Hi everyone,

Ernie had successful surgery on Friday and is being a legend. Prior to amputation he needed help to get in the car, less than 12 hours after surgery he jumped into the car unaided!

He's pretty nimble on 3 legs already, which is a huge relief. He has three drains inserted, two of which are sewn internally onto the remainder of the sciatic nerve, one of these is to inject local anaesthetic if required. The drain from his wound is leaking/bleeding and I'm getting myself mentally prepared to change the huge dressing, which the vet has given me instructions to do. 

Thanks so much for all your ideas and support, hopefully it will continue to be a positive move for Ernie. 

All the best, Vicky. 

Hi to everyone who supported me through the amputation decision, thank you so much xx

When the vet operated he removed his sciatic nerve entirely and found a tiny tumour on a side branch of the nerve, which he said he has never seen in 30 years of practice. It also didn't show on the MRI scans. So, thankfully it was completely the right decision to make...PHEW. 

I really appreciated all your kind words and encouragement. Ernie, who is now fully healed, with a thin coating of fur now and he's boinging about like a canine kangaroo! He's also medication-free now which is a relief.

It has been a while since I logged in so I hope all your dogs are well too? 

Ernie is physically fit again, can still play football and has been going to hydrotherapy which he loves. The only down side of the operation is that his larynx is slightly damaged and he has a loud snore/gurgle going on at night. He's had 5 sessions under general anaesthetic and the tube down his throat has caused a partial paralysis of the larynx . This has to be weighed up against the new freedom he has I suppose, and there's no option for another operation anyway.

The other thing I'm curious about is if anyone's dog had anal gland problems after a hind leg removal? It may not be linked, but seems to have started right afterwards. One side, the remaining leg side is infected and is still not good after antibiotics. 

Ernie has also developed a new trick of peeing while standing on two front legs, which for a massive lurcher looks hilarious and causes a lot of attention!! 

Also, I mentioned I have another dog, a saluki who now protects Ernie from other dogs approaching, while mine are on the lead. This is getting annoying as I managed to train him out of lead aggression previously. Ernie was knocked over a few days ago by a fast moving dog and Pharaoh went insane and knocked the in-coming dog to the ground. I suppose split second accidents will happen, I just hope a fall doesn't damage his other back leg. Does anyone have any experience of this 'over-protection'? 

Anyway, thanks again. I felt like there was always someone out there, completely getting where I was coming from. 

I hope you are all well, Vicky, Ernie and Pharaoh xx

Hi,

Thanks for fixing the video Jerry. I copied the URL but wasn't certain it was correct at the time! I've read 'let's talk about poop' thread, which is interesting, thanks you. 

Thanks Otis and Tess. Really sorry to read about your dogs. That was a very tough year for you. xx

Vicky, Ernie and Pharaoh.