3/25/17:
We were at the office to pick up Rose at 8:15am. She’d had a hard night, which is to be expected. She had vomited, had some diarrhea, and cried much of the night. They had treated her pain, and sedated her, but she was still quite uncomfortable. We left with our girl, and the following meds: Pain med, sedative, antibiotic, and anti-inflammatory. She is now to be only walked to go potty, navigate no stairs, no jumping or playing. She is to be kept off her leg for the next six weeks. Right now, she will be supported while walking, to protect both her surgical knee and her other knee (reduce the stress and strain on the good knee, which often incurs so much injury from acting as the only good leg, that it too ruptures). One can use a towel as a sling, but we have found a horse cinch to be useful in the past for old dogs who can’t get up, that we bought a new one (we wanted no bacteria near her surgical site by using an old one).
But for now, we’ll carry her. She’s confused and in pain:
How much pain? This should demonstrate that well. This was our drive home. Even with pain meds and sedatives, she was just plain miserable! Her pain broke our hearts.
We prepared for a rough night, but after getting home and in a crate she recognized, and with the sounds of home, she settled down.