The First Night after TPLO Surgery

This picture sums up the first night perfectly. Addie had had pain meds during surgery in addition to anesthesia to keep her comfortable. With all of this in her it was difficult for her to walk on three legs even late in the evening. Our vet gave us a sling to help support her but it didn't work for her. My husband would carry her outside to give her an opportunity to potty but I believe it was all just too much for Addie. The main thing I would have done differently would have been to set up potty friendly bedding in case of an accident. I learned. The good thing is, the bed that she was on absorbed all of it keeping it away from her which was great.

I always find it painful experiencing any of my girls coming out of anesthesia. When Hailey had her knee surgery, it was so easy to scoop her up and rock her when she was going through the worst of it. It worked like a charm with Hailey. Comforting Addie was difficult due to her size and pain level. I found Addie's cries the hardest to endure. Her razor sharp nails from her complimentary nail trim didn't help either as she kept pawing at me. There was a point at about 2 a.m. where there was absolutely nothing left that I could do. She had had all of the pain meds that she could possibly have that night which were given by 9:30 pm. I was by her side constantly reassuring her and comforting her. She was restless, painting like crazy, crying and I was helpless again. But finally, she settled. We all needed a rest.