June 1, 2009

This was an exciting day for all three of us. We knew that Sampson was doing very well, but we wanted to hear the same from our Doctor.

This first picture is right after I asked Sampson "you wanna go for a ride in the car?" He was very excited during the ride to the VCA Hospital. When we pulled into the parking lot, he was very vocal- whinning, crying. He usually does this when he is so excited he can barely contain himself (like when we pull up to the dog park).

We had an appointment with our surgeon, Dr. Celia Valverde. A friendly surgery technician took us into an examining room and he remember Sam from one of our last visits. He was very pleased with how Sam looked during his initial check. He then carried Sam into the x-ray room for Dr. Valverde to take a look.

A few minutes later, Dr. Valverde greeted us and said she was very pleased with how Sampson's pelvis has healed. She even gave us a "very good job" as we told her what we had been doing, rehabilitation-wise, at home. She showed us his x-rays, and it appears that the hardware she used to hold together various bones had not moved- very good. She wants us to spend the next month helping Sam build muscle, since she noticed a bit of atrophy in his back left leg (the leg that he nurses when he walks). She recommended getting him a doggy lifevest so he can swim in the pool- how cute is that? Well, it won't be cute when we put him in the water and he totally freaks, like he has done every summer when we throw him in the pool. I'm hoping he will get used to the water and maybe enjoy it- once he is comfortable. She recommended that we take him on light walks, and let him walk around the house/yard as much as he wants, but no running or jumping for another month.

We are very pleased with what we heard from the surgeon today. Although Sampson is still on the mend, at least we feel more comfortable letting him get back to his normal doggy life- sniffing, licking, smelling and WALKING!

I moved the futon mattress out of the living room today. Hopefully, we can get back to our normal doggy-parent lives.