Hi Badger lovers.  The boy has had a few more challenges this weekend, complete with a visit to the emergency vet and two home visits from his surgeon!  His regular vet and the specialist clinic have been closed as it is a public holiday where we live.  Unfortunately, Badger chose this exact weekend to have a total collapse of his wound!  He lost a lot of blood this morning, and all of the skin around his wound has died.  🙁  First thing tomorrow he is going back to the specialist clinic for more reconstructive surgery.  An awful complication. In spite of this he is in good spirits.  I also have so much gratitude for his surgeon!  It was amazing for her to do a home visit, but there is no way we could have managed alone.

MrB looking amazingly calm and happy, having an evening walk amongst the olives.

Mr B will be in hospital for at least a couple of days, giving us a chance to gather our strength for the next round.  Wish us luck!

Drugged out and hopefully feeling no pain! Mr B hates being in the “Cone of Shame.”

We had a house call from Badger’s regular vet today.  After chatting to his surgeon and evaluating the wound, they decided to remove some of the unhealthy tissue.  They are both pretty happy with how the skin looks underneath but there’s a small chance he might need a skin graft next week.  Please send healing thoughts Mr B’s way.

Right now he has ALL the drugs and is pretty out of it.  I’m happy for him to stay as calm and quiet as possible because I’m not really looking forward to cleaning and changing the dressing.

I can’t lie: it’s been a bad couple of days.

His skin isn’t healing well.  His pain medication hasn’t been working.  The poor boy even tried to chomp both of us to protect his poor wound.  This is NOT normal behaviour.  We were at an all time low on Wednesday, sending photos and cries for help to the vet.

Fortunately, I jumped onto the Tripawds forums and started reading the entries about pain relief.  Gabapentin.  I asked the vet, and she agreed it was worth a try.

I picked up a huge stash of drugs today, including the Gabapentin.  About an hour after taking it, he seemed calmer.  He approached me for a lean and a cuddle, and more or less fell asleep on my shoulder.  James managed to ease him down onto his bed without so much as a whimper.  His legs relaxed.  I was able to gently bend and move his remaining back leg, which has been stiff and braced for days.  He fell into a deep sleep and had some “doggy dream,” twitching and running in his sleep.  His tongue lolled out as he relaxed.  We breathed a huge sigh of relief.

When he woke up he was still pretty chilled out.  He ate his dinner with something like his old appetite, wolfing everything down rather than the picky hand fed Prince Badgington we’ve been dealing with for the last week.  He licked his lips to ask for seconds. 🙂  Now he is sleeping again and it still seems much deeper and relaxed than it has since his operation.  HOPEFULLY this is a turning point.

Badger cuddling a box that arrived in the mail today. It is a present from his dog-cousin Ruffy!

The other bright spot in today is that Mr Badger received a package in the mail: a “get well soon” present from his dog-cousin Ruffy.  As you can see from the photo, he was a bit too relaxed to fully appreciate his gift but it cheered us up no end!

Last of all, I want to thank everyone who contributes to the Tripawds Community.  The information shared here has saved my sanity more than once, and I’m truly hoping the Gabapentin is a turning point for Mr B.

What a lovely gift. He was too sleepy to eat them at first but later on he happily gobbled up a doggy love heart.

Day 6

After a reasonably good night (he slept all night!) Monday pretty rapidly deteriorated.  I don’t want to get too graphic here but the best word to describe it is “gory.”  Some of his skin is not healing so he was in a fair bit of pain.  I took him out for a walk but he struggled, and he needed a lot of cleaning up.  So did the floor.  I didn’t know where to start and my poor dog was in pain.  His pain patch had also expired the night before.  He wouldn’t sit down and I couldn’t do anything to comfort him.  Cue ME having a total meltdown.

James came home and together we made Mr B clean and comfortable.  His surgeon got in touch with our local vet and ordered some new pain medication, and antibiotic cream for Badger’s poor skin.  We ate cake.  The world was slightly better, but I don’t think I stopped crying all day.  I’m very thankful that it was my night to sleep!

