Bailey – 17 year old amputee, now 19 – A Best Friend's Tale

Day Nine – Stitches1

I noticed early today one of Bailey’s stitches came out – as the day progressed a second came out and it looked a little red.  He had not been chewing or licking them ( a perfect patient).  I thought there might be a little odor too so I called the vet who did the surgery and they wanted to see him.  His stitches were scheduled to come out on Monday.   We drove the hour drive to the vet hoping there was no infection.

Happily, the vet said he was doing great and removed his stitches; no infection.  We are now just waiting on the chemo doctor to call our vet to discuss treatment options.  As a courtesy to our vet they discuss it with him first.  I am not that thrilled having to wait because every minute could be a life saving one, but I also respect professional courtesy and am not quite sure what is best for Bailey now (I am hoping some divine intervention will give me direction – I have told all the vets we didn’t come this far to give up but Bailey’s comfort and quality of life is most important)

The vet today said Bailey is an unusual dog having lived this long and having done so well with surgery.  I told him about this website as I was wearing a necklace from the gift store. I explained to him how helpful it was to hear from other people and their experiences.  He said he would check it out.

I don’t think I have yet mentioned this vet who works at the location Bailey had his surgery. (If I did he deserves mention again).  This doctor was so kind, spent plenty of time with us answering our questions and appeasing our concerns, timely returned every call and showed true compassion for Bailey.  He even told me he sat on the floor with Bailey after surgery when Bailey was whimpering; he told us Bailey calmed down once he opened the cage and let him just sit there with him.

Once we arrived home Bailey started running and lost his balance on the street and fell, rolling over.  He got right back up but my heart is still in my stomach hoping there is not some latent injury. I find myself worrying about him falling that he might break another bone, considering the cancer weakens his bones. I thought the stressful part of all of this would be the surgery, but I think it is living in fear waiting for the next ball to drop.  We are definitely focusing on enjoying the time we have left,  but I don’t  think I will ever not worry.

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