The return of Conehead the Barbarian

Look who's home!

And wearing the cone of shame! He actually came home Wednesday but I didn't get a chance to post yesterday. The vet let him come home a little early because he knows us, and knows that Tristan doesn't run around a lot, and is happier at home. Nice having a vet for a friend! Dave isn't the one who did the surgery, but he told us to call or email anytime with questions. 

Dr. T did the surgery and he is an excellent surgeon, well-known in this area. I know him quite well too (he's been to the farm!) so I felt really confident that Tristan would do well in his care.

Tristan is doing very well, despite his enormous incision (approximately 40 staples!) He has been sleeping a  lot and eating well. He's on good pain meds and antibiotics. He's getting around well and I'm seeing a lot of tail-wagging.

This dog does love sleeping on hard floors.

But eventually I enticed him onto his comfy bed.

I've ordered him a more comfortable "cone" to wear, which I hope will show up today. He has to have that thing on for two weeks. The last time he had surgery, he had a cone for three weeks. He LOVES to chew on incisions, so that time we worked up from from one reasonable cone to a HUGE cone plus a neck brace so he could't turn his head to get at the sutures on his leg. I even made a music video about it. I'm hoping this time around, things will be easier. 

And if you're squeamish, don't look at the next photo! It's not only a little graphic, but a little, er, revealing. (Sorry, Tristan!) Myself, I'm fascinated by these things. When I was a kid, my Dad owned a medical/surgical supply company and was always showing me surgical tools , books, and movies of things like grotesque eye operations. Of course I loved it! My mother used to call me a "gory little kid." I like to think of it as curiosity! :) Anyway, don't scroll down if you don't wanna look. And thanks to you all for your kind thoughts and words for our dear old dog. His tumour was a hemangiosarcoma which is a very nasty cancer. It's highly likely it has spread, and the long-term prognosis is not good. But short-term, we are more hopeful, and at least I know he won't die from bleeding out from an enormous ruptured tumour, which is what usually happens to dogs with hemangiosarcomas. They are usually not diagnosed until the dog is dead, because the tumours are so well hidden in the body, frequently attached to the spleen. 

I just happened to notice a swelling in Tristan's belly, and only when he was sleeping on his back with his legs in the air. So I told Gordon to mention it to the vet when he took him in for the gum surgery (they did nip off that gum growth, no problem!) They did an ultrasound and that's when they saw the tumour. When I picked up Tristan, Dr. T. came out to chat. He said "That tumour was the size of a small cat!!!" Given that Naomi weighs about six pounds, the same as the tumour, he chose an apt description.

We'll just take it day by day and enjoy Tristan while we have him. :)

Okay, leave now if you don't want incision gore!

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