Badger REFUSING to stand on the non-slip mat or lovely soft bed I so thoughtfully provided.  Instead he wants to hide under the table on a slippery floor.

Day 7

Mr B only got up once during the night, but the pain and general “goriness” continued this morning.  We took more photos and sent them to his surgeon, then all we could do was wait for further advice.

Right in the nick of time, my sister in law messaged me:
                Sorry to hear. We are thinking of you. But it was amazing what a couple
                of weeks with Max* did.  At first we worried if we had done the right
                thing for him. Don’t despair. Give it some time. And just keep
                encouraging him and yourselves. Big hugs.

It was exactly what I needed to hear at that moment, and the day slowly started to get better from there.

Even though it looks like some of his skin flap might (gulp) die, the swelling has gone down noticeably, his urine is flowing more naturally and he is less distressed.  And less gory.

He is also pretty funny, settling into his “invalid” role with aplomb.  This morning he wanted breakfast but apparently couldn’t lift his head enough to eat.  I’m having to either hand feed him or put the food near his head and let him eat lying down!  This is why I have christened him “Prince Badgington” the Very Spoilt Dog.

“Prince Badgington The Very Spoilt Dog” eating breakfast in bed

*Max was my nephew-dog, an all around good fella, who had major surgery on both front legs after jumping out of a second floor window during an earthquake!  He went on to live a long and very happy life, mostly at ground level.

Badger is home and we are feeling a bit shell-shocked.  He is doing amazingly well but you do feel like you’re “on call” every minute of the day and night, making sure he is clean and comfortable.  James and I will take it in turns to sleep.

We picked MrB up on Saturday morning, and he was very happy to see us.  He walked into the consulting room, which we still find thoroughly amazing!  Yes, they told us he would be walking but you don’t really believe it until you see it.  The vets said that they really only used the sling to help him up and down. As soon as he was on solid ground they left him to it.  The biggest problem they had was keeping him out of the bushes – he is a dog who loves to sniff and explore.

The worst part of the day was getting him into the car.  We had to pick him up, which caused him a lot of pain.  He yelped.  We felt awful.  🙁  The drive home takes about an hour so his poor body was under a bit of stress.  Towards the end of the trip, I accidentally dropped my bag on him!  He yelped and cried.  I am the worst person in the world. 🙁

When we arrived home, James made a makeshift ramp out of a picnic table and a non-slip mat. He walked out of the car easily, with no apparent pain.  We are champions!  🙂

Badger walked around for a while, sniffing and marking his territory, and yet again, we were amazed by how well he can walk.  When he was satisfied with his domain, we settled him down for much needed treats and a nap.

Later in the day, things got a bit stressful.  His abdomen seemed to be swelling and his skin became very red.  I’m not sure who was more stressed: us or Badger.  We were very aware that the vet’s surgery is an hour away and really didn’t want to drive him back.  Fortunately, we were able to send his surgeon photos, and we could discuss his needs on the phone.  We cleaned him up, gave him his evening meds, and put a compress on his side.  By the evening things were looking much better, and we breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Day 5

Badger sitting on is bed with a treat between his paws.

We all managed to get some sleep!  MrB only got up twice during the night then settled down well afterwards.  He gets a treat after each walk to settle him down.  According to MrB, he needs to be hand fed a selection of different foods.  He doesn’t want to eat out of a common dog bowl.  Fair enough.  His favourite snack, Sky Raisins* are back on the menu.  They provide a good distraction, but we worry when he tries to chase them. He is moving too quickly and going off of the carpet.  So as you can probably tell, his spirits are fairly good, but his poor skin still looks red, bruised, swollen and sore.  All we can do is keep him clean and settled between walks, and tell him what a VERY good boy he is.

Mr B is having a well earned sleep.

*Sky Raisin = fly 😀