Well, I can’t believe it’s been an entire month since Henry had his luxating patella surgery. These 4 weeks not only have been hard on him because he’s been stuck in his crate, they have been incredibly hard on me as well. I haven’t gotten a decent night’s sleep, but this week has gotten better.

Henry was dropped off at the vet yesterday morning and I left work early to pick him up. Unfortunately, I was stuck in traffic for an hour and a half before I got to the vet. His x-rays revealed that he’s doing great and the vet even commented on what a great dog he is. His appetite has improved so drastically, you wouldn’t believe. He eats now because he wants to, not because he needs to and loves his dry and wet foods. I always sneak peppers and blueberries in there as treats.

He’s still on cage rest, although he’s allowed short, leashed walks during the day. I plan to do a little water therapy with him by filling up my bathtub and holding him up with a towel so he can exercise his legs. I have heard that water therapy is a great way to rehabilitate muscle, in humans as well. The vet also showed me to do additional therapy by having him lay on his back, while I stretch out his legs. I was also informed I should continue to give him pain medication. He doesn’t seem to be in any kind of pain, but I will comply.

His hair is growing back at a rapid pace, although he has so many knots because he hasn’t been able to be brushed properly for a month now! He’ll probably have a good shave once more of his hair grows in.

I have started him on glucosomine supplements again in pill form. I crush the pill with the back of a spoon or knife, mix it in with his wet food and he doesn’t even know the difference. One of the best treats I’ve ever found that has glucoasmine is by a company called Dogswell. They have these amazing sweet potato pieces wrapped with chicken that Henry loves. LOVES. He will fight you to the death for one. They also have one in their line called “Veggie Life” that contains flaxseed and vitamins A & E.

I haven’t had any time to take photos of his progress, but I will upload some soon.

This is a portrait I drew of Henry and I last summer. It’s acrylic on canvas and was finished in one night, although it still needs some touch ups. I put this photo up instead of one of Henry in his current state because he’s sleeping and not only do I not want to bother him, but he looks so scruffy and I’m sure he hates his life at this points, so I’m not going to play intrusive journalist right now, you know?

He’s been holed up in his crate, but he’s doing well. The staples in his legs are getting looser, which is a good sign. He has an x-ray and suture removal scheduled on Thursday and hopefully I can take that horribly annoying Elizabethan collar off his head. I think I hate it more than he does. It’s just awful. It is amazing how well the dog formally known as Mr. Pick. E. Eater is responding to food. He gobbles up his dry and wet food and the chicken and turkey and peppers he’s allowed in between. Because of this, his poop schedule has become so normal – once in the morning, once in the evening.

He finished up his antibiotic medicine today and will be off his pain meds this week. His hair is growing up at an astonishing rate, so we’ll have to even it out in a month or two. He is in dire need of a bath and he knows it. He self-grooms like a cat every chance he gets.

He didn’t make much noise during the earthquake that rocked Los Angeles today, except for letting out a big yelp the minute it was over.

More updates after his next vet appointment!

Today Henry went to the vet to have his bandages removed. It’s been exactly one week since his surgery. He’s doing well, but very anxious to get up out of his crate. When the nurses brought him out, I saw his little pink legs dangling, with a million stitches all over. Fur, dried up blood, metal stitching and pink skin. It was not a pleasant site. I hesitated posting the photo below of his legs and was about to censor myself, but I thought I’d go ahead and do it anyway, because if anyone ever comes across this post and has a dog who will need luxating patella surgery and they want to see photos, it will be here for their reference. I know that before Henry has his surgery, I looked all over the web for photos, so it’s more helpful than hurtful. Plus, I’m not a fan of censorship. That being said, I’m putting the photo behind a cut for the faint of heart.

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It’s now day 7-post luxating patella surgery, and as far as I can tell, Henry’s doing well for the most part, although he’s completely miserable in his crate. It’s the most time he’s spent in there, ever. He never sleeps in there, but on my bed with me and only goes in to fetch his toys out. He’s having a hard time adjusting, but he has to suffer now for the greater good of the functionality of his legs. When I put him on his pad to pee, he spins around like a banshee until he finally can’t hold it in anymore. I spread his legs, so he doesn’t get any pee on his bandaged feet. He only goes pee once a day and because of all the medicine he’s been given, his urine has a really putrid smell, a bit like asparagus-pee. For the short times that he’s out of his crate, he walks pretty well, although he looks like he’s walking on stilts. For being so small, he’s pretty fearless and seems to have forgotten about the fact that he had major surgery. If I didn’t immediately put him back in his crate after his daily bathroom session, he’d be running a muck in the house, bandaged legs and all.

