Sarah, videos helped me a lot when I was making the decision and also right before Otis went in for surgery so I hope this one will assure you that hopping is better than limping. Otis was (is!) a super athletic dog, but he had some rough recovery days with this infection. I am absolutely over the moon happy with what he is able to do 13 days post amputation. Here is a video of him wearing a harness for the first time ever and hopping through our yard today: https://www.fli.....N07/9cP7V4

It may not look like much, but it made me so proud and happy! His infection is under control, some discomfort this morning, but definitely looking better. His staples come out tomorrow. We are awaiting results of wound culture to see if we need different antibiotics, but everyone is calmer and happier today, Otis included! There are some new photos on our Flickr album as well.

I have an overwhelming amount of gratitude for everyone here for getting me through the two weeks! I know there are still ups and downs to come, but for now we are really really happy with Otis' progress,

Camille & Otis (my fiance Joseph also stars in this video! He works out of town M-Fri so it's been nice to have his help and support this weekend too 😊)

Otis has been itchy since his staples came out and it has been quite a task to keep him from licking, but the incision scab is falling off and he is looking great! He is hopping around and we went on our first walk (very short) and he was SO EXCITED to be hopping down the driveway.

We FINALLY got the results back from the wound culture and I am REALLY glad we did it, so I wanted to share the results for anyone else in the future who might have an in infection issue with their dog.  

Turns out Otis had a human staph infection (MRSA ) and burkholderia. Uncommon, but treatable. When I first heard MRSA -- I was totally scared, but our GP vet assured me we could take care of both of these. We were given two options: bactrim (cheaper, human antibiotic that I'm sure you're all familiar with) and marbofloxacin (more expensive, animal specific antibiotic). Despite the HUGE cost difference (marbofloxacin -- brand name zeniquin-- will cost us $200 for a two week supply-- partially because Otis is so big), we have chosen to use that one because we do not want the stress with the associated risks to Otis' immune system of the bactrim. We were told that although cephalexin, his original antibiotic, carries similar risk, the risks happen at a much greater rate with bactrim. Examples of negative side effects are dry eye (manageable, but not desirable) and blood changes that could generate immune mediated reactions such as destruction of platelets or red blood cells. After Otis has been through so much and we are finally to the less stressful aspects of recovery, we thought our money was well spent on Marbofloxacin.

This is all probably pretty boring but someone might find it useful so I'm sharing. I have to say I am so glad we did the culture because based on Otis' activity level and wound, he looks totally healed! Had we gone based on appearances alone, we might have had a bigger problem on our hands down the road.

I have uploaded more pics to our Flickr album and took a short video of him hopping down the road on his first walk! Everyone is so right, you have to walk fast to keep up with these hoppers!

Lots of love, 

Camille & Otis