Surgery Success

Boy, do I have a lot to say today!

Firstly, you've probably noticed the new layout for the blog. I decided that Tad needed something a bit...brighter, or happier, if you will. He's certainly making history and living miracles every day...why not give him some color?

Tad successfully made it through surgery, and he's curled up in his bed right now. He's doing well.

I want to do a run down of the day, because I know many of you have questions about what all we did and why.

So, for starters...we rechecked his bloodwork. When his skin was finally in a position that could be humanely poked with a needle, we checked his organ function and blood counts. In a nutshell, everything that was low or elevated was no surprise considering his condition.

However, we rechecked it today and everything was completely normal. We had a scare regarding his platelets, but we ran a second CBC to be sure. They turned out fine.

On his skin scrapings, we no longer see Sarcoptic Mange Mites (contagious mange). So, that is a MEGA PLUS! ...however, we are still seeing Demodex Mange Mites (non-contagious). It will be a while before those are all gone, considering he has it so bad it's showing up in his poop!

Tad was given an IV catheter, as are all our surgery patients, and we had him on IV fluids throughout his 3-4 hour long procedure. I can't remember exactly when we started, but I imagine it was around lunch time.

His neuter went well, and we had no troubles there. It was weird not having to 'shave' the area. Tad is completely hairless on his underside. The hair that you see in the pictures, is from the top down...that's all he has. He's completely neked underneath.

We also xrayed Tad's hips and his knees. His hips are far better than either of my other two dogs, and in good shape. We have some concerns about Tad's knees, but from what we can tell, it appears what we're concerned with are growth plates. I have noticed though, his sitting, jumping, walking, etc. is slowly getting better, so I'm happy with that.

Tad was also microchipped; he's finally one of the group.

Tad's Microchip Tag on his Collar

Tad also was tattooed. Walker, Chica, Catillac, Charles, and I myself are all tattooed...it's only right to give Tad the same . Walker has a 'W' on the inside of his thigh, Chica has a star in one of her ears, Catillac has the Cadillac symbol on her belly, and Charles and I...well, we're 'decorated' as well. Tad was given a 'T' on the inside of his thigh...yep, he's hardcore.

Tad's Tattoo as the Ink Sets

I tattoo partially because, well...the rest of the family is. But, also to further prove a dog is my own should anything happen. Tattoos are permanent as long as they are touched up as needed. I rely more on collars and microchips, but most of all, I rely on obedience and trust.

We also removed Tad's rear dewclaws. They were very large, the nails curved no matter how short we cut them, and both nails were broken at some point. They also had...erm, extra toes sorta kinda coming out of the back of them. Totally creepy and completely hard to describe. They'll remain bandaged for the next 3-5 days, and in about 2 weeks, we'll remove the sutures.

Tad on the Surgery Table

Tad did well throughout the entire day, he's pretty conked out now...but, I'm sure he's hungry. So, with that...I'm off to feed the hounds their dinner...and maybe a bit extra for Tadward as he's had a hard day.