Celebrating Kayla's 9th birthday!

I can have my cake and eat it too.

It's Kayla's birthday today and we have SO much to celebrate and be thankful for. She's been cancer-free and healthy as ever for a year and 3 months. She even got some of her girlish figure back. Nothing can stop this puggy!

We spent a fun-tastic time in the sun at Delores Park today. She ran around and made lots of human and dog friends :)

Look at all the people who came out to celebrate.

Beach Day Adventures

Kayla had so much fun with her besties Ribbit and Josie at Chrissy Field in San Francisco today. Check out their old blog at http://scaredofcones.blogspot.com/.

From left to right: Ribbit, Josie, and Kayla (and their pawrents)

Her new Ruffwear harness worked great!

She ran around in the sand and was able to keep up with all the other dogs. Look at her go!

K9 Cancer Walk in Los Gatos

We had such a great time meeting all the supporters and survivors at the K9 Cancer Walk benefiting the Morris Animal Foundation in Los Gatos this morning! Celebrating a month of being cancer free and supporting our incredible team at Sage Centers. 

Thanks Dr. Banz, Dr. McDonald, and Nurse Karla.

Proud to be a tri-pug!

We met the famous Minnie and Max!

We met a grumble of pugs

Perfect day to be out at the park

Carry me please!

Pre and Post Amputation Care Tips

Now that Kayla is all healed up, I thought I'd share our learnings and tips for other dog-parents anticipating their dog's amputation surgery or going through post-amputation recovery. Hope this helps!

Be prepared before the surgery

1. Once you've gathered all the information and made the decision that amputation is the best course of action, be confident that it's the right choice. It was really hard for us to accept that Kayla will be losing a leg and we got 2nd and even 3rd opinions, but in my heart I always knew it was the right choice. 
2. Stay strong and be positive for your dog. Dogs are very attuned to their owners' feelings so send them positive energy before going into surgery. I remember Kayla was totally fine at the vet until I couldn't hold in my emotions and tears. Once she sensed that something was wrong, she became really scared and started shivering. 
3. Make sure you feel very comfortable with your vet and the surgeon doing the actual surgery. Our surgeon was different than our oncologist, so we asked to meet the surgeon before the surgery. He spent time answering all our questions and bonding with Kayla the morning of the surgery.
4. Discuss the surgery schedule and ask to be updated throughout the day. We dropped Kayla off at 9am. Our surgeon called me to let me know that they're going into the operation at noon. The surgery only lasted about an hour and a half and the surgeon called me right afterwards to let me know that the surgery went well and there were no complications. Then they called one last time that day around 5pm before the team transitioned to the overnight emergency staff. At that time, Kayla was already waking up from the anesthesia. It was a very emotional day, but being updated regularly definitely made me feel more comfortable.

Post-surgery care and recovery

1. Prepare your house before your dog comes home post-amputation. Pick an area that you will want to confine your dog to for the first week. Make sure it's somewhere he feels comfortable and safe in. We chose our living room since it's where we spend most of our time together at home and there's a big area rug so she doesn't slip when she tries to get up to walk around. We put her bed, her favorite blanket, toys, and water bowl in that area so she doesn't need to travel far for her favorite things.
2. Add traction to slippery surfaces in your house. You don't have to cover all of the area, just where your dog can have a clear path to get to his favorite spots (i.e. feeding area, front/back door to be let out to go potty). We used yoga matts that we already had in the house and we bought a couple long area rugs that were on sale at Home Depot. Make sure you use anti-slip rug pads (I almost slipped and fell when I was running over the rug!).
3. Make sure your dog doesn't try to jump on or off furniture. Although they recover and adjust very quickly, it's still a very significant wound that needs to heal. Think of what it's like to take care of a toddler... it's kind of like that! You have to watch your dog at all times or confine him to a pen/crate with an E-collar. He won't know what his limits are yet and won't understand why you won't let him do what he use to but you have to be very strict for the first week.
4. It might be hard to imagine what it will be like for your dog to relieve himself with 3 legs. I was really worried at first but you'd be surprised at how quickly they figure it out. Kayla was able to urinate and defecate with no problem from the get-go. Some dogs have a tougher time. There are slings that you can use to help them in the beginning.
5. Since we're on the topic of defecating, note that constipation from the pain meds is very normal. It can take 48 hours before your dog's bowel movement becomes regular again. Don't worry -- he'll go when he needs to!
6. Keep your dog's activity to a minimum for the first 7 - 10 days. He may seem ready to run around and play, but too much activity will cause fluid build-up between the tissue and muscle around the amputation area (aka seroma). Read more about our experience in the previous post "Bye Bye Fentanyl Patch, Hello Seroma." It's not fun to deal with... 
7. Cold compression vs warm compression? I learned that cold compression helps with pain, which is why the vet recommended it for the first 2 days (~5 times a day). Warm compression helps with blood flow and healing which is good for day 3 - 10.
8. He may have a decrease in appetite the first few days. It's okay to spoil your dog with boiled chicken and other bland human food to help him eat. We stuffed Kayla's meds in boiled chicken chunks and it worked like a charm. 

See pictures of Kayla's wound throughout the recovering process below. We wanted to share these so other dog owners know what to expect.

[WARNING: If you are squeamish about wounds, do not scroll down]

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3-5

Day 6-8

Day 9-11

Day 10-12

Day13

A year later

Suture-Free Kayla!

Thanks for the new toy Josie!

We returned to see Nurse Karla and Dr. McDonald to get Kayla's sutures removed this morning. The doctor said her wound is looking really good and healing up normally. She should be completely back to normal within the next 3 to 5 days. YES! We can give her a bath soon!

We want to give a shout out to our Sage team who has been SO amazing throughout this entire process. We would not have been able to get through this without you.

Check out Kayla in her new sporty Ruffwear Web Master harness! It came highly recommended by Tripawds blog. I must say, it feels really well made. It's sturdy yet light-weight. Kayla has a tendency to lunge forward when she sees another dog and this will help me control her without pulling her off balance.

Fully supported.

Modeling her new harness!

1st Day Back In The Office

Kayla is so happy to be back in the office! She greeted everyone with lots of tail wags and body presses. She is loving all the attention and milking it for extra pets and head scratches!

She is adjusting back to her normal routine with no problem. After begging for snacks in the morning, she settled in her favorite bean bag. It took a little longer to get comfy...

Do You Want Cheese With That Whine?

"No, just head scratches pleeeeease"

I think someone is getting too spoiled at home!