Long time, new dog

Yes, it’s been quite a while since the last post. Sorry. So much has been going on in life. But what you really want to know is… how is Audrey doing?

Well, she’s doing GREAT! To back up, since late February she…

• had regular visits to Dr. Bowersett and to VOSM for cleaning the pin tracks and xrays, respectively. The cleaning was a weekly event. Xrays were about every 2-4 weeks. See the very great pix of Audrey’s leg during a routine cleaning appointment:Audrey in fixator, 3/07

A patient patient: patience

• then, in early April, as a very special birthday gift, Audrey the dog, started spotting bits of blood. At first I thought there was something wrong with one of the pin tracks, though we didn’t see any of them looking particularly nasty. Then we discovered she was … in HEAT! My little girl? We all figured she’d be out of the fixator in time to get her fixed, but not so. Dr. Bowersett wanted to wait another two months to let her uterus contract before doing the spay operation. Plus no sense in putting her through ‘all that’ while she was still in the fixator device. Fortunately our neighborhood isn’t populated with many gentlemen dogs out for a good time, so we didn’t need to protect Audrey too much from the pangs of young love.
• April 18: the day of freedom. Off comes the fixator and Audrey is sent home in a soft bandage. We leave that on for a few days, then it comes off. Clearly the holes where the pins entered her skin are visible, and her leg area is shaved – but otherwise she looks pretty good to go. Nevertheless I feel a bit anxious and watch her movements very closely. No false sense of security here.
• time passes – the leg looks good, and she is walking on it well (and shh! running sometimes too).
• late May – another visit to Jacksonville, where she is the favorite puppy at the Fleet Landing health center. Another long car trip; another wonderful traveling companion. This time, her bathroom habits are better and I don’t need to paper and plastic the whole floor worrying where she might go. But the weather is much hotter and I can’t leave her in the car to do any shopping. We are teathered for most of the trip – a happy pair.
• early June and it’s SPAY DAY. Only in addition to fixing the little girl, Dr. Bowersett repairs the hernia she had from birth. It’s not a surprise and I’m glad he caught it. Frankly I was more focused on their clipping Audrey’s nails when she was under anaesthetic. She’s VERY sensitive on her paws and with her leg and all I feared hurting her if we tried very hard to clip the nails. Audrey leaves the spay ‘n hernia experience like she had a spa treatment. In other words, or in Cathy’s words (the tech), Audrey behaved like she didn’t realize she had surgery. A quick check of her belly tells otherwise: the 6″ line of suchers makes her look like Frankenpuppy.
• June 18: the suchers are removed. Audrey’s happy and closes her eyes and smiles with each gentle snip, snip, snip.
• June 19: a final visit to Dr. Canapp. Audrey gets an A++ on her recovery. Dr. C is very happy indeed with her progress.
  • her two legs are the same length
  • the range of motion in the left leg is where it should be
  • there is no sign of osteoarthritis
  • though there is a small area of missing bone in the center of her wrist, it is surrounded by very solid bone material.

  Audrey is recommended to take a daily dose of glucosamine – a supplement that will keep her joints healthy. Otherwise she is literally good to go.

• That’s it for now. Stay tuned for more adventures of Audrey, the practically perfect pug – as Audrey moves to the Twin Cities (does anyone else hear the theme from the old Mary Tyler Moore show?). For now though, a HUGE round of applause and thanks to the very good folks at Four Corners Animal Hospital (esp. Dr. B, Cathy, Diana and Shannon) and to VOSM and Dr. C the miracle worker (remember when you write that journal article that the pug’s name is spelled A-U-D-R-E-Y) and the wonderful, Lisa. My little dog has a new leg thanks to you all!