It has been about 11 hours since Rex was taken in to Dr. Koh’s at 10 this morning.
He will be allowed to eat and drink within the next hour or so.Rex is now 9 and a half months and about 8 months since we got him last November. He’s been such a joy all along, and grown into such a beautiful dog, even winning ‘The Star’s – Dog Loves Camera Contest at 5 months old (we were informed by some friends that below pic has been making its round across the Internet!).
Cuteness aside, I am sad to say that Rex has always been slightly on the heavier side of dogs, but perhaps that was what always made him cute. at 7 months Rex was diagnosed with Canine Hip Displasia (CHD). We had noticed that he always had a limp or walked funny on his back right leg and had brought him in to the vet to have the situation diagnosed. This was further confirmed on the X-ray that was taken on him on that visit, showing the displacement of the ball and socket of his hip which was unlike the usual positioning. we were told then that we had just slightly less than 3 months to determine if we were going to take him in for a Triple Pelvic Osteotomy (TPO) corrective surgery. he was then put on a loading of Synoquin which is believed scientifically or through research, or so we were told, to enhance the healthy development of joints in a dog who have a tendency towards CHD, for which in any case Rex was already diagnosed.
That aside, Rex had always been a regular at Koh’s Clinic and Surgery. Apart from his booster shots which we had given him, despite claims from the XYZ vet we bought him from, we decided to avert any possibilities of him having missed them, just to be safe, right up to monthly visits because of his usual bout of rash outbreaks. just to set the records straight, Rex had always steadily had his weight increase, even to the point of frequent chiding by doctors Lim and Koh for not monitoring his weight. come to think about it, perhaps the lack of control on our part actually contributed to his exponential growth which outpaced his bone, pelvic and hip development, thus triggering the onset of CHD (even though doctors have come to agree that CHD is passed on genetically).
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10am
Rex arrives with the whole family at Koh’s Clinic and Surgery on time for his scheduled appointment. Instead of having him back in his room by 9 in the morning as would be his typical routine since the family does actually have to go out to work, he’s been allowed to roam around and lie in the living area for an extended time.
Apart from getting all excited as he normally does jumping into the back of the car, Rex kinda seemed as though he knew we were going for ‘something major’. nonetheless throughout the ride he was just being his usual nonchalant self, albeit obedient by sitting in the back seat. when we arrived, he seemed hesitant in going into the clinic, but with a little coaxing he soon banters in to the consultation room, sees Dr Lim and instantaneously shows his excitement. i carry him up the operating table and at that instant he knew apparently what was coming along. Not long after he was sedated and completely knocked out in 30 seconds.
Soon roland and charles the vet assistants were busy shaving his fur on the area the doctors were to operate on, cleaning and applying iodine to the shaven areas. one doctor had his tongue clipped out while the other 2 were busy preparing the surgical tools. at one stage the doctor even asked if i wanted to have a video done on the entire procedure, but i pleasantly declined. instead i had just taken a few pictures of the few minutes before stepping out to allow the doctors room to begin their task.
12:30pm
we get a call from the nurse stating that the procedure was complete, but they had to do a little post surgery x-ray on his condition, and in this case only be done by the next half hour.
1.10pm
my sis and I arrive barely 5 minutes apart from our parents, and when mom saw Rex, she just started tearing profusely.
it was not difficult to understand the pain she felt. when looking at little boy Rex, he was just shivering and trembling like crazy. the doctors commented that’s normal for a dog who’s just been out of anaesthesia (however you spell that). we’ve also seen the side of our dog who’s just regained consciousness after having come out of sedation twice in the past after having done 2 previous photos before the surgery (one prior to the prescription of Synoquin, and the other just last month which was when we noticed didnt really do much help), but this morning’s episode was just a 10x magnification of what we’ve seen in the past. good thing nonetheless the entire family was there to rally him on. the doctor also explained his situation and ran through the current x-ray to show us where the screws and metal pieces were placed, and where the pelvic bone or was it hip, was broken into 3 different places (TPO). after a brief session of ‘what should i dos’ we picked up his medication, E-collar, thanked the motley crew and charles who helped show how to carry rex so i could carry him in the car the entire journey we were driven home.
Got back in record time, and set him on a specially custom made mattress we had just got him the week before. surprisingly the entire week he had it, he was just the epitome of a depressed dog, never wanting to lie on it. right now it seems like the perfect post surgery dog companion compared to the cold hard floor. or so i thought. whole afternoon i was with Rex, he never slept a wink. or perhaps only 2 5-minute intervals. apart from that, nothing. just constant noddings from a tired beat out dog who just refused to sleep. even defying doctors orders, i give him some water which he downs like a thirsty camel, and a bone which he turns away just after a mere sniff, and even the bag of new toys from from Petco New York which he looks almost curiously at, at first glance but turns away soon enough. maybe he’s just in too much pain.
6pm
Thanks to the bed, we were able to carry him out to the garden and set him just beside his usual potty area. Rex is also an awesome dog in that he was fully housebroken within the first month he came home with us. housebroken in a sense perhaps he has broken almost every breakable item in the process, but now Rex knows he should only weewee on the grass on the garden, which we pour water over on to prevent the patch from dying thanks to his awesome wee, and poopoo only on newspapers. and i can almost say 100% without batting an eyelid that even though he’s had his bad days, misalignment or miscalulation standard deviation accounts for less than 3 Sigma intervals! after waiting like 30minutes or so, Rex attempts to stagger out of bed onto the grass. he does so with obviously great pain, groans but takes 2 brave steps onto the garden and just lies down. and he laid there for a full 2 hours until we had to carry him onto the bed and back into the room. unbeknowned to the doctors, we start giving him water and a few pieces of fruit.
9.30pm
We are all excited to feed Rex, and cut up all his favourite fruits in a nice fruit platter which he gobbles up in record time. after a normal whine which tells us he needs to go potty, we again attempt to alleviate his problem of going potty by carrying him on his bad out to the garden area. it’s been half an hour and we’re still waiting for him to make a move. he’s tried a few times to get up, but lays back down after a few brief seconds. he is still not sleeping.
