Hi Pam and Shelby,

Welcome to our Tripawds family! I'm so sorry to hear about Shelby's diagnosis… But once she has her surgery and heals from it without any complications… she should do well!

I also had a golden retriever… Jake. He was on tramadol (150mg twice a day) and previcox and antibiotics, for the first 2 weeks. Luckily, Jake never had any issues with loss of appetite… but he did get some diarrhea after a few days and so we added pepcid AC to the mix and that worked out great! After he got his stitches/staples out (around 14 days post op), we switched him to meloxicam (Metacam) and lowered the dose of tramadol to 'as needed'. Jake started swimming in our pool soon as the stitches came out… He was much slower after his surgery… but then again, he was a 10yr old boy. You can read about his experience (and all about his german shepherd brother Wolfie, and his little kitten Nala) on Jake's Journey.

Jake had his 4.5yr old german shepherd 'brother' with him before and after his surgery. Wolfie spent most of his time lying next to Jake and bringing him all his toys… but after the first couple of days, Wolfie got excited and would run by Jake (while he was trying to hop around) and try to body slam him… Of course hubby and me would always intercept. Other than that, we had no issues with having another big dog around when we brought Jake home to recover. But all dogs are different, and I guess you'll find out how yours do once Shelby comes home.

The first two weeks are spent healing from the trauma of the big surgery, dealing with them being doped up, and learning to balance on 3 legs (while doped up)… but they really do recover quite quickly from it! It helps to get a sling to help them get up and balance (like while they're trying to pee and poop)… and then once the staples are out, a ruffware harness is an incredible help!! Having a couple of doggie beds and/or comforters plopped around your home will also help. Our dogs always like to hang out with us wherever we are in the house, so we just made sure to have that in all the rooms we usually frequent.

It's very important to keep Shelby well hydrated during her recovery… if she's not drinking enough water, then you can add water or chicken broth to her food… I switched Jake's diet from a prescription calorie control, to Blue Buffalo Holistic dry food, and I cooked a chicken or turkey stew with veggies and brown rice once a week and supplemented his dry food with that. I also gave Jake mega doses of glucosamine and chondroitin supplements… and fish oil too.

Also watch Shelby's incision, especially the first week to make sure there is no infection… There will be clear or pinkish fluid oozing out and that's normal… I hope you don't have white carpets!! Jake had a pressure bandage for the first week post op… and it was changed after 3 days, so we didn't really have to worry about the oozing too much.

Well, it's alot to absorb and I'm sure you'd going to have alot of other questions and concerns once you bring Shelby home. We are all here for you!!!

Angel Jake and Wolfie's Mom

Actually, not FVS this time.  (I did Trooper & Opie's chemo/radiation with them, though)  She's going to Tampa Bay Veterinary Specialists…..I guess our rescue has used them many times for surgeries and are very pleased with them.  Plus they give a substantial rescue discount, something the loocal specialty clinic doesn't even do.