[Dailydrool] Life's getting better for Elsinore

[Elizabeth Lindsey]

Life was pretty grim for our Elsinore on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. She spent most of her time wearing the hated life preserver and sleeping on the dog bed in the bedroom. When she was awake, she shot me mean looks and muttered ominously under her breath. It made me wonder if she was holding me responsible for how awful she felt because I was the one who'd taken her to that vet in the first place. She fought her Cephalexin, Rimadyl, and Tramadol with everything she had. She refused to eat anything resembling a normal meal. And it took her until Friday morning to have her first post-surgery poop. 

On Saturday she perked up and became more herself again. Instead of self-segregating in the bedroom, she came to join young Charlie and me in my office. She even came over to ask for pats, but then growled at me when I complied. But when I stopped, she nudged me for me. Some of us just want to have it both ways, I guess. She still slept a lot, but she also took a couple of sun baths on the deck, showed interest in what was going on around her, and refused to eat pretty much everything offered to her. 

On Sunday she had her last Tramadol. They were a bear to wrestle into her, and it seemed as she really didn't need them anymore anyway. This was the day I tried one last time to get her into the jumpsuit Val so kindly mailed all the way from Hawaii. She makes them out of warm-up jackets for her Bo to wear because you can put absorbent pads inside. This particular jumpsuit shrank in the wash and didn't fit Bo anymore, and Val though it might be a more comfortable than the life preserver I was having Elsinore wear to keep from bothering her stitches and incision. Alas, Elsinore continues to adamantly subscribe to Miss Angela Basset's nude, nude, nude philosophy. Trying to get her legs into the jumpsuit was like trying to put an angry cat into a bathtub of water. Val, I'm so sorry Elsinore couldn't appreciate your thoughtfulness, but I sure have--thank you! On the plus side, she hasn't shown any interest in her stitches or incision so far.

As of today, Elsinore is no longer constantly on the offensive, and she's back to living her life normally. Except for the eating thing. She's still not eating right or well. When I put a bowl of kibble down for her, she stabs her nose into it and then shoves the whole bowl away, looking about as nauseated as a dog can look. In the week since her surgery, she's eaten four McDonald's hamburgers, two slices of pizza, three pieces of toast, maybe ten large Milk Bones (six of them with peanut butter on them), and peanut butter smeared on the kitchen floor with a spatula. I've begged her to eat white rice and Rice Chex cereal (which are about as bland and odorless as one can get with a food), scrambled eggs, and cheese. I know she's not milking the situation and just holding out for more McDonald's hamburgers and pizza because she can't bring herself to even look at shredded cheddar cheese, which has been her long-time favorite treat. She gets a queasy, uneasy look on her face when I offer her cheese. Yet she's able to handle it on the pizza, and she's fine with an aromatic fat-filled burger. Go figure. 

Earlier in the week she was actually licking the peanut butter off the Milk Bones and then hiding the Milk Bones in the towel I'd put on her bed to protect it from the bowel incontinence she had for several days after her surgery. Young Charlie very, very wisely gave that bed wide berth, even when she wasn't on it. Elsinore's *never* hidden food like that before. It was such bizarre behavior for her. On Sunday she once again started coming in to pester me for an afternoon snack, which is usually a large Milk Bone. Only now she's taking the Milk Bone and kind of psyching herself up to eat it. 

I'm hopeful her appetite will return a day or two after she finishes the last Cephalexin and Rimadyl on Wednesday morning. In the meantime, I guess I'll be stopping by McDonalds to stock up on more hamburgers to tide her over until then. It feels so wrong giving her fast food for her meals, but perhaps two weeks of a McDonalds/peanut butter-only diet won't completely clog up her arteries?

Overall, though, she's bounced back better and more quickly than I'd been anticipating. It's nice to have her back, and I'm sure that missing piece of her, her healthy appetite, will return before much longer, too.

Thank you all for your good thoughts and healing drool!

Elizabeth