18th March – Day 6
Another landmark – last of the post-op medication given this morning (anti-inflammatory) & she had the last antibiotic last night. Why do veterinary pharmaceutical companies make horse tablets for dogs? They claim to be “palatable” but if you have an animal who is off their food, fillet steak ain’t palatable because it doesn’t get to the bit of the mouth which tells the brain “Mmmmm! This is yummy!”. Come on Vet Pharma’s – smaller or liquid please.
We’re still waiting for the thyroid results, but still grinning that her lump has reduced (the bloods have been sent to Jean Dodds in America so will be about 2 weeks). I hope to put a photo on later, but here is one of Heidi where you can see the lump on her tummy. It has little effect on her day to day life beyond me being paranoid when we walk somewhere new in case she decides to go into the undergrowth & catches it on something. Heidi is such an attentive dog that she’s more than happy to mooch alongside you or trot after Meg if she’s sticking to the path.
(The dog suit was being modelled for the website as a protective barrier for allergic dogs.)
- The lump makes her look like a boy dog, but she’s all girl!
We’ve had a glorious time in the sunshine this afternoon & you really wouldn’t know that this little dog had major surgery only 6 days ago. I was potting up strawberries while Meg was finding different ways to plant her Cuz (a squeaky toy whose squeak has lasted over a year & survived my running over it in the van 3 times). Heidi? She was back in her old position behind Meg waiting for & willing her to run so she could chase after her. I was the party pooper – it was so hard to stop her having the first bit of fun she’s had in nearly a week but we have time for fun on another day now.
Fun is something that she’s been a little short-changed on since coming here. Being aware of her heart rate, I have tended to keep as much of her life low-key, but she would go nuts if you played ball with her. Having rubbish eyesight from the cataracts her ability to catch the ball in her mouth was dramatically reduced, but she never stopped trying & celebrated with us when she did manage it. We would have a very sparkly Heidi after a short game of ball!
Posted in: Diary.
