Bellona is still doing great! I can’t believe how good she doing and adapting for her missing limb. Last night Big B tolerated her pain better so we skipped giving her Tramadol last night and this morning. I think she has 1 dose of Rimadyl left so we’ll see if her pain level changes this afternoon.
The downfall will be if Bellona wants to push her activity level further. So far Bellona has been pretty mellow but the better she feels the more reckless she’ll probably get.
We had a quiet Valentine’s yesterday. I bought Bellona some shoes to help with traction (we’ll see if she’ll tolerate having than put on) and both Caesar & Bellona got plush Lobsters. I’ll get some pictures tonight.
How did the shoes work out? I bought a set from Ruff Wear years ago when REI had them on clearance, and I’m glad I have them now. Also, for indoor use I bought 2 sets of the socks from Woodrow Wear, linked from this site. Those socks are great for floor transitions. If you buy the off-season ones, they’re half off. The Ruff Wear shoes can be a bit sloppy, so the socks inside fix that nicely.
Glad to hear pretty Bellona’s plugging along so nicely. And great news on the lymph nodes, too.
BTW, one reason I wondered if you were in my neck of the woods was your comment about test results from CSU. That’s where Dakota had his amputation. They also got the whole leg, but he was in a clinical trial that required that. My kid really wanted that leg. To gross out teachers. I’m sure you understand.
Shari,
Our vet said that CSU is the best place for testing the leg to find out the specific cancer / problem of the bone.
Our vet is wonderful and great at pinpointing an action plan. It might seem silly her leg was sent from WA to CO but I’m glad our vet goes with the best.
How’s your baby doing now? I’m glad you already have the RW booties. Normally Bellona hates having her feet touched so we haven’t attempted the socks or booties yet. I went a nontraditional route and bought baby rubber nubby booties and toddler size socks with rubber designs for traction. Bellona is doing really good without added traction and won’t need these most of the time, but it’s worth a shot if Big B will be on slick floors.
If I didn’t already have some of this stuff, I wouldn’t be buying specialty, either. I bought the boots ages ago when we thought Dakota would be our backpacking partner. His car aversion put out that fire. But REI had them for so cheap, I thought I was nuts to pass them up. That clearance sale is also how I came to have the Ruff Wear harness, too. We had one dog backpack with it and carry her own food.
We had another dog, Belle, who we lost in July of 2007. She was our forever dog, and even Dakota admits it. Belle was extraordinary. She lived to be 15 1/2 but her last couple of years were hard. She had a degenerative spinal disease and her back legs slowly went. She would drag her toes. That’s why I have a ton of booties and socks, etc. And I tried the baby socks with her but they just didn’t stay on. I thought I’d try the Woodrow Wear ones and see if they stay on better, and they do. At least for the shape of foot we have here.
Somewhere on this site I read that 90% of vet oncologists learned at CSU, so I’m not surprised that’s where they want to send their extra dog legs. I’ve been told many times how lucky we are to be within 90 minutes or so of them. I know UC Davis is also just as good and many dogs go there, including Jerry. I love our regular vet, but the overnight pain management after the surgery just didn’t compare to what Dakota got at CSU. Our vet is a one-man clinic and he simply cannot park overnight with his patients.
Dakota has started getting around better and this morning he is wanting to lick his incision. It’s the first attention he’s paid to it and I consider it a good sign. Either he’s more alert and aware, or it’s healing and maybe itching, or all of the above. His appetite is a bit off, but I’m good with that. He will be better off if he can drop a few pounds. He isn’t overweight but he could be leaner. He has the biggest chest I’ve ever seen. That chest is one reason his was given 2 series of chest x-rays. They couldn’t imagine a chest that big without a tumor inside it. Oh well, he’s got some spare parts so his chest came from a Mastiff maybe.
Keep us posted; it’s nice to read about someone so close on the timeline, and Bellona is so pretty that it’s good to see her pretty pictures.