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Saturday, November 10, 2012

Echo - Stitches Out

Echo went in to have his stitches out yesterday.  His wound has healed well except for the small area where he licked two stitches out.  The vet said not to worry about him licking that area but we decided that it was best to put his tee shirt back on him to keep him from irritating that area.  So here is a photo of Echo wearing his Colorado Avalanche shirt.  This seems to be his favorite shirt to wear right behind his FSU tee shirt. He likes the hip hop look.  He was a good boy for the vet in allowing her to take most of his stitches out without creating a fuss.  Of course he was talking all the way through the process just to supervise the process .  At first when he did that we thought he was growling  but turns out he is just one vocal boy and likes to talk. When he wanted her to stop the vet tech started ruffing his head and ears and he was so distracted the rest of the stitches came out without incident.

We are wondering how Molly did following her surgery yesterday.  So Susan if you happen to read this posting please let us know how Molly is doing post surgery.

Using a tee shirt keeps them from licking their incision following surgery and lets enough air in for the wound to heal. Mostly they will leave the area alone but when the hair starts to grow back and the healing is about done it itches and they will either lick or scratch the area. Other times they will move just right and the stitches pull and you will hear a yip.  They sometimes get after the area then as well.  We use a jersey type tee shirt so they can't injure that incision with their toe nails since it is a heavier material.  We then band it in place with vet wrap which is an elastic material that will stick to itself.  You can also cut the tee shirt up the back half way and tie it together on top. We like the vet wrap because it is easier to use and when Echo is done with the tee shirt we can wear it again.  A caution in using vet wrap though is if you use it around a leg be sure it is not too tight.  It can cut off circulation and animals have been known to lose a foot from having it on too tight or on too long.  When Bozwell gets a sore on his leg we put a tube sock on his foot and up to his elbow and use vet tape wrap it on.  By rolling the sock over two or three times at the top it serves as enough cushion to keep it from cutting off circulation.


7 comments:

Pat said...

Glad Echo is recovering…

Anonymous said...

Bruce,
What a stud Echo is with his cool t shirt on....I always used to use my son's t shirts as for this type of situation...it is also good when you are weaning puppies to put on momma...and the good old sock solution is great as well...but, I am glad you mentioned a caution about the vet wrap...the first time I used it, I wrapped it a little too tight...fortunately I was at home and my girl was in the house with me...about thirty minutes after I had wrapped her leg I looked down at her and thought gee her foot looks big; and then I thought that it was only because her leg was wrapped...but I stopped what I was doing and checked it anyway...and the foot had actually started to swell...because I had wrapped her leg too tight...needless to say I immediately unwrapped the leg and left it off for about an hour and then rewrapped it again with a little more give in it....and everything was fine...fortunately for her and me that I did it on a day when I was not leaving the house....if it had been a work day, I would have had a serious problem going on by the time I normally would have returned home....so listen to Bruce!

Susan said...

Bruce, Molly did well with her surgery, the hardened cyst and two golf ball sized growths were removed. This will make her more comfortable for what time she has left with us.

Unfortunately, the cancer is much more entrenched in her muscle and chest than we had hoped. It's an aggressive cancer and developed quickly.

Our vet doesn't believe we'll have Molly with us into next year, which of course has devastated us.

That being said, we will do all we can to make the rest of her life as carefree and comfortable as possible until she lets us know she's ready to go. We have three Jack Russells who are her buddies and who will miss her greatly. We will try to help them adjust to her absence.

At the moment, she's healing well from the surgery, spitting out her medicine and in general being perky.

So anyone else reading this, please, for your pets sake, check your pets carefully for any unexplained cysts, hardened bumps no matter how small.
It might be a slight infection, or it could be something more serious.


Bruce said...

Susan: Thank you for the update on Molly. I am sorry to hear however that she won't be with you much longer. There is absolutely nothing like losing a dog and when you lose them by inches it is even worse. At least Molly will be more comfortable in her remaining time by having those lumps removed. Our other three dogs knew before we did that our Gypsy was getting worse. They comforted us because they knew. You will need their comfort when you have to say goodbye to Molly. Our problem was to determine when the time was right. We could see that our Gypsy was ready to go in her eyes. She could still function okay but she had given up on life. It is totally heart wrenching to lose a beloved pet. We do what is best for them not us and they rely and trust us to do that so they will not suffer. You will certainly be in our prayers as it is a very tough time. Mere words can't describe the loss of a loved family member. Enjoy the time you have left with Molly.

Susan said...

Thank you Bruce for your kind words. Our vet says that once she refuses food, that's the time. But until then, we'll enjoy time with her.

I'm glad to see Echo is up and about and loving his shirts!! :)
We purchased some for Molly on the advice of the vet tech... but upon showing her one... her lip curled
and she gave us her Queen Victoria look "We am not amused." LOL


Bruce said...

Thank you for keeping the readers posted on Molly. Echo does a lot of talking when we put a shirt on him but he is a chatter box anyway. Pleas keep us posted on Molly.

Susan said...

LOL "Does a lot of talking" is probably an understatment! :)

Re: Molly - I will do so.