg. I try to be a good dog, to do what she wants, but I don't really understand what it is. She says I'm good if I move my leg how she moves it with her and that I'm good when I move it against her. . .how can both be right? Mom says it makes my leg strong. I've never had surgery on my leg before, and my roommate says she hasn't had surgery on her leg before, but I guess since mom and I made it through when I had stitches on my belly that I should listen, but sometimes I don't really think she knows what she's doing.


My friend Shinta and her mom sent us a card a while ago. Mom says when I can walk and run, which will be a very long time--32 weeks, however that much is., that I can go back to the beach to play with her. I can't wait. In a few weeks I will go have pictures taken of my new leg to see if it is all OK, and then I can begin swimming. Mom says it is in a warm pool somewhere, but I don't mind the cold. I just wish I could play outside more. It has been snowing lots, and some of my favorite things are to eat snow, roll in snow, and sled in snow. Mom says, maybe next year, but she also puts snow in my bowl inside for me to eat. It's nice, but it's not the same. Humans just sometimes don't get it, even if they try.

Kayla

Just a quick update

For those checking in-- Kayla hasn't been quite up to blogging yet (wink). School is getting crazy, and most time out of school I"m down with Kayla in her recovery room. She has most of her staples left, and the scabby parts are coming off the scar. It actually looks very nice, so I'm not being as vigilant if she wants to lick it clean, so long as she leaves the staples. I used Chlor-flush on the wound everytime she got to it at first, on suggestion from another surgery-dog mom. It worked great, so if anyone stumbles here to find info on TPLO recoveries, that is one good tip (find it at Petsmart--it's blue!).

Kayla has been doing super well, but I let down my guard yesterday, and while letting her out of her pen, I neglected to notice a pile of books by the side. Rather than waiting for me to open the pen all the way, Kayla bolted out and jumped over the books. Then coming back in from potty, we got our timing off, so she did a little jump to get up the steps rather than the two of us splittting the weight. She was limping last night and couldn't sleep but this morning she seems to be feeling better and is weight-bearing. I gave her an additional pain agent, an NSAIDS, which she doesn't usually take as they upset her digestive system terribly, but I think a half a dose on occasion for pain increases might be OK, so long as it isn't every day.

She is resting now. Time to get the e-collar and dress her up before I go to school. --OH. And I have a great smart Kayla story to tell you, about her thoughts on her recovery--but that will wait until next time.

And here are the battle wounds

Here is Kayla on her first night home:




Actually, I have to say, that these pictures five days after the surgery look fabulous to me. The first night she bled through her bandage, was all black and burgundy, and it looked like a real butcher job. Now she's getting back to a wonderful pinkish hue-- but two staples are missing. What did mom not see. . . I wonder. Tricky dog can get around the e-collar. Yikes.

Kayla's post op

Here is Kayla before surgery, sporting her Spartanwear:



Thank you again to everyone who has been helping finance Kayla's recovery. Most recent thanks goes to Michael, Joan, and Steve. Much of this blog will be pictures.

As Kayla went into surgery, she was doing pretty well. She didn't want to go with the surgeon, and, in fact, she came into the billing office and "found" me, acting out our hide-n-seek games. She was very dismayed when they took her down the hall (dragged her I might add). However, I received the call the next day that things went well. They found some arthritis and had to do a miniscis release on her inside soft tissue, but her MDL was more in tact than they had anticipated. Yay!