Check out MrB!  He’s almost back to his old self.  🙂

I filmed him to day heading down to visit his work mates, hopping along like a champion.  His wound is getting smaller every day – it’s now about 1/3 of the size it was when he came out of hospital.  We are still doing daily dressing changes but that will only be for another week or maybe two. As long as the skin keeps growing back I’m happy to keep doing the changes.  At this stage it looks like he won’t need another skin graft, which is the BEST outcome as it means he can keep his little bob-tail.  (They were going to use the tail for donor skin.)

MrB has seemed really happy and settled so we’ve now weaned him off the pain medication.  He is sleeping much better and best of all, is now seeking out pats.  (Pets?)  Before I think touch was too painful, but now he’s showing real pleasure in a good scratch and is actively seeking out a bum rub.  Ha ha, thanks Badger.  He is definitely back on guard duty, barking at people who need to be barked at, then looking embarrassed when he realises it’s a friend.  The “bottomless pit” appetite is back too, (though his tummy still seems a little unsettled.

The stiffness in his back leg and overall balance are improving every day.  The biggest issue seems to be pain in his right shoulder.  He can’t seem to lie on that side without help to change position, so the shoulder is getting very stiff.  I do passive movement exercises with him whenever we do a dressing change and this seems to help.

So the good news continues.  HOORAY!

This is a reasonably frivolous post!! That’s right. There’s NO dramatic news to share! How wonderful to be at this stage of recovery.

Yesterday whilst taking MrB for a walk, I spotted one of our neighbours who has two young daughters. They know MrB well as he used to pop over and visit their lovely dog regularly. I was a little bit worried that the kids might be upset so I kept MrB away.  Later on I sent the neighbour a brief explanation with a video so that she could explain it to the kids.

Later that afternoon I got a message: Check your letter box!  Inside were half a dozen fresh eggs and some Easter arts and craft from the kids.  The note says “Dear Libby and James.  We were sad to hear about Badger.  We hope he feels good.”  How cute is that? 🙂

I’m pleased to report that MrB does feel good.  He is starting to get up independently, stand up to eat dinner, sniff around, eat grass and be my guard dog (as long as he can bark from his comfy bed).  He even let me do a photo shoot for the kids next door….. ENJOY!

BIG leap forward today!
He marched on up to the top of the hill and he marched back down again. 🙂

This is the first time we have managed to walk up the hill since Badger’s operation. It’s not a huge walk but as you’ll see in the video, the ground is uneven at the top. The most exciting thing about this walk is that once we were up there, he was keen to sniff and wee on EVERYTHING. He has been a bit disinterested in his surroundings up until now so it was amazing to see him acting like his old self. At one point he even started wandering off to our neighbour’s house and I had to call him back. It’s a little too early in recovery for him to play with the dogs next door.

The other thing I am really happy with is that his back leg is moving and bending much more freely when he walks. At one point in the video you can even see him correct his stance. His leg is stretched out and stiff, then he does a little hop to bend it. YES!

We are still doing daily dressings but we can see progress and improvement every day. Two weeks ago I didn’t think we would ever get to this point. We are slowly and cautiously breathing a sigh of relief.

I can’t quite believe it’s been 30 days, and wow, what a month! Apart from our own doggy dramas, we are also coping with the mind boggling fallout from the Corona Virus. On the positive side, I am “stuck” home with Badger so I’m do not have to worry about leaving him home alone. We also have a beautiful space to wander around so being confined is less of a challenge.

Badger and I went for his follow up appointment with his surgeon today. It was all very surreal as they collected him at the door wearing gloves and masks and I was not allowed in to see the surgeon face to face. We chatted by phone afterwards!

The good news is that MrB had his stitches out! YAY! He is still bandaged up, as you will see in the video, but after his next dressing change we can leave half of the bandages off. There is still an area of open wound that we will have to keep covered for another couple of weeks. The skin is regrowing, and his surgeon is happy with his progress.

The frustrating part is that he is still quite lethargic and showing pain when he gets up and down. You can see in the video that his back leg is still really stiff. When he stops, he starts curling, and that leg is on an awful angle. After watching a few of the physiotherapy rehabilitation videos (thanks Tripawds!) I have started doing some gently stretching and range of movement exercises. I think it is helping with the pain and stiffness. It’s much easier to move that stiff back leg now and he’s not so defensive when I touch him. He is definitely less jumpy. He is also showing a bit more interest in what’s happening around him. Sniffing the trees, giving visitors the hypnotic “FEED ME” stare, and warning us when someone walks by. It’s so good to see these little flashes of personality again. For the record, his treat of choice is cat food. Ha!

Nice to have a more positive report this time!! I hope the next 30 days get better and better.

Another couple of days of not too much change, which at the moment seems like a good thing.
We are due for a checkup with his surgeon this week. Hopefully she will have good things to say.
He does seem to be in a little bit more pain but I think it might be muscular. Once we get his wound stable, Prince Badgington will be hitting the gym!

(Apologies for the lack of photos with this entry. I’ve hit my photo limit & need to decide whether to upgrade to a supporter account.)