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Zora and the Bionic Ankle


One of my biggest concerns about the recovery period is taking care of Zora.  I have heard repeatedly that dogs sense when their owner is not well and become adjusted to the new circumstances, usually becoming a comfort to their person.  This has certainly been true of Zora, but, on the other hand, her scheduled is disrupted, and sometimes her confusion is reflected in some odd behavior.

Zora and I have a routine.  We wake up around 7:15, followed by some time in bed to cuddle, but mostly me petting her and giving her belly rubs.  After a quick bathroom stop for me, she goes out in the back followed by a game of tug and fetch.  When she tires of play, usually within 10 or 15 minutes, I give her breakfast.

I have tried to keep this routine as best I can, but I cannot take her out.  I can now maneuver the scooter enough to open the door to the porch, but I cannot get to the porch to open the door to the fenced-in backyard.  When she wakes in the morning I have to wake up anyone staying with me to take her out.

When we play I am usually down on the floor with her, something I obviously cannot do anymore. I attempt to play fetch from my recliner, but it doesn't seem to be as fun as having me on the floor with her.  Rachel is great about getting down and giving her a work out playing.  With me on the recliner, sometimes she is slow to play and sometimes she simply gives up.  It seems it's just not as much fun as getting down on the floor with her person.

The other obstacle is her puppy behavior of chewing anything she can get in her mouth.  This has already forced me to purchase three new cords for my MacBook and a new remote for my new recliner!  I was keeping the remote for my bedroom fan on my nightstand until I heard her clamp down on it and saw a piece of it on the floor.  She's not stupid: she knows what she should not be chewing!   She goes right under the coffee table or the desk in the study when she knows she shouldn't have it.  I wasn't able to get down to get it out from her mouth, but Rachel came to the rescue.

Her chewing also posed a potential risk with my two catheters.  The catheters went into my right thigh and were attached to a plastic bulb filled with a nerve block.  The medication sat in a pouch, much like a fanny pack, that went either around my neck or to my side.  In order to protect the catheters from the puppy, I sat with a blanket on top of my lap, not only to hide the catheters from Zora, but also to keep some semblance of modesty since the tubes didn't allow for my dress or nightgown to go much below the waist.  It also makes a nice tablecloth. By the way, if you ever have this surgery, ask about the nerve blockers!  They made the recovery so much easier!

This morning was the first day I was able to feed her by myself.  The basket on the scooter is invaluable: I was able to get the dog food from the pantry into the basket and pick up and wash her bowls before filling them and laying them down.  Today was the first day that I was able to feed her myself, and I am hoping that with the return of some normalcy, Zora can feel more settled.


She's a little confused about going in and out!

It is the nights that challenge us the most.  When I moved from the bedside commode to using the bathroom, it became more of a disruption to her sleep.  She wakes up with me, but rather than go right back to sleep as she usually does, she follows me to the bathroom and decides it's time for her to go as well.  The first two nights I woke up my caregiver -- first, Deb and then Rachel.  The guest bedroom is on the other side of the house, so I had to call them to come get Zora and let her out.  Last night I decided to try to change the behavior.  After I went to the bathroom around 2:30 am, she started to paw at the door and growl to go out.  I told her it wasn't time to go out and to come back to bed.  After sometime she came back into bed and went to sleep until it was time to wake up.

As I write this Zora is with her favorite friend Ziggy at Camp Bow Wow.  It's made the day a little more relaxing, but as the time draws near for her to come home, I find I am looking forward to her return.  She has had a few friends come over to play -- Punkin and Gracie -- and that gives her a chance to run around.  It also helps that it makes her tired, and she is ready for a nap on my lap afterwards.

Finally, I am very lucky to have our Pay It Forward club, and they have arranged for someone to walk Zora twice a day starting this Sunday.  I have been asking friends to walk her for the last month, once my ankle got too bad for more than a couple of blocks.  At first she hesitated to go out without me, but eventually she was confident that I would still be here when she got back from her walk.  Zora has a lot of friends who enjoy taking time with her, and that makes her one lucky dog!  And me a lucky lady!


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