I was wondering if the patch was affecting him more than the other meds, that makes a lot of sense. 

Yes, he drinks lots of water anyway.. so I’m glad that didn’t slow down! He is very uninterested in food currently, I did read on another post about the rotisserie chicken… picked one of those up yesterday but he isn’t ready for it yet. He ate a few pieces of cheese but that was all he wanted. Just needed something in his belly for his next round of meds.

He hasn’t really asked to go potty yet, took him out once and he just wanted the lay in the grass, bless his little heart 🥺 how long does it usually take for the pee to start flowing? 

I actually met someone during pick up time who was also taking home a new tripawd, I told her about this incredible community and some of the advice I had read. She was very thankful and said she would be reading on here as she takes hers through recovery.

It is hard to stay in the mindset of this is for him, but I do try to remind myself. 

Chisum’s vet also mentioned referring him to an oncologist for a possible round of chemo as a preventative measure. She was sending the biopsy to them to confirm it was cancer. 

Jerry- I didn’t see your post early, I’m sorry!

Yes, crash course is in full swing. He hasn’t actually gone potty yet, he just wanted to take a short trip outside. When he gets loopy he likes to go lay in the grass, little goofball. 

Gabapentin is at 300mg 3 times a day.. they did say that was probably the medication that would make him the most out of it after the fentanyl. 

All 3 of us had a short nap for a little while, had some water and a couple more pieces of cheese and resting again. Gotta keep a hand on his paw so I know if he’s moving and can assist, cause I’m a helicopter mom now lol!

Still no pee yet. But I know he’ll let me know when he’s ready.. or have that accident. It happened once when he was really loopy during the other surgery, he was so embarrassed he came and woke me up to show me. Sweet little dude, we are making it so far! 

Has anyone had their pet want them to gently rub around the shaved areas? I don’t get close to the incision  at all but when he is really whiney and restless if I run my fingers over the shaved area above the incision on his back he calms down a bit, hoping this is okay!

Oh a pawty will absolutely be happening when the 2nd order of business is complete! 😂 celebrate the milestones right?

He is resting a lot more today, this morning he ate the chicken, thank goodness! Once he had a full belly he slept for a long time. Had chicken for lunch too with his iron supplement and has been resting more. It’s storming here today so it’s a perfect relaxing and recovering day for us! (I say us because moms took shifts staying up with him last night lol!) No potties yet today, we took a small outside trip before the rain started hopeful, but no luck. 

It definitely soothes him to have me run around the shaved area, I mean what pup doesn’t love butt scratches right? Bare skin rubs on the booty must be good too!

I got a call from the oncologist this morning, our vet recommended seeing him after recovery from amputation and the biopsy results came in. He goes on the 28th of this month and they said maybe just watching him closely or doing a round of chemo may be possible. 

Yes, trying to feed him whatever he wants right now to keep good things going in! Thank you for the advice on additions for during chemo, I actually splurged a bit on one of those fresh food diets that deliver to the house for him to add to his normal food during recovery as well to help make sure he is nutritionally sound to be healing. 

He was 75lbs before the amputation surgery.. i did tell them he seemed to be building a bit of tolerance to the gabapentin but they didn’t seem worried yet with the fentanyl patch plus gabapentin and the other pain med the sent us home with, started with a C (I can’t remember it off the top of my head) 

The 28th is only for the oncologist. Chisum sees the vet on Monday to have the fentanyl patch removed and to make another appointment for removal of stitches. 

Chisum hasn’t pooped at all or peed again since last night as of right now. He’s gotten a lot of rest today, thank goodness, and hopefully will continue that through the night!

Jerry and Sally - thank you both so much for taking time to give advice and knowledge throughout this. I can’t thank you enough for the peace of mind and support you have given my little family. 

Sally, so glad to hear the love and support for my boy. 

Part of the reason I am posting so much is to remember everything going on and to help the others that are about to go through the same journey. It was so helpful for my prep and knowing what to expect. 

We still haven’t had another potty break yet, but his appetite is definitely back. That prepared fresh dog food choice was the way to go for Chisum, it came in this afternoon and he loves it! 🥰

We are all much more relaxed (possibly from exhaustion) tonight and learning the signals for what he needs! I am definitely surprised on how well he is getting around already, I keep the towel around his belly just in case but he hasn’t needed much today. Still waiting to see how that first squat to 💩 is going to go lol!

Jerry - Thank you, it really is like therapy lol! And I genuinely do feel like y’all appreciate the updates after hearing stories, can’t imagine not hearing the progress part! 

He can move pretty well without me holding the weight in his rear, so I have been keeping the towel up around his rib cage but trying not to hold too much weight so there isn’t too much pressure in the pee pee area. 
We just had a trip outside again for his 2nd pee since surgery!!