Doggie knee surgery

Achilles had his knee surgery on Tuesday. The good news is that it went well and the surgeon is very pleased with how stable his knee feels now. The bad news is that they can do only one leg at a time, so he will have to go through this all over again in a few months. They did his right hind leg first, since it seemed to be worse than his left. He had to stay overnight at the animal hospital on Tuesday and came home Wednesday afternoon.

He's wearing one of those huge, plastic E-collars because he was trying to bite at his sutures while he was at the hospital. I think he's probably more miserable about the collar than about how much his leg hurts. He'll get his stitches out in about ten days, so he'll have to wear the collar until then, poor thing. He will have an eight-week recovery period during which his activity must be severely restricted -- no running, jumping, playing, or climbing stairs. No long walks or unsupervised outdoor time -- leash walks only, and only for elimination purposes. He has to be crated unless there is someone home to watch him.

His appetite is good, but he is really, really uncomfortable. He's been spending most of the time since he got home lying on a blanket on the living room floor. His leg is very swollen and obviously very painful, but he can put a little bit of weight on it.

I would much rather have gone through the surgery myself than seen him go through this. I just hate to see him so miserable, but I know it will be for the best once he's recuperated and his knee doesn't pop out of place any more. It's going to be a long eight weeks, though. Sigh.