Counting Down

We celebrated our "Gotcha Day" this week - it's now been four years since I picked up baby Noëlle and her sisters at the shelter (she's the middle one in the photo above). It's the first time I've had a pet since they were a puppy (or kitten) and it's been an amazing journey watching her grow up, even with its challenges. We are just two days away from surgery and my nerves have kicked in hard the last couple of days. A few sleepless night and a lot of wondering how this is going to go. I have done pretty well keeping it together but did loose my shit at midnight last night when Noelle freaked out about using the balcony potty system I spent hours putting together for her. I had a large flat plastic tub (very low and wide) and I filled it with kitty litter and sand from the beach. She wanted nothing to do with it and trembled and shook in my arms as I tried to coax her in. Needless to say I spent this morning scooping the litter out and went back to square one. We are now trying a totally flat tray which I've lined with plastic and pee pads. I'm covering it all with grass that I'm slowly gathering on our walks (not sure that's legal but I'm desperate). Here's my work in progress.

I spent part of the morning sitting out there calmly and and eating and when she came by I gave her bacon. I'm hoping to create a positive association with the space and let her slowly investigate. Learned my lesson last night not to push too quick with her. By time I have it fully covered I think she'll be ok with it but it's hard to say. On my support group people have said she'll go there once she gets desperate enough, but that makes me sad thinking that she's going to be feeling panicked at all. The whole surgery is hard and the recovery harder. While I know we'll get through it the dread is kicking in. I've tried to make the house cheery and cozy. The Christmas tree is up and I've gotten nice smelling candles and lots of good food and wine ready to make for a holiday dinner. We'll just bunker down and go day by day. For anyone reading this that is preparing for surgery, here is a list of what I have gotten and adjustments I've made to accomodate her anxiety/adjust to her needs. Rear support harness with handle. Both a sling and a towel freaked her out so I got a harness to give me more control. I can also leave it on her for a bit so she gets used to it Inflatable donut cone. This is only for when I'm sitting right next to her watching that she doesn't lick the incision. The rest of the time she'll be in the traditional plastic cone. From what I've read many infections come from them licking the incision so this is important to be careful with. Pee pads, diapers and a plastic shower curtain to put on my mattress (I'll be moving it from my bed to the living room floor to sleep next to her the first two weeks). Some people report accidents with their pups post surgery so I'm preparing. Pumpkin, yogurt, boiled chicken and bone broth. The first few days after surgery they don't always want to eat or have stomach upsets so these are good to have on hand. I also have some diarrea medicine just in case and have put her on probiotics. Support for "good" knee. The PT told me it's important to support their good leg as well since they are shifting more weight over. A custom made brace is likely the best but we are using a sleeve per the vet suggestion and it's fine. Rugs or yoga mats. It's important they don't slip on the floor post surgery so if you don't have carpet you need to cover all surfaces. I've moved my area rugs to cover the floors then added yoga mats on the rest of the space. Kongs, lick mats and brain games/puzzles. I freeze yogurt and baby food in the kongs and on the lick mats and that keeps her busy for a bit. Since we have so much less outdoor exercise time this is important to burn off some mental energy. I also get bones specially cut at the butcher for her (beef marrow) and those can take her up to 40 minutes to get through which is great. That's most of it though I am sure I am forgetting things. The prep and the worry is a lot, but I'm grateful we can do this and am anxious to get the surgery over so that recovery can begin. I drop her Tuesday morning at 9am. Usually they are kept overnight but due to her nerves they said they'll likely release her the same day as she'll be more relaxed at home. I've arranged for a friend to go with me to pick her up so I can sit in the back with her and give her love and comfort, plus I'll need help carrying her in. I'll update once she's home. Xo Jess