Merlin the day the bandage was removed

This is Merlin the day the bandage was removed. Unfortunately for him, the bandage stuck to his fur more than the vet hoped. His leg is still a bit pink in places getting the bandage ripped off. But his leg is once again something in can move instead of dragging around that huge bandage. We had been decreasing the dose of painkiller for him but on this night, he got a full dose. It will be some weeks before the fur grows back, in the meantime, he has one very odd looking leg.

Merlin with his bandage

Merlin had Cruicate repair surgery. He has had the surgery done on the other hind leg a couple of years back, and it turned a perpetually limping dog into a happy rarely limping dog. We hope that the surgery this time is the same. The recovery is slow, to give the joint a chance to thoroughly heal. But the results should be worth it.

That is a bandage and not a cast, though the size of it suggests the latter. It weighed enough as well, but did provide a lot of support for the first 2 weeks after the surgery.

Merlin pics coming

I have photos of our dog with the huge bandage after his surgery and a nearly naked leg when the bandage finally came off. I just need to download the photos from the camera.

He is recovering well, and doesn't understand that the vet is very clear about he is not to get exercise for some time yet. We are getting a lot of weight training by carrying a dog down then back up the stairs a few times per day.

Merlin comes home

The vet has ok'd Merlin's release and he does get to come home tonight.

My Poor Dog

Our older dog, Merlin, a labrador cross is at the vet's for surgery today. We won't get to see him again until tomorrow.

He's getting a doggie equivalent of knee reconstruction surgery. He had an op like this on his left hind leg a couple of years ago. This time it's the right hind leg. We know that in the longer term, this surgery works quite well. He feels cold weather a bit in the left leg, but he was almost at the point of never using it.

In the short term though, this is quite traumatic for all of us. Limited walks to very short and only on soft surfaces (no walking down the street for several weeks). Dog gets carried up and down stairs, which is quite a job with 27 kilos of dog. He'll ache and whinge more than usual.

We also have two dogs, and the second is healthy and is going to need lot's of exercise. Always fun trying to balance the needs of the healthy vs that of the injured.