Tag Archives: surgery

Photoblog, Project 365

Project 365 : Bailey and the Little Angel

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After Bailey’s sock-swallowing incident this weekend, and the subsequent emergency surgery, today Bailey came home. She’s sporting a better than six-inch incision as a permanent reminder of this rough weekend.

However, as bad as I’m sure she felt, she gave us a reminder of the important things. Darla tells this story from her trip home with Bailey:

After I picked Bailey today I was given clearance from the Emergency Hospital to take Bailey to the pet store to size and buy a collar to keep her from licking wounds (special collar, called an E-Collar or Elizabethan Collar). After we selected our right size, we went to check out.

At the counter, a young girl with Downs Syndrome was in line and ran up to Bailey and gave her a big hug. Realizing what was going to happen, and knowing the pup had just been through a rough day, I reached down to hold her collar. I wasn’t sure how she’d feel after all the work she had done on her. In the background, the Mother was saying, “That’s a Strange Dog honey, ask permission.”

Well, none needed. Bailey just let her hug on her and pet her head and her back like it was her long lost friend. The little girl looked right into Bail’s eyes and Bailey replied with a well orchestrated gentle, almost slow motion, lick on her nose. The girl smiled ear to ear and giggled and clapped with pure joy.

I asked the gal if she would like to give her a treat — and she shook her head violently. So I reached into the buy-it-by-the-pound-loose-treats and took a small one and asked the girl to put her hand out flat and open. She did as requested. I placed the kibble on her little trusting hand and Bailey, with no solid food in two days, slurped it right off. The girl giggled. So we did the exercise again, and again, Bailey slurped and the girl giggled into laughter. The young girl reached up to get a kibble and brought back a full sized dog biscuit, which was a bit much. So we directed her to ‘little puppy sizes’ and did it one more time, giggling and laughing the entire time.

Treat – pet pet pet – Treat – Pet Pet Pet (a little harder) – Treat, smile, laugh, PET PET PET

Momma was ready to go and called her daughter, with full sweeping motion the girl hugged our pups neck and buried her face and nuzzled. Bailey nuzzled back. They hugged for a good 10 or 15 seconds. Almost out the door, the girl swung back, ran inside for one more encompassing hug and Bailey soaked it up as she hugged back.

Such sweetness!

Berners

A Tough Dog Weekend

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Molly had a surgery a week-and-a-half ago to remove a growth. It was sent off, and was found to be a cyst, not cancer. That’s great news. However, this weekend, her stitches weren’t quite holding well, and she’s gotten an infection in the sutured area. It’s not a big, big deal, but it was another visit to the vet for her yesterday morning.

Fast forward to last night. Bailey started being ill around midnight, and after a quick phone consult with our vet tech, we thought we were out of the woods. Just a short bit later, she was ill again, and it was obvious that something was wrong. Beck took her to an emergency vet hospital, and it was good that she did. Somehow, Bailey’d gotten hold of two socks, and had swallowed them whole. Her stomach was full of them, and they were starting to work their way through her system. This was nowhere near as bad as it could’ve been, but it meant a surgery. Bailey’s still at the hospital, and we’re hoping to bring her home tomorrow or Tuesday. She’ll have a week or more of recovery, and I don’t know how we’ll keep her still, given her six-month-old puppyhood, but we’ll find a way I’m sure.

Not a very cool weekend, but it could’ve been a lot worse.