WEEK 2 (and 3)

Week 1 is over! Week 2 is over! Laugh Laugh! Week 3 is beginning!

Week 1 was full of doing nothing. I wore a fentanyl patch for several days after the surgery. That really slowed me down. I slept and slept and slept. I did miss my girls (Trekkie, Val, and Gimme-Mom). It's very boring not being able to play with them.

The first night, Mom and Dad tried to keep me downstairs. HA! Like they thought that would really work. It didn't, of course! I whined and cried and Dad came down and helped me up the stairs (I'm not supposed to be doing stairs at all... Shhhhhhhhh... Don't tell Dr. Brod!). In the morning, Dad helped me back down the stairs. And now, it's a pattern. Dad helps me up the stairs at night and down in the morning Laugh Laugh!! I knew I'd win that fight. It just went way easier than expected!

On the Tuesday following the surgery, we went back. Of course we did, I had to make an appearance for all my adoring fans. And I made a new one! We went to see the Physical Therapist for my exercises for the next 4 weeks and of course she became an instant fan. This handsome body will win ANY one over ... Laugh Laugh!! I started on 2 5-minute walks per day plus some leg exercises and massages. Then we add 5 more minutes per walk each week until I'm up to about 30-minutes per walk. I can also (probably) rebegin my hydrotherapy at about week 6! I LOVE my hydrotherapy!! We'll see what Dr. Brod says when he rexrays in a couple of weeks. But I still can't play with my girls <sad>.

So for this week (Week 3), I'm still stuck in this dang pen during the day. Unable to do anything but take 2 10-minute walks per day. And eat, I guess. Although I get less than I used to! I've lost 5 pounds and Dr. Brod was HAPPY about it! HAPPY I say! It's just not right.

The good news is, the hair is starting to grow back on my leg already and the staples in the knee came out. I'm feeling good and walking a little better. 4 weeks isn't so awful long, is it?

In other news - Mom and Gimme-Mom and Val have been to some shows recently. They've been doing pretty well, although how they could without ME(!) I don't know. But Mom says Val went Best in Sweepstakes one day and Gimme went Best of Breed that same day. My buddy Stig (Val's brother) finished his Championship on that same day too!! A busy show month I guess!!

And that's it for now, internet friends. I hope you all have a pen of your home to keep you safe and warm.

Alf

Week 1

So, yeah. I've been absent from the blog scene for a while. I mean, a looooooonnnnggg while!!

While I've been away, Gimme-Mom came into season again and that blew my little brain cells away. She was pretty fun and interesting before she came into season.... but once she came in for sure, I was so distracted no one could get my attention.

And then Mom and Dad decided that I needed surgery. For what seems like a billion years I've had some knee problems related to a torn cruciate ligament. Well, Mom and Dad decided that I'd better have that fixed. So, yesterday they dropped me off with the wonderful people at Deer Creek Animal Hospital <virtual wave to Dr. Brod!>. I don't really remember much of the day, but when I woke up my leg was bandaged and MY HAIR WAS GONE!! OK, maybe not all of my hair, but the hair on my leg is GONE!! To a fashion savvy guy like me, that's bad news!! How long? How long until the hair grows back??!! <SIGH>

So, it took eternity for Mom to come and get me. She tells me it was only overnight, but when 3 hours is forever to someone, overnight is an eternity! But I was so happy to see Mom when she came to get me! I slobbered all over her dress! Whoooopppsssssss Laugh Laugh!! She said that Dr. Brod laughed over the length of my tongue. She said he had never seen one so long and it stretched all across the operating table! I don't believe her! I know I have a long tongue (it gets in the way when I eat), but it's not that long! But then they got serious and talked about my knee. There is a lot of cartilage loss in my knee. There may be a chance that I will never be normal. But of course, that's expected. I'm far above normal! Laugh Laugh!! Mom, Dad, and Dr. Brod tell me it will be 6-8 weeks for a full recovery. And Dr. Brod wants me to drop some weight. Drop some weight?? I'm not even close to being as heavy as my brothers. Losing some weight will be interesting. But I suppose it makes sense. The lighter I am, the better my joints will be. And we all want me to get better and back to perfect, right? Of course we do! Laugh Laugh!!

So, I named this blog "Week 1" because I'll blog weekly about my recovery. Next week will be Week 2, and then Week 3 (and so on...). I'm hoping to be able to give you the essence of what I'll be going through. This week, it's all rest and relaxation ... in a very small area. No playing with Gimme-Mom, Trekkie, or Val. No walkies with Gramps. Just boring time in my X-Pen <sigh>.

In the meantime, I now have a plate and pins in my leg. And NO HAIR. It might take me a while to get over this....

Party On Peeps!

Alf