Out of the Blū

Thursday, May 9, 2024

Today was a bit rough.

The yard construction seemed to disturb Bear's rest, and he was super confused when we took him out to use the bathroom. Change isn't always easy for him. He's adaptable, but it takes him a bit to learn. He's pretty heavily drugged right now, so I can imagine how confused he must feel.

I shaved and wiped his butt today because he had poop stuck in his fur. He didn't enjoy that, but he allowed me to do it and seemed more comfortable after.

He FINALLY peed and pooped for us today, just a few minutes ago. His regular potty spot is all messed up. Everything looks and smells different. The timing of the work in the yard is not ideal with Bear being drugged and recovering from surgery. We planned it to not go like this, but in the end it wasn't up to us. We are just going to do the best we can.

Other than that, he's eating and drinking. He's getting around pretty well on his potty trips. We're supporting him with his sling and that's going ok. Unfortunately, the yard is going to be in a constant state of change for the next few weeks, but hopefully tomorrow will be better.

This is how our day is going.

Bear has drank, but not really eaten much. He's supposed to be on bed rest, but every time we try to walk him for potty purposes he thinks he's supposed to get a real walk, so he hasn't peed or pooped yet today. He wants to wander. I'm sure the yard construction is spurring his curiosity and not helping him rest.

He's not sleeping as much, and he's grumbling. He's not having a great day, I don't think. Poor buddy. 🙁

Someone's looking a bit brighter this morning. ❤️

Whew! I'm glad I'm off work today.

Whew! I'm glad I'm off work today. It's been a hectic morning already.

I AM NOT COMPLAINING... but:

The pool guys are here digging up the yard. We were told the work would start around the beginning of APRIL. I'm not upset that they ran behind. It happens.

They came by on Tuesday to see the yard and talk to us. The pool installer said he would send a text or call us to confirm, but that the work might start today.

We woke up to them working in the yard.

No text or call on either of our phones.

We had to walk the dogs individually out front. Not too bad for Cub, but it is unfamiliar territory for Bear. He didn't have his pee or poop smells to trigger him and hasn't used the bathroom yet. He's less sedated today, as well, and seemed like he thought we were going on an adventure. 😬 Shaun ended up carrying him back in.

Shaun has major anxiety anytime anyone is here to do work. I get it. It's uncomfortable. But it's next-level for him and since he didn't even have time to wake up and prepare for the fact that they were coming it's extra not great. It's only 10 in the morning and his nerves are shot.

Not to mention that it would have been nice to not do this at the same time Bear is recovering. 😅 But it is what it is.

I know how privileged this must sound. "My dog is recovering from expensive surgery while our pool is being installed. Poor me." I don't mean it like that at all. I am grateful for all of the nice things in my life because at one point I could have never imagined being in this position. But I would be lying if I said there wasn't still some stress, especially on days like today.

Wednesday, May 8, 2024

We woke Bear up for meds...

We woke Bear up for meds and to try to get him to eat. He wasn't very interested in food, but drank a little. Then we took him out.

He peed A TON and wet his harness. His vet said that might happen because it (unfortunately) goes across his penis. We're putting it in the wash. I think he's only going to need it for 2 weeks, so I'm debating whether we need to get a second one for him. He also pooped. It looked like a struggle because he can't really bend his knees much to get the correct posture - not that he ever could. He always seems to have those struggle poops, but hopefully not once his knees are healed.

He walked around more than I thought he would. Shaun ended up carrying him back in. Thankfully, Shaun can hoist him easily with one arm.

I cleaned him up with some wipes after we got him in. He's currently resting in the floor in front of the couch. We don't want him jumping off and messing up his new knees. He also seems more comfortable down there, anyway, since the couch throws him down constantly. 😂

I think as long as we keep him medicated and support him when he walks, this will be ok. So far, he mostly sleeps and rests, and that's what he is supposed to do. The only complaint I have is that he could have let us know he needed to go out, but he didn't. I feel terrible that he needed to use the bathroom for who knows how long and just held it. But we'll get him on a schedule to make sure that doesn't happen again.