Last Day of Freedom

[Anybodyhome]

Our youngest, Master is his name, is 5 years old and had TPLO or CCL (human equivalent of ACL) surgery Thursday. He spent some time at the dog park before going to the vet, but when his leg is sore enough, he just lays down and watches the world go by.

Surgery went well and his 12 weeks of recovery will be difficult for my wife and I because he has no clue why he needs to wear an e-cone for a couple weeks until the staples come out, or why he needs to sleep in a cage, why he can't jump up and down off the bed or couch, or why Mom & Dad keep feeding him pills, including sedatives, because he's never been confined since we rescued him just over 4 years ago. He has not once yelped in pain and was walking (with help, of course) within hours of the surgery. Here's hoping the next 11 1/2 weeks go as well as the last 4 days.

On Sunday, July 19, 2015 we found Master laying in the tall grass outside the dog park fence. He had a cord and a chain around his neck with a padlock attached (hence, the name "Master"). He weighed in at 33 pounds, with ribs and hips showing, and he looked as though he lived in the dirt. Despite his condition, we got him inside the dog park fence and tried to assess his disposition with our older dog. We got him some water and he immediately began playing with the other dogs. Took him home and immediately posted a lost dog photo- we were off to raft the Grand Canyon in a few days and had no idea what we were going to do with him. A friend kept him, got him to our vet and here we are- he tops out at about 88 lbs and is solid as a rock. Handsome, loyal and a personality that doesn't quit. 

 

[cookinbrak]

Good on you for taking what someone else considered trash and finding treasure.

[cookinwithgas]

I love my rescue dog shes the best 

[rayzor]

Love what you're doing. We live close to a river and for some reason people drop dogs off there (at a bridge nearby) and a lot of times they will make there way to my property before moving along. We had one show up at our door just sitting there smiling at me like she was saying, "Ok, here I am!" and my daughter fell in love. Jack Russell/long hair Chihuahua mix from what I can tell. We took pictures and took them around, but I live way out in the sticks so there wasn't much of a chance of finding owners. Went to some of the nearby vets to see if anyone recognized her. No one thought she looked familiar so she wasn't from around here. The dog was clean, gentle, and housebroken and has been a part of our family for 6 years.

[rayzor]

I do wonder what dogs think when they go through a surgery or anything like that. We had to get bladder stones removed from ours about a year ago. I do know she was happy to come home and couldn't wait to start playing with our girls, but she did a good job of resting.

[Anybodyhome]

On 8/5/2019 at 12:54 PM, rayzor said:

I do wonder what dogs think when they go through a surgery or anything like that. We had to get bladder stones removed from ours about a year ago. I do know she was happy to come home and couldn't wait to start playing with our girls, but she did a good job of resting.

Yeah, I mean I feel guilty when I look at mine. He's got this look like, "WTF did I do?" while he's in his cage. He's on his leash and we have to use the gut sling to pick his hind legs up going up or down the steps to the yard. I know the drugs are keeping him down a little, but any signs of his personality are few and far between. This is a dog who, since we rescued him, gets to run the forest trail with the creek 4 days a week, goes to doggie daycare 1-2 times week and gets to walk the river trail and swim every Sunday, not to mention the dog park trips.

So, for 10 more weeks he'll be restricted to 10-minute leashed walks, a steady diet of antibiotics, pain killers and sedatives. That's like a full dog year. Geez...