Since my last update things have really started to get back to normal for Sunny. Yesterday we had the last of his sutures removed, hooray! This has made a huge difference in his speed, how he moves, etc. It’s amazing. Everyone said this would be the case, but given how well he had been doing I wasn’t sure we would see a huge difference. Boy was I wrong. This also meant we could finally try out the Ruffwear Web Master harness we got him prior to his surgery. While I’m not sure he is thrilled to wear it, we will have to work on that, it does make helping Sunny when he needs it very easy. Yesterday the first thing he did after his stitches were removed and we took the e-collar off was go down the stairs on his own. We have a gate up currently and prior to this we could open the gate and he would wait for one of his to pick him up and carry him down. Not so much anymore! He hasn’t mastered coming back up yet, but baby steps. It is nice having the harness though so we can help him down. All and all we are now just focusing on trying to keep him from overdoing it.
Starting yesterday we also dialed back his tramadol to just twice a day from three with that added benefit that it slows him down. We are also keeping him on the t-relief twice a day for the time being. That said, this morning Sunny decided he was done with all of his medications. We are going to continue to try and get him to take the t-relief, however since he is not showing any signs of discomfort we decided we aren’t going to try and force the tramadol on him. It had been my original intent to continue on the tramadol twice a day for at least a few more days, but that obviously isn’t necessary. At this point we are also 2 1/2 weeks post surgery so it was most likely time to stop anyway. His appetite is also still hit and miss so I am hopeful that getting him off tramadol will help with that. If he continues to eat sporadically we may try discontinuing the t-relief just to see if that makes a difference.
With the stitches out and his “cone of shame” off we are really starting to see the Sunny we know and love come back to life. He has spent a lot of time playing with his new toys since losing the cone. Sunny loves a good sqeaky toy and we bought him a few new ones for after his surgery. He is also now laying on his amputation side regularly as though nothing happened. It really is great to see. Tomorrow I’ll try to post some photos of him sporting his new harness and his tripawds bandanna.
