What a time we have been having! First I discovered a small pink raised area on Pirate's lower, front lip. It has been there a little while, as maybe three and four weeks. It seemed like possibly he snagged it and since he has no other pink on his lips, it stood out. I showed it to a friend and she also thought I should have the doctor check it out. We went to see Dr.Cheryl McDermott at Timberland and she did a cytology on it. She did not get much out of it and the results came back non-conclusive. They thought he should have a biopsy to be certain it was not something we needed to follow up on. So he was scheduled for surgery on Wednesday.
Pirate just got home from his biopsy when this picture was taken.
On June 22, Pirate had biopsy surgery done by Dr. Emma Harvey. She did a beautiful job. If it had not been for a small amount of swelling, you could hardly see it. He came out very perky and ready to go home. He did act a little resentful toward me for taking him to have that done, but he was warming up soon. He slept a lot, had a good dinner and it was not until the next morning that we had a strong difference of opinion as to what he could be doing. Late afternoon on Thursday he was telling me it was pool time and he wanted to swim. Of course everyone joined in with Pirate to tell me it was time. I managed to distract them but Pirate then wanted to play ball. That did not seem like a good idea but he seemed to feel just fine and it was better than the wrestling matches that Pi and Andi usually do in the evenings. I had to continually watch them and I could not count the amount of times I had to tell Andiamo not to touch Pirate's sore lip.
On Friday, June 24, I was busy with Pirate, trying to distract him from noticing that Journey and Andi were outside playing. A little later Journey came in only using three legs to walk. I checked him over and could see that his leg was very sore. He was not putting any weight on his right rear leg and was actually holding it up most of the time. It was very scary as Quest had had a cruciate ligament injury and I was familiar with the look. I certainly still remembered the cost involved with his TPLO.
I called Timberland and they had one appointment available on Saturday at 1:30 PM. By this time I was feeling so sorry for Andiamo. At first he was just really missing playing with Pirate, but he still had his buddy Journey to play with. Now Journey was a forbidden playmate too.
Saturday morning when I checked Pirate's lip, it was a little more swollen. I decided that we could probably make it to Andi's obedience class at 11:15 AM if we left immediately when the class ended. I needed to get Journey to Timberland to be examined by 1:30 PM. So we hurried and it was nice to be at class where it was peaceful and I did not have to yell at dogs not to touch other dogs. The obedience class always makes Andi happy. He loves other dogs an he loves the class. Instructor, Dorothy Webb, is such a good teacher. Journey loves her, and the lovely snack table she creates, with at least a half dozed different, wonderful treats: baked chicken, beef roll, sliced, boiled chicken hearts, cheese sticks and liver treats. What fun! Journey got to play with one of his favorite class mates, a pretty little black Labrador named Lizzie, I think. They flirt and playbow at each other. The class was over too soon and we were off for our second appointment of the day.
Journey and I went inside to see Dr. Harvey. She did a thorough exam on him and told me it was not the cruciate ligament. Such a relief. But she said his knee was swollen and there was a ligament involved. She gave him Ligaplex I, and told me to give him Meloxicam and Tramadal as needed for pain. He is restricted from doing agility for three weeks. She did say he could swim though. She also had one of the technicians do a laser treatment on Journey's leg.
Next Dr. Harvey wanted to see Pirate as I was concerned about the swelling. She thought it looked fine, but she did give him an antibiotic prescription. He will also be taking Meloxicam for inflammation. We went home. It had been a long day and I was very tired.
On Sunday, I decided to swim Journey & Andiamo and my plan was to put Pirate in my bedroom, with a greenie (which he loves) and some nice music. Well, I decided to walk Pirate on leash, around the yard first. I was able to keep an eye on the other guys in the pool house. Journey was doing a lot of running around the pool, on the concrete (which was not in the doctor's plan). I thought I would just step inside the pool house and get the boys to swim more and not so much running. Pirate started pulling me and he was not listening to directions. Pirate is the best obedience trained dog and has had a lot of rally training too. He was not listening though and he just turned into a demon dog. He seemed furious that the other guys were getting a swim and it was very bad judgement on my part, to have taken him in there. His judgement was no better. He lunged toward the pool and pulled the chair I was sitting in over sideways. I had wondered if three of my dogs could pull me in a sled - well in response to that question, one demon dog was able to pull me all by himself, without a sled. I screamed a few bad things at him and wound my hands tighter in his leash. He had never done anything like this before. I had never tried to keep him out of the pool when the other dogs were having fun in there though. So now we had three injured family members. Nothing serious to me, just bruised and battered a bit. It has just been an awful week.
On Monday I was very sore and feeling about as sorry for myself as I was for the dogs. I decided to feed them, then when it was time for their mid-morning nap I was going to the YMCA for some pool aerobics to improve my stiffness. I put Andiamo in his crate and left the other two free in the house. I stopped at the store on my way home. When I walked in, everyone was happy to see me, and it was peaceful. I checked Pirate's chin and the stitches were gone. I called Timberland and they scheduled us in the next morning.
Tuesday morning we headed out to go to Timberland. I had already cancelled our normal Tuesday morning agility class (for me and Journey) because of Journey's leg. As I got ready to leave I noticed, in addition to Pirate's missing stitches, he now had a large angry looking hot spot on his hip. I guess the stress is getting to him too. Thank goodness we were already going to the vets anyway. The technician did another laser treatment on Journey's leg. Dr. McDermott took Pirate in for restitching after checking to be certain that he had not eaten after midnight the night before. She also planned to shave his hot spot and give me medication for it. She gave us some calming pills for the 4th, if we need them. She did not say I could take them, but it is tempting.
Today has been peaceful (knock on wood). I hope that saying this does not jinx it. I am not a superstitious person, but I have recently told a couple people that Journey was my healthiest dog. Maybe I should have knocked on wood. He is five years old and has never had anything go wrong. Well anyway, the doctor said that his great muscling and his excellent form & condition will help this injury heal rapidly. I hope she is right. I asked her about his upcoming agility trial, at the end of August and she said she did not anticipate a problem with him being ready. The swimming will keep him in good shape and after the three weeks of restriction he will have time to work up to the trial. If he is not up to it, we will scratch his entry.
Pirates new stitches are supposed to be much stronger. I think they are also the kind that dissolve, but they are rated to last much longer than the others. The spray that the vet gave us for his hot spot really works. He has never had a hot spot before. Poor guy, he must be really stressed. I think I will take everyone out for a walk. I am going to keep Pirate on leash. Don't ask me why - he does not have a mobility problem, but I just do not want him out of my sight until those stitches do their job and he is all healed. Journey has to be on leash or he and Andi will be running a hundred miles an hour all over the place. I am glad Pirate is a strong dog. I just hope he uses his power for good and not for evil. He really has not been himself lately.
After our walk we will sit and watch the sunset. Sounds like a good plan. The weather is perfect, by my standards, about 73 degrees clear sky and a soft breeze 14 mph.
Maybe it will look as peaceful as this:
Yes! I can go for a scene like this.
