After #TPLO: The good, the bad and the bunnies.

We are almost three weeks out from our Lily’s Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy surgery, also known as TPLO and perhaps the least favorite acronym we have ever encountered. Basically, Lily blew out her knee and became lame. We’re all limping along in one way or another but for Princess Lily, it’s unacceptable!

Having a dog is fun. Having a dog recovering from #TPLO surgery is the antithesis of fun. Not to mention expensive. Many people opt to temporarily re-locate to a less expensive community to have the procedure done. It wasn’t an option for us (other pets, other responsibilities) but why not spend a few months in Nevada or Idaho instead of shelling out a small fortune here in California?

But here we are, and last Monday the CE gingerly helped Lily into the car for the first time since her surgery and we headed downtown for her two-week check-up.

We were a little nervous about it, worried that her escape artist jailbreak up the stairs 48 hours after surgery might have irrevocably compromised the repair. So we were very happy to hear the vet’s cursory assessment (no x-rays yet) that everything looked good and was going well. Whew!

That was the good news. The bad news was that our “great, just six weeks to go!” comment was met with a “not so fast” response. Honestly, six weeks seems like an eternity when you have a sporty dog like Lily. But that’s just the beginning, as it turns out. At the 8-week mark, we begin ANOTHER EIGHT WEEK process of slowly building the leg strength back up to counter the atrophy that occurs while she’s been recovering.

We have a long way to go. And don’t forget, the partial tear in the other leg will have to be done down the line.

My spirits were sagging like the couch I’d been sleeping on for two weeks when the vet offered a consolation prize. Lily was now allowed to go up and down the stairs one time each day, which meant both she and I could return to our comfy beds upstairs!

She also is allowed three ten-minute leashed walks each day, and car outings as long as she is supported and not jumping up onto a seat. Her world (and ours!) is opening back up a bit! And we were allowed to remove the Lick Sleeve later in the week so now we just wait for her fur to grow back in.

A big event was a visit from her BFF Ace. They absolutely adore each other and have fond memories of wrestling together in the sand at the beach. Memories may be all they get to have of that as the rough play is what got Lily in trouble to begin with.

And then Lily got to visit her granny, which made them both very happy (Granny is very generous with the dog treats!)

But at home, it’s still planet lockdown for Lily. She’s feeling pretty chipper now and wants to go, go, go but that’s a no, no, no. The CE has cornered the market on fencing and given her several options so she can move from one place to another throughout the day.

Note that sofas are reconfigured as off-limits. No jumping up! But hey, she gets her own sign!

Early mornings on the courtyard:

A little oasis on the front lawn:

Whiling away the day out in back…

We think she’s pretty lucky but she’s thinking “don’t fence me in!” It’s spring and there are bunnies everywhere just longing to be chased!

Thus, we have to practice constant vigilance, constant constraint as well as turning deaf ears to barking and whimpering. The vet promptly prescribed extra trazodone and gabapentin, foreseeing the challenges to come. It’s definitely a daily grind, keeping Lily on the down low, but I guess you could say it’s the leash we can do…

Sign at the vet’s…