And this is Meg just now...

Thanks so much! It makes all the difference in the world to have your support.

Meg is now on Day 5 post op and is still doing really well. Last night she was a bit more restless than the previous night and kept getting up and turning around etc., so I gave her another dose of tramadol at 2am (8 hours after the previous dose) and that seemed to settle her. One of the tricky things with Meg is that she is supremely stoical. I have never once heard her whimper or whine or in any way vocalise discomfort. She screamed when she broke her elbow (a sound I will never in my life forget), but that is literally the only time she has told me she was in pain. Even when she had end stage arthritis and must have been in a great deal of pain, she was not only always up for walks but always trying to find ways to extend them. She's a chaser – hares, squirrels, deer, you name it, she's off after them across the fields and nothing (end stage arthritis included) nothing holds her back. This is why I didn't even realise she had arthritis for some time. It was only once I put her on Metacam and she was literally dancing all over the house, going to her toy box and throwing her toys around the room she was so overjoyed, that I realised how much pain she must have been in.

So now I'm not taking any chances. I'm on the lookout for any sign, panting, restlessness etc. and medicating as required. I'm not having Meg suffering just because she's not one to make to make a fuss (unlike my other dog, Elsie - the slightest twinge and she'll bring it to show you immediately...).

In answer to your question, Jerry, it is just me so far as humans go, but Meg and I share our lives with Elsie, an eight year old Staffordshire bull terrier. I was actually walking Elsie just over six years ago, when a stranger came up to us in the park with a very downbeat looking dog on a lead (she was seriously underweight and her tail had been hacked off). 'I'll give you a hundred pounds,' he said, 'if you'll take this bloody animal and keep her.' So that's how we met Meg and we took her home then and there. It may be that her bone problems stem from her early abusive treatment, but that's something I guess I don't want to dwell on as there's nothing I can do and it just makes me angry. Once she learned how to trust, she became an exceptionally happy and loving dog and she is hugely loved in return. 

Sorry for the long post – once I start typing, I find it difficult stop... Here's a pic of the girls together waiting for me to fix their breakfast. You can just see the thought bubble 'What's taking you so long!'

Clare

Day 6 post op and Meg had a very peaceful night. She seems happy and relaxed and I can't help feeling we are having a remarkably easy time of it. We're not out of the woods yet, of course, but so far we just seem to have been exceptionally lucky.

She did freak me out this morning by crawling underneath the double bed, right to the back and lying there. She's a proper den dog and loves to find places to hide herself away and she's always loved lying under beds but... not on three legs, not so soon post op! I was starting to panic that she'd get stuck, be unable to get herself out again, injure herself etc. etc. The top of the bed fits into an alcove and it's a very tight fit so not at all easy just to move the bed out and get her. Anyway, I know my Meg and I knew if she realised I was stressing and wanted her out she'd just stay under longer (that's the Meg sense of humour), so I tried to appear completely indifferent and went off into another room, and sure enough after maybe ten minutes, I heard a movement and turned round to find her standing looking at me, laughing (I swear she was laughing) and wagging her tail.

Here's a pic of the monstrous creature yesterday. She's not going for walks of course but I am allowing her some supervised lying in the sun time, when we get some (this is England, after all...)

Clare