Surgery Day

Yesterday was the big day.  Samson had his rear leg amputated.  It was very nerve-wracking.  I knew it was the right decision but all the worries of what could go wrong kept running through my mind. Of course, we withheld food after 8:00 p.m. and as any dog owner can attest to, Samson was not happy.  The bad news was that as  a puppy he has a palate that seems to like eating dog poop, so he was able to sneak in a snack in the yard before we left.  I was worried about it affecting his surgery.  The good news (?!?!) is that he gets carsick and halfway to the Vet’s office, he threw it up on my floor mat.  Ugh.  What a smell.  But at least it was only on the mat and there is a quarter car wash next the the Vet’s office.

Dr. Tinker at Canton Center Animal Hospital performed the surgery.  He started around 4:00 p.m. and Samson was in recovery by about 7:00 p.m.  It took a lot longer since there was a lot of fibrous tissue in the limb and since the bones and muscles did not develop correctly, he said it was difficult to tell the tendons, vessels and muscles apart.  It is highly likely that the leg would not have tolerated a prosthetic.

Here is Samson in recovery.

After about an hour, he was given a morphine shot and placed in the recovery kennels.

Dr. Tinker called me at 10:30 p.m. to let me know that he and his wife had just stopped to check on him.  Samson stood up and was wagging his tail.  Samson then promptly laid back down and went to sleep.

I called this morning to check on him and they said he was doing awesome.  We are going to pick him up at 1:00 p.m.  Next week is Spring Break and I am fortunate that I was able to take the week off to stay with him.  My mother will cover for me when I have to leave.  I can’t wait to go pick him up.  He is a fighter and I am so proud to be his companion.