I had the pleasure/anxiety of neutering my only son today. Operating on your own pet brings a wealth of emotions and gives me a new, found understanding of how our clients feel when its their loved one on that table. Luckily for me, I am the one controlling the surgical success and I know immediately how is he doing. But it does allow me to step on the other side of the exam table and experience those same emotions, which is always a great thing.
Let me tell you a little about Odie. First, there is nothing little about him. He is 135 pounds of muscle, and I swear his head must weigh 40 pounds by itself. Second, much like every intact male dog, he considers it his job to mark every elevated object within a 1 mile radius of himself at all times, except inside (thank goodness). My wife and I are currently “screening in” our back porch and Odie doesn’t have the understanding/knowledge/doesn’t care that that is now “inside.” So if he can feel the breeze then he thinks he’s in the clear and lets it fly, literally. I hope by removing the “extra testosterone” there may be a little less desire to claim everything as his own and hopefully keep our new screened in porch urine free.
Much to the chagrin of my wife, I make most of our furry kid’s medical decisions without her consent or knowledge. NOT A SMART IDEA. Luckily, I had remembered this crucial bit of info last night and gave her a run-down of what I was planning to do and why. Amazingly, she said “ok” with very little questions. I must have said something right. Again a miracle.
So I load the dogs up this AM and take them to work, probably their favorite activity because of all the sights, sounds, and smells. Then I blindside Odie with a couple shots to make him sleepy and a little nauseous. Next thing he knows, he is waking up on the floor drunk with his two favorite appendages removed. Not what he signed up for. I can see lots of treats in his near future to make up for this injustice.
Just so everyone knows, Odie is doing well and I am sure will be back to normal tomorrow, but he has had a nice nap for most of the day.
This is Odie recovering from anesthesia with a princess blanket. Only the best for my son.
Dr. B
