We visited the vet so he could have a look at the incision and decide whether the stitches were ready to come out, if things appeared to be healing properly, etc. I must admit it was a bit of a shock seeing the length of the incision once all of the bandaging was removed. My husband got a bit choked up and had to turn away. There is easily a full 12″ of stitching, but the good news is that it’s healing beautifully. We’ve put Ray in a t-shirt so the incision can get a bit of air, and the stitches should come out Tuesday.
We had cut his meds down to twice a day doses of Tramadol, but I’m thinking that may have been somewhat premature. He was quite restless and couldn’t seem to get comfortable in my office this afternoon so I gave him a couple of pills. Maybe too much activity today with the vet visit and all. He settled right down for a snooze shortly thereafter. I guess that’s what they mean by administering “as needed.”
Another good thing is that Ray’s voracious appetite has slowly returned. That had me a bit worried as 1) we used to joke that “if Ray doesn’t eat, there’s something wrong with him” and 2) he’s already lost 25 lbs in the last six months. Before the cancer diagnosis, he was quite a big boy and we started walking him longer and cutting back on his food a bit, which worked well, but now I’d like to see him re-gain 5 lbs or so.
I started my outdoor walking regimen again yesterday and really missed having Ray with me. I know we may never be able to do the mile loop of our neighborhood again, but I sure hope he’ll be able to go for at least short walks someday.
Doing pawsome Ray!!! He is adorable, healing prayers & hugs coming his way!!!!
Oh my gosh WHAT a great picture!! Glad to hear he’s eating and progressing well. Good luck with the rest of recovery.
Sounds like things are going well! That is a great picture of Ray, but I have to ask…..is Ray a contortionist in his spare time? ;-). In the pic it looks to me that his hind end is laying on his left side and his front end is laying on his left side. Is this what’s really going on? His face looks so precious.
Leslie
I’m not trying to be a copycat, but OMG that picture of Ray is just adorable. It sounds like he is on the mend and you’re really just a week out so I bet once the stitches are out and he has fewer restrictions he will be doing much better. But the main thing is that the painful leg is gone and he is cancer free.
Leslie, I know he looks a bit twisted, but that’s our Ray. 🙂 Even before his tumor diagnosis, we regularly discovered him lying in funny configurations. At this point, it’s whatever is comfortable for him.
Awesome photo! Glad to hear everything is going well so far.
Thanks for the great update. And many thanks for upgrading Ray’s blog with a Tripawds Supporter II subscription! 🙂
Hey. For the record, my Sparky, who lost his left front leg, can go for 2 mile walks. Without slowing down. So don’t give up on Ray being able to walk with you again. I’m just sayin’.
That’s great to hear/read, Sparky. I think it’s a bit tougher for the bigger breeds, but we’re staying optimistic!
Once Ray gets up and going again I bet you will be pleasantly surprised! He looks way cute in his recovery suit, even if he does have an excessively short name 🙂 We all got two names ’round here. Travis Ray and Austin Ray say…..Hey, Ray! We all know you are gonna do just grrrreat!
xoxox,
Codie Rae and the Oaktown Pack
I remember when my people first had to go walking without me, they were very sad, but I wasn’t, I was just hoppy to be alive and out of pain!
You’ll get to do your walks again, maybe not as long but it’s the quality, not quantity of steps that matters.
Glad to hear your sweetie is doing great!
Yeah for Ray! So glad his recovery is going smoothly. It sounds like you are doing everything just right. He will be walking with you again soon.
What a sweet face Ray has. I’m glad to hear things are going well for him. I chuckled when I read your previous post about runner rugs throughout the house. Our house looks like a patchwork quilt with paths for our Charlie.
If you haven’t yet discovered them…. you may want to check out PAWZ. They gave our Charlie a new found freedom! They are like heavy duty balloons. They are disposable, but very durable and can be used for quite awhile. They can be a bit difficult to get on, until you’ve done it a few times, but worth it. I can also ‘snip’ the top if it’s too tight, and the material doesn’t continue to tear. They really help on slippery surfaces inside, and can be worn outside too. It allows Charlie to prance across the deck!! (I have a video of that on our blog……link at the bottom) http://charliewarlie.tripawds.com/
Best of luck to Ray for his continued recovery!!