Being away from Bubba has been one of the hardest parts of this ordeal for me. And, I don’t mean the times that he had to stay at the hospital.
Before Bubba came home, I built him a “recovery suite” in the middle of the kitchen. I put a lot of thought into this and wanted it to be as comfortable and safe as it possibly could be. I also thought this was a better option than putting him behind a closed door in the laundry room or bathroom. This design allowed him to lay in the sun, look into the yard and be a part of the family while he heals. I pulled scraps of carpeting from the basement and even taped them down to the floor so he wouldn’t slide. Bubba is used to sleeping on the sofa, but when he is annoyed with us, he sleeps on Matthew’s spiderman couch. To keep it clean, I wrapped it in garbage bags and covered it in a fleece blanket. I put the couch in his “suite.” I also set up the pen next to the doorwall so he could go outside conveniently, without negotiating the toys and chaos of the house. My husband spent an entire day constructing a custom ramp from the deck to the patio. We had it all figured out!
Bubba was not happy with this AT ALL! His first night home, he cried all night. It was a good thing that his room had space for me too. I curled up next to him on the kitchen floor and spent the night in his suite!
His first time outside….he refused the ramp. (However, the kids LOVE it!)
When he had his first set-back and spent a few days at the hospital, we wondered if doggie depression was part of the problem. Of course! We took his leg, his couch, his family…life as he knew it was changed. Who wouldn’t be depressed? The next time he came home, we made some changes in this arrangement. He needed freedom.
Knowing that it might be a messy transition back to the living room, I made a trip to a medical supply store and purchased some supplies. I bought abdominal drain sponges (thick, large, non-stick, sterile pads) and some awesome material called “tubular netting” to hold the pad in place. I was advised to keep the area open, but I am (sometimes) non-compliant with instructions. But…I have good reasons and did tell my vet about it! I thought it was doing him no justice to healing by laying on blankets soaked with drainage. I thought a good compromise would be material that allowed the area to breathe while containing some of the nasty ooze from spilling onto him and his blankee’s.
One more thing…this modified bandaging would give him back the freedom to get back into the living room without me scrubbing carpets or furniture. Yes! I cannot believe the difference in his spirit. He slept soundly, snoring the whole night. He got up on the couch without assistance. I really believe that getting back to his old routines has helped him turn the corner in overcoming the challenges of this new life on 3 legs. I still put him in his suite during the work day to keep him safe. But, when we’re home, he is with us. How stupid of me to think that he wouldn’t miss the same things that we did!
