Dottie had her amputation surgery the day after she was hit by a car. Wednesday December 12, 2018. It was a long day. Dottie had blood transfusions. She had a total amputation of her rear left leg, a surgical repaired artery, stitches over her eye. She was bruised and scraped up, a scratch on her eye. She stayed in the hospital until Friday afternoon. We brought her home and have been working to nurse her back to health ever since.
She was relieved to be outside. Her nose was happy. The first day she spent some time sitting in the yard. She walked a bit. We thought this was going to be a breeze. They told us to start her on some Tramdol, that we should get ahead of the pain. She also had a fentanyl patch. I was familiar with these mediations from my late Jazz’s cruciate repair surgery. I was prepared because Jazz reacted poorly to Tramadol by howling for a full night.
The first few days and nights were restless, worrisome. I called the vet at least once a day. She was having lots of accidents on her potty pads. She didn’t appear to be in pain but she was getting lethargic and stopped eating. Her incision was seeping. She was fighting taking her pills. She didn’t want to get up.
I called the vet. She ordered an appetite stimulant and told us to stop the Tramadol. I picked up the Entyce and it provided immediate results! Massive salivation and she gobbled up some food. She started to wake up as she came off the Tramdol. Things were looking up again!
But the next couple of days were less rough but still rough. Dottie was eating better but was not comfortable. We called the vet and got some Metacam (NSAID) for her discomfort. It seemed to help a bit but the incision site was bothering her. We did warm compresses, some ice therapy to try to take down some of the inflammation. We talked to vet, emailed pictures and were told that everything was normal. We had no sign of infection, we just needed to be patient with Dottie’s recovery. Remember, Dottie survived being hit by an SUV.
Fast forward to today. Dottie has a small hole near her incision. Her vet says this is a naturally forming drain to release the fluid (I know, and it’s gross). She’s still eating well but is still weak and sore. She’s resting more comfortably, having doggie dreams. She’s wagging her tail Everytime I talk to her. We aren’t having potty accidents. She’s not getting up on her own yet but does adjust her sleeping position and is concentrating on her balancing and taking some steps during her potty breaks.
Each day things get a little bit better. We are getting our Dottie back. ❤️
Thank you for sharing this! We are barely 10 days out from a total hind leg amputation and I’m soaking up all the information I can. We’ve had some similar recovery issues So I’m glad to know some are common. Hoping your baby is doing better s few years later!
Hi Jill, Dottie is great! She is a very happy dog and has few limitations. Wishing you the best through your pup’s recovery. Patience is the best medicine. ❤️