Chloe sleeps, and Sleeps, and SLEEPS!

My vet agreed to do Chloe’s surgery first yesterday as it was considered “minor”, and so that I could get her home earlier than the official 7 PM “release time”.

At 5 PM we arrived at the vet, only to have to sit through post-surgical instructions, paying for the procedure, etc.  I was about to yell, “BRING ME MY DOG NOW!”  Grin!  Good thing my daughter was along to “pinch me if needed” to make sure I stayed calm.

Finally they brought Chloe out to me and she practically drug the vet tech all the way over to Kyersten and I.  I asked another question about the sutures, and so had to wait around for the answer.  Chloe was “all a-tremble”, and Kyersten told me she was whining the entire time.  Normally, I would “shush” Chloe for making noise in public, but under the circumstances?  I let her whine.

She woke me up around 2 AM, and I took her outside for about 10 minutes.  We walked around a little and she did a “hurry up”, but then just stood outside in the cold with her head and down and eyes closed.  (She sleeps standing up a lot, actually!)  I finally coaxed her back inside, and put her back to bed.  I turned the flashlight on every few minutes, and could see that she was laying down in her bed next to me on the floor, but she wouldn’t put her head down.  Likely that ear is sore, and they do sort of HANG.  At about 3 AM, I noticed she finally put her head down again.

It was strange waking up before Chloe (and a full 83 minutes after my alarm usually goes off each morning!)  I was determined to not make her work today so deliberately did not set my alarm.  She was surprised to find me gently nudging her awake.

The hot water for my tea kettle had to be watched extra carefully with my eye on my watch.  I didn’t set the kitchen timer for her to let me know when it was “near whistling”.  I’m staying home today for Chloe’s sake.  She’s on antibiotics, but no pain killers.  Actually, the toughest job I’ve had so far this morning was keeping our Elkhound puppy from playing with her.  Her ears are a favorite target!

Thanks for all the prayers and good wishes for Chloe.  My “inbox” has simply stayed “full” with inquiries and best wishes. We will get the biopsy results by Monday, but the vet told me to “absolutely not worry about it, as she certainly wasn’t”.

Chloe has a little “notch” in her ear now, but you can’t hardly see it unless you are looking for it.  She’s still a beautiful red-head! Grin!

Denise Portis

© 2008 Hearing Loss Journal