He was suffering from a bout of constipation, as he hadn’t had a bowel movement since we brought him home on Saturday, so I gave him a teaspoon of pumpkin puree and this did the trick, although he ended up going his crate. I really don’t mind where he goes, as long as he goes. On Thursday he goes in to get his bandages removed I believe and I’m a bit scared of this, because I got a peek at one of the staples in his legs, and it was not a pleasant site.

By the way, if you’re reading this and your dog needs luxating patella surgery, which usually runs in the thousands as far as price is concern, a good option is Care Credit. Care Credit works like a credit card, but with perks such as an extended payment plan and no interest. It’s main purpose is for medical emergencies, such as pet surgery. I used it to cover half the cost of Henry’s surgery. More updates as we go along.

I talk to him when I’m lonesome like; and I’m sure he understands. When he looks at me so attentively, and gently licks my hands; then he rubs his nose on my tailored clothes, but I never say naught thereat. For the good Lord knows I can buy more clothes, but never a friend like that. ~W. Dayton Wedgefarth

He coils himself asleep next to me and licks my ears every chance he gets. In the mornings and evenings, he patrols the house, like a senior member of an elite canine military, looking for the slightest sound of any disturbance outside. At 6 lbs, with a coat of white polar bear-like fur, he’s more a lover, than a fighter. He’s the first thing I see when I wake up in the morning and the last thing when I go to sleep. I never get bored of snuggling him and he never gets bored of snuggling me.

Though I hate to admit it, Henry is more like my child, than my dog. We spend almost every waking and sleeping moment together and I would not have it any other way. He’s everything I had been waiting for my whole life, as for one reason or another, I was denied a pet by my parents throughout my entire childhood. Looking back, I was upset, but now, I realize that not letting me own a dog was a really good thing. Because now, I don’t have school, social situations or homework distracting me from Henry. The only time we’re apart, is when I’m at work and sometimes that’s even too much to bare. I can’t imagine what my life was like before him. A lot of people scoff at the idea of ‘romanticizing’ a pet like I have just now, but I don’t really care. They are the type of people who either have never owned a pet, don’t like animals or treated their animals like crap, and I don’t associate myself with the latter two types.

Being a Maltese, Henry is not only rambunctious, fiercely loyal and loving, but he’s also very delicate. Like many small dogs, Maltese are susceptable to a problem known was luxating patella (or trick knee) in which the kneecap dislocates or moves out of its normal location. This is a common condition and also happens in humans as well.

When he was almost a year old, Henry begin limping while running. He wouldn’t do it very often, so I didn’t give much though to it immediately and hoped it would go away. Unfortunately, it only got worse. I did some research and suspected a luxating patella, but took him to the vet to make sure, who only confirmed my worries and said there was nothing that could be done until he was about a year and a half. We would have to wait until he was done growing. During the past 6 months, I’ve tried to minimize pressure to his knees by buying pet stairs and supplementing his diet with glucosamine and chondroitin. Well, the time to revisit this case came this weekend. He’s a year and a half now and I thought that the sooner we get this over with, the better it is for all of us, especially him.

After having x-rays done, it was confirmed that he needed surgery on both knees to correct his kneecaps. I had prepared myself for this, but for the first time, I realized what a parent must feel when told their child needs some kind of medical care. It is absolutely heart wrenching. Each leg has a recovery time of 6 weeks, however they’re going to be done separately. So, after 12 weeks of his life being miserable, he’ll be able to have almost 100 percent mobility without any pain. No pain, no gain, as the saying goes.

If you could only see him now. He’s nestled next to me, on his back, with his little white paws in the sky. He has no idea what I know. He has no idea that in about a month’s time, he’ll be back at the vet, in surgery. It breaks my heart thinking that this little 6 lb fluffball of mine is going to be operated on.

I’m praying every day that things go well when the time comes.

Sometimes, it becomes quite evident in my thought process that Henry isn’t going to be around forever. I think of this quite frequently, although I’m not sure why. I mean, everyone’s life is finite, but dogs don’t live very long and I am dreading the day when I’ll have to say goodbye to him. I know it’s unnecessary and a bit morbid to have thoughts like this, but I can’t help it. I don’t how I will ever deal with life after him. I’m just so glad he’s around. I’m so glad he picked me and I’m so glad I picked him and I don’t even want to imagine what his life would be like if someone else had gotten him. They’d probably give him up, knowing they had to pay for his surgery.

I’m trying to be strong and looking at this entire situation as something that has to be done. I’m trying to concentrate on how much his quality of life will improve after the surgery and I’m thanking God that veterinary medicine exists. I’m trying to stay positive, but I know that when he’s in surgery and I have to possibly spend a night away from him, I’ll cry. And he won’t be there to lick my tears away.

A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself. – Josh Billings