Waiting and home preparations

Leaving our little Lady Penelope in the care of Dr. David Lidbetter for surgery was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.  It was really hard watching her in so much pain, and knowing there was nothing I could do, but also knowing that leaving her there was the best thing... I felt a little part of me die a bit.  

Anyway, when I got home I posted on my facebook page what had happened to us, as well as texting family and friends to tell them the news.  I had called my BFF "J"  and my mum from the car to fill them in. 

Social media is a marvel isn't it?  Almost immediately, 2 fb friends who up till this point had pretty much been just "virtual" friends, messaged me with offers of assistance.  One we had met at our local lake about 18 months earlier with her little dachshund Miss Violet, and the other we had never met, but been fb buddies via a dachshund site.   Miss Violets mum I'm gonna call her "A" offered us an enclosure, and the other lady "S" who had little Ellie, sent through picts of how she had set up her enclosure for when Ellie had knee surgery (also with Dr. David) .  This was really helpful, and between that and the information on the Dodgers list about setting up a crate I had a good idea of what we needed to do.  

Dr. David rang us at about 6pm to say that Penny went in 1st for surgery,  had come through surgery really well, her disc at T12 had a very large rupture.  He said her disc "exploded" and that he did prefer it when the rupture was large- as opposed to an animal being down and in pain with just a small occlusion.  The nerve looked blue, which was not great, but not as bad as it being black, as it still shows some life, as opposed to being dead and black.  We were invited to go visit her in the morning if we wanted, and he said we could bring her some treats, but that we could not stay very long.  I worked it out that from the time of Penny going down to the time she had surgery was about 37hours.  Not ideal, as the best recovery is made if surgery is done within 24-48 hours. 

The next day, I of course went to see her.  She was so groggy and doped up, but so happy to see me.  I was pretty emotional, crying.  I sat with her for about 15 minutes and fed her roasted chicken breast.   It was a long way to go for a short visit, but I needed to see her, and know she was OK.  It also helped prepare me for the task ahead, and got me over the shock of seeing her with a huge shaved area of her back and stitches that looked like they were made with fishing line and unable to walk.  She looked so sad, poor thing with her eyes sort of glazed over.  I could tell it was time to leave though, as she was getting obviously tired, her eyes closing, and leaning on my hand.   On the way out, I asked for her after care sheet so I knew what sort of supplies I would need.  (good move on my part, there was a lot to do) 

I could pick her up and take her home tomorrow! 

On the way home I stopped at Spotlight and for 3 meters of polar fleece and Pet-barn for puppy pee pads. 

Lady Penelope the day after surgery to remove a ruptured disc

That night Kane and I went to collect the enclosure from "A" we brought Gidget along, so Violet and her could meet.  "A" offered to have Gidget over for play dates and to look after her while we were settling Penny in.  Keeping Gidget off Penny, occupied and happy was now a major concern, as Gidget had never been alone in her life till 2 nights ago, and was not adjusting to her new reality very well.  I knew I needed to keep her busy and active, so this offer was very well received.  

To set up the enclosure we 1st put down a tarp, then we took a foam pad which we had in the garage (I can't remember where we got it) and wrapped it up in plastic and taped it all closed.  The foam is a bit longer that the enclosure so it makes a bit of an edge for Penny to lean on, but not as wide as the enclosure, so we have room to put a water bowl on a firm surface.  On top of that we put a puppy pee pad, on top of that a larger piece of fleece wrapped around it, and on top of that a smaller piece.  I had cut up the polar fleece I bought at spotlight into various sizes.  1 meter into 4 pieces, and the other 2 meters into 4 pieces (1/2 meter each).  The idea being that the top smaller piece of polar fleece can be changed as often as required, and polar fleece wicks away moisture so she doesn't have to sit in urine.  The puppy pad absorbs it, so you have various levels for changing cleaning as needed.  Again, I want to direct you to the Dodgers list, as they describe it very well, and here is a pic of how we set it up. The weights in front to stop Penny from moving the enclosure when she is pushing on the bars trying to get out. 

I just needed to get some baby nappies and some wipes and a hot water bottle and we were set.