Harness

Get a harness that doesn’t have to go over the head. The surgeon told us to avoid putting any pressure on his neck whilst his eye is still healing and strongly suggested we use a harness for all walks. The trauma and drama of removing the cone of shame every time you need to put a harness on/off is stressful for everyone involved. After a bit of searching, we found this one:

There is a buckle for the strap that goes across is chest and a second buckle that goes around his ribs. No faffing with the cone!

Raise the water bowl

Oskar struggled to drink from the water bowl and wouldn’t really try unless we were standing right there encouraging him to drink. We used some pavers left over from redoing our driveway to raise bowl by about 15 centimetres. That was all he needed to feel confident navigating the cone around the water bowl. We reenforced the base with a couple more bricks so it wouldn’t move too much when he does inevitably knock into it and so far it’s still standing.

Anaesthesia is the worst!

He came home about three hours after his surgery was done. He was a one dog 90’s Rave Party with all the drugs they gave him. Ketamine, Methadone, Metacam…. We probably could have sold his drool for a tidy profit in some narcotic invested states in the US.  Oskar is not a dog that enjoys the sensation of being out of control. Just ask his doggy friends how well Oskar manages his control issues when two dogs are sniping over the same toy. He lords himself over the two offending dogs and let’s out a bark that sounds like it came directly from God Almighty himself. Windows raddle when Oskar is doing his rule enforcement bark. Belgian Malinois stand back in admiration of Oskar’s powerful bark. Being super stoned is not his idea of a good time. He spent most of the evening cuddling with my husband on the sofa. I think Oskar had the bed spins or something because he would periodically let out a sad little whimper.

Flash forward to 24 hours post op and Oskar is trotting around the front garden, trying to convince the kids walking home from school that they should come over to tell him hi (which actually worked on a group of preteen girls…he’s such a flirt when he wants to be). He’s already getting better about lifting his head going up the stairs to prevent the cone of shame from catching on the steps or to walk in the middle of doorways to prevent knocking into things. The anaesthesia will probably end up being the hardest part for him. As the anaesthesia is working its way out of his system, he’s much more adaptive to his new predicament. My gut still drops when I see him knock into something, but I bet that will get easier too.

The eye doesn’t look as bad as I thought it would

I mentally prepared myself for a mangled, blood, stitched up mess. But other than some bruising and the shaved hair, it just looks like his eye is closed. The surgeon used all internal stiches so there is nothing poking out. So far the wound hasn’t been weepy at all. But the bruise does remind me of some real beauties I managed to achieve trying to roller-skate as a kid. Let’s just say “graceful” will never be a descriptor you’ll find on my CV and my bottom landed on my skate’s wheels innumerable times. Anyone that has taken a roller skate wheel to the butt know exactly the kind of bruising I’m talking about. It’s deep, it’s PURPLE, and it’s painful.

Things I’m thankful for

He can still use his eyebrows! Oskar uses his eyebrows to convey every possible emotion. Weariness of the cat. Disappointment that we have failed to take him for a walk in the past 30 minutes. Excitement over the toy he forgot about and just rediscovered. Undying love. Suggesting that maybe NOW would be a good time for a car ride. He says it all with his eyebrows. I don’t know why but I thought he wouldn’t be able to move his eyebrows any more and the thought of that made me really sad. But he is still the master of the happy, sad, scared, disappointed, tired, suggestive looks with just a flick of his brow muscle.

And I was really worried he wouldn’t continue to make eye contact with us. His eyes really are his windows to his soul, and he invites you in to his warm and loving embrace just by gazing into your eyes. I was worried for some reason he would stop doing that. But no, he still does it. And as he’s currently a bit stressed and discombobulated, he needs even more reassurance so is making even more eye contact that normal. I wasn’t expected that to make me as happy as it does. But it really really does make me happy.