It's been a challenging couple of weeks.
George's vet and trainers have suspected pain in his left hind leg and spine for some time and, once we'd got over the countryside retreat, I'd got him booked in for some x-rays.
As it needs a general anaesthetic, I added on a dental clean (he would likely have needed this by the age of 3). I opted for full bloodwork as well.
The vet's office were amazing as usual. They moved things around so that George's VB could be the one doing his x-rays and dental.
He was on his usual 'stressful events' medication but was still stressed in reception. As soon as he saw his adored vet, all was well.
She explained that the general anaesthetic would just make him gently fall asleep and left us alone for it to kick in. Well, I already know that George fights medication and this was no different.
He was stumbling around, legs sliding in all different directions, twitching and bumping into things. I was trying my best to prevent him from hurting himself. It was quite distressing to see.
I was just about to call out for the vet when she came back in, expecting him to be calmly lying down. Oh! She said his noise sensitivity and anxiety was not allowing him to just give in and go to sleep.
When he was finally very sleepy, the vet said they would put the catheter in while I was still with him, warning me there might be a drop of blood. There was a little more than a drop!
I gave him a kiss goodbye and the vet tech carried him through to the surgery room.
A couple of hours later, I got a call that they had nearly finished the x-rays and to come back - they wanted me to be there when he woke up.
When I arrived, they sent me through to the tranquillity room. George was being held by the vet tech (who may now be in the circle of trust) and thoroughly enjoying some food (he'd had to skip breakfast that day).
He was still very very wobbly. When he saw me, he tried to jump up but fell flat on his face 😥
I waited with him while he recovered until the vet was free. All looked good on the x-rays of his hips and knees. He has a mild curve in his spine (kyphosis) which may or may not be causing pain. The physio will be looking at his x-rays and we have an appointment in a couple of weeks.
Obviously I am relieved that his hips and knees look perfect but it was kind of disappointing in a weird way. I think I had been hoping that we might find a reason for his anxiety and reactivity - something that can be fixed.
He did have some inflammation and bleeding on his gums so I was glad I got the dental. We need to keep on top of this.
The vet led us through the surgery to show us the x-rays. George did so well walking closely past all the people - I joked that we could do with a general anaesthetic every day. The vet noted that there is one type of meds we haven't yet tried (benzos) so could be something to bear in mind.
When it was time to leave the vet, he didn't want to go! She walked out to the car with us and he cried when she left. It's so amazing that only a small selection of people are in George's circle of trust, and the vet is one of them.
He was a little sleepy for the rest of the day and the following day but toileting and eating and drinking as normal.
We managed a walk on Sunday and he returned to daycare on Monday. On Monday night, I noticed he was bothering his leg where it had been shaved to put the catheter in. It looked red and inflamed.
So the cone of shame went back on 😥
After a couple of days, it looked like it was getting worse and I was worried about an infection. I had to work from home. The vet advised to keep the cone on, and to put Neosoothe on twice a day (luckily we still had some from his recent paw injury). I sent some pictures to the vet and after another couple of days, took him back in for a check-up. It
Weirdly, he was very excited to be back at the vet. The vet met us in the car park as she knows he struggles with reception. He went through fine when she was with us.
She said his leg is healing and not infected which is a relief. It's just taking a while. She advised keeping the cone on for another couple of days and to give him Apoquel to help with the itching.
I ended up working from home for 6 days which was stressful. We're really busy at the moment and it was really hard to be confined at home again - for both me and George. 3 lockdowns in 4 months is not good for our mental health.
We did manage to get out for a couple of walks which went well. George was very excited and happy to be out and we were lucky to minimise triggers.
He's now finally just returned to daycare although he will still bother his leg at times. I am putting the cone back on overnight and continuing with the Apoquel for a little longer.
What a journey.