" Jack " - An Update

JD Post Op on the ride home.

I would like to begin this post with an apology to all those that read my previous post on Jack's surgery . I am not quiet sure how , but I some how deleted it and can not seem to get it back . When writing that is my worst fear that I will put time and effort in and I will some how with user error delete the entire thing . Well, for those of you that didn't read my previous post , Jack Davis had to have surgery a week ago today . He had what we thought was 20-30 bladder stones causing him some problems . Once the vet go into the surgery they realized there had been far more stones than expected . Too many to count in fact . That knowledge alone made me so grateful that I went ahead and had the surgery performed for him . I hate the idea that my fur baby could've been in serious pain with out me even realizing it .

I was told by the vet that animals , especially well trained ones , are hard to read when it comes to certain pain issues . It usually takes it getting somewhat drastic before you notice anything . That was the case with Jack . I had noticed some blood in his urine early in the Summer , but had dismissed it to too much outside time . Later he had a few " episodes " of vomiting , not seeming quiet himself and even having an accident or two inside the house . Jack is getting up in years , but at 8 years old he is still too young for these kinds of things to be considered normal . Not to mention he is a very well trained pup . With these " episodes " I had told myself I would have him checked with his yearly shots , well come to find out JD is at the age now where his shots are only done every 3 years . So , I made an appointment to have him checked out . Again , I hated, HATED , the thought that he could be in pain and me letting it continue . After a x-ray and some tests the vet confirmed his stones prognosis and he was put on anti-biotics and anti-inflamatories ASAP .

A visit from Papaw makes everything better .

Since his surgery Jack has continued on his meds and is starting to get back to his normal behavior . His first two or three days post op really had him dragging and not quiet himself . Part of post op care was taking him out every 2 hours to potty , including waking him up through the night . Taking extra effort to keep his bladder from any stress . I believe this wore him out as much as just being post op and coming out of anesthesia . Wore me out too !!! I only had to do this for about 4 days , but I was whooped !!! I don't get how new parents handle the baby schedule . They have to feel like Zombies the majority of the first few months . Anyway, as the days have passed he has returned to a somewhat normal routine . The stones where sent off for testing and came back as Calcium Oxalate stones . Sadly , there isn't much we can do to prevent them . This means Jack will be watched even more closely than before . If that is even possible .

The cone of shame had to be brought out to signal
that I meant business about his after care .

For those as geeked out as I am about this
process . This is Jacks pre-op x-ray . You can see
a cluster of some of the stones in his bladder . Next
to it are a few of the stones that had been removed from
Jacks bladder next to a penny . Just to compare size .
This pic is courtesy of The Lafollette Vet .

I just wanna thank everyone for tolerating my fur parent craziness and taking the time to understand my love for animals in general , but especially my fur baby , Jack Davis . Thanks to those who have sent messages checking on him , to my family who helped out in so many ways , and to the caring staff at LaFollette Veterinary . I think one of the many bonus' to small town life is a Vet that calls to check up on their patient ! Jack is resting a little more than usual this week , but is well on his way back to normal !!

I wish I could sleep this hard .

 

Some of mine and Jacks favorite kiddo's sent Jack a get well package .

This is his message back to them . LOL !!