Olive Update

The cone . . . was miserable. We kept it on her for the required 10 days, and then I drove her to her far away vet where she had to be wrestled to get the tummy staples out. Three days later (per vet instructions) we removed the cone--just in time for her to meet Aunt K when she and C and M stopped over for lunch after church--and two days after that, Olive FINALLY got a bath! She's much shinier and better smelling now.

The running up and down the stairs was stressing me out and was probably why the wound was taking so long to heal (Noah caught her laying on Buck and my bed--it's like four feet high! She should not have climbed it. Eeeek!!) So, how do you keep a dog from being a dog? Close the doors, build a fence . . . and then upgrade the fence when you see a friend has one for sale and is willing to deliver :)

I took her outside for some fresh air (since she wasn't allowed to go for walks) and found a pink tennis ball from Muriel's collection on the lawn. You would have thought I handed her a juicy steak! She was so excited! She chewed that ball until she crushed it :) At one point, it rolled under the cone, instead of into the cone--and then stuck to the velcro strip near the bottom. I laughed so hard as she was trying to figure out where it went, and all the while it was hanging just inches below her chin. Poor dog!!

We've had to help her play with toys and chew on bones, because her paws don't reach inside the cone to hold things steady. She got so frustrated, she'd just go lay on her bed with her back to them in resignation. We finally figured out that if we could hold the "whatever" secure, then she could gnaw without losing track of the object.

Cone head problems, LOL!

She's so much happier and perkier now that she's free from the cone. Her incision looks 95% healed.

We are a week away from her ultrasound to find out if any of this surgery craziness worked. She's lost her appetite and is only eating the "treats" part of her meals, so morning sickness may have set in (dogs get it, too; crazy!) I'll keep you (blog) posted on the results! :)