Getting Closer

We are now under one month away from surgery and I continue to feel nervous anticipating what is to come but also glad to have taken this time to prepare well. I am beyond humbled and grateful to say that we have raised enough to cover the cost of the surgery and almost all of the additional expenses (therapy, work with the behaviourist and home accomodations). I cried with relief and gratitude seeing each donation come in and while having to ask for help meant swallowing a lot of pride, I know that I did the right thing to help Noelle get better. We have had three sessions with the behaviourist now and it has been incredible. It's hard work relearning everything but the practice is paying off and we are having more success with controlled walks, which is key in aiding her recovery. It's really me who needs to do the work and be vigilant as she picks up on everything very quickly and wants to please. Her reactivity to other dogs and general fear/anxiety in some situations will take time to overcome and he said we may never be able to fully do so as she missed key parts of her early socialization by being removed from her mother so young. That said, I am seeing progress which is making me happy and helping me feel more confident about managing things post op. We are also working with her on her fear of being touched. It's not safe to manipulate her legs without her wearing a muzzle (she tries to bite) so we have been working on creating a very positive association with putting it on and then letting me slowly start massaging her back. We will need to do hot/cold therapy, PROM exercises and massage post op and she'll also be working with the physical therapist once a week so these practice sessions are vital. Overall she is doing well and I feel as though the changes to her diet and added supplements are helping keep the pain to a minimum. She still sits with her legs out to the side and struggles to get up but she's walking quite well and doesn't limp after our walks. The behaviourist suggested I switch to raw feeding as she needs to be slightly underweight and have more lean muscle going in for surgery so I've made that change and already see a difference. I am lucky in that she eats everything. Here she's waiting patiently for her raw breakfast with blueberries.

I've also modified things in the house and have blocked off her beloved sofa so she can't jump up on it (working hard to keep that other knee from going out too!). I could see she was a bit sad to have lost her best friend but she's adapted well to having her bed on the floor and is perfectly cozy there too. As she's not the only one who likes going up there Theo got her Christmas gift early in the form of a stress reduing donut bed and she never leaves it. With the colder days setting in it's perfect.

The learning curve with this injury has been immense but in many ways I'm grateful for all that I'm learning and the information I'm gathering that is making our lives better. I can't thank you all enough for the support in making this surgery happen and look forward to the day I can share videos of her happily running free again. Love to all. Jess