Big day

Today we took Presley to her regular vet, Dr. Georgiev at Tel-Nine Animal Hospital, to have her pain patch removed. Presley now weighs 85 pounds; five pounds less than one week ago.

Dr. Georgiev removed the bandage with a special staple remover and showed us the pain patch underneath. We chatted with Dr. G and the vet tech for a few minutes.

After the visit, Scott helped Presley up into the van and she did a face plant when she tried to stand up. We will have to keep the car rides to a minimum while she's recovering. It's very difficult to get her in and out of the van.

After the visit, I really didn't want to go home yet, so we went to get some Slurpees.. This was the first trip out of the house for me (other than taking Diesel for a walk everyday around the neighborhood) since Presley got home on Friday. I didn't realize how much I needed to get out of the house!

We drove around a little, drinking our Slurpees and enjoyed the warm afternoon sun. When we returned home, Presley was pretty wiped out after her big day out of the house. She took a little snooze while I took Diesel for a walk and then got ready to go out to dinner with some girlfriends.

In general, Presley seems to be doing well but she is also acting a little strange. At the last couple meals, she has been a little finicky at first but then will quickly gulp down her food. And she's been weird about going outside to go potty. I think she's afraid of the ramp because last night she jumped off the ramp and yelped from the pain. So now she associates the ramp with pain. That's my theory.

I had Scott remove the back screen door so it's easier to escort Presley when she has to go outside. She moves so fast and we have to try to stay ahead of her, otherwise she might forget and try to take the stairs or jump off the ramp again. She kind of gallops when she moves. It sure does take a lot of her to move around.

When I got home after dinner with my friends, Diesel of course greeted me at the back door. As I made my way to the bedroom to check on Presley, I heard her yelp from the bedroom. I think she heard me coming and tried to jump up to greet me, forgetting that she can't move that fast yet. When she came out of the bedroom, she seemed really uncomfortable. So I helped her back into the bedroom and got her settled on her bed. Of course, Diesel was nearby.

Scott gave her two Tramadol and one Pepcid AC. He had to drill holes in her soft, meaty treats to create a "pill pocket". Otherwise, she finds the pill and spits it out. And she will no longer eat treats covered in Cheez Whiz or peanut butter. She's onto that. For now the homemade pill pockets seem to be working fairly well. The smellier the treat, the better. Otherwise, she can smell the pill and won't eat the treat.

After taking her meds, she just wanted to be petted and comforted. She laid her head in my hand and stayed very still. I rested her head in my lap and pet her all over, smoothing her fur and gently scratched her shaved fur. My leg was falling asleep, so I put a pillow under her head and laid down on the floor next to her, as she dozed on and off. I told her that everyone has been asking about her and sends their best.