Recovery Week Four... Two Steps Forward and a Step Back

Check out the number Leo has done on the e-collar. Oh right, he's pretty cute all squished up and asleep in it too.

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This past week was THE hardest week with Leo. We took him off of one of his medications, a sedative, which is good because I'm not fond of the idea of Leo being hooked on meds. However, within a couple days after he was off the sedatives I was in tears. It's not Leo's fault, he's used to going everywhere and playing. He didn't want to listen to me, he began to bark incessantly when put in his kennel. Allowing him to be out his kennel only resulted in his attempts to escape and run, which is a big no-no when one has eight pins in their leg!

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So we did the kennel thing, we tried to settle him down, but, despite all the prodding and love we could dish out it was as if a switch went off in Leo's head and he couldn't turn it off. I blame the pent up energy, and the start of a growth spurt. I lost my patience more than once and even ran out of the room in tears- twice! All I wanted to do was keep Leo healthy, take care of him, and prevent him from aggravating his injured leg. Yet nothing I could dish out worked.

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He finally managed to chew off some of his bandages on the hardware when I made the mistake of letting him be in an inflatable collar (yay for wasting 30 plus bucks!). Jon and I took him into the vet yesterday around noon. Sleep deprived, tired of listening to him whine and bark, and upset with my boss who misunderstood a FB status message I nearly broke down at the vets when they asked me if I could leave Leo at the vet clinic due to an emergency coming in. I feel so responsible for him, and hated the thought of leaving him there, but, I had to get back to work. So I relented, told them about how he has been, and left.

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That said, it was a very, VERY good decision. When Jon and I came back in the evening to pick Leo up the vet said they had to give him an injection of sedatives. Leo was fine for a little bit, being his normal cute self, and then the switch went off. She prescribed a new sedative for him for me to take home and give Leo. I nearly did carwheels! I know it sounds bad, it really does. The odd thing is when he's awake he acts just like his old self! He's sleeping more now and his pin site wounds look a LOT better. He even walks around without limping. All fantastic signs. Lets just hope that once this last round of sedatives is over with I can take Leo out and let him be a bit more like a puppy. Maybe that'll help channel some of his energy!

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So in short, it was a bumpy ride this week. But I'm sure it's all worth it to get him well. We will get there. And in the meantime, I'm going to catch up on sleep, get a massage on Monday, and enjoy some of my summer break. I didn't know this caretaker thing could take so much out of me!