Kodi's Surgery

As planned, I took Kodi to the vet Thursday morning before I headed out of town for the rest of the week and weekend. The ACL surgery was planned for Thursday. I didn't think much of it... believing I'd waltz right into the vet and lovingly hand over my pup without a worry. However, I was quickly proved wrong about the ease of letting my baby go.

As soon as I pulled into the parking lot of the Gentle Care Animal Hospital, Kodi stood up in the back seat and started to whimper. The dog has only been to this vet twice in his entire life, so suprisingly by trip three, he KNEW where he was and obviously he didn't want to be there. Nonetheless, I was a trooper and casually (with great energy, Cesar Millan style) walked Kodi into the vet with confidence. It was great until the technician came to "take" Kodi with her. She placed the rope leash around his neck and then it started...

I looked down at my baby, and his back legs began to shake dramatically! I pet him for a quick second and told him it would all be okay, but as I saw his legs continue to shake, my eyes welled up with tears. Then it happened... the tech began to try to lead him away from me and back to the door where he'd officially enter the vet and be in their possession... Kodi resisted and began to try to get back to me. His legs started pushing off away from the tech as hard as he could, pulling her a bit towards me. I lost it... my baby wanted to be with me (was what went through my mind)! The tech looked up at me and said, "m'am, sometimes they do better when you leave." So I asked if they needed anything else from me, and walked out the door.

As soon as I hit the fresh air, I seriously lost it. I boo-hoo'd and jumped into my car where I watched Kodi struggle to get away from the tech again, until he finally gave up and walked with her like the good boy he is. Man that hurt... I sat in the car for a few minutes trying to collect myself for the drive home. That hurt. I KNEW he'd be fine. I KNEW Dr. Blackburn and his staff would take great care of him! BUT, I didn't want to leave our baby. It was hard.

Later that day, I left for GA and did not return until last night. Turns out the vet (with our permission) rescheduled Kodi's surgery from Thursday to Friday. So instead of my hubby picking Kodi Bear up on Saturday while I was out of town... Kodi has been at the vet since I left him there Thursday morning. We get to pick him up today! The doctor called Kelly on Friday to let him know that Kodi had made it safely through the surgery. The ACL repair was done, but the doctor unfortunately saw quite a bit of arthritis already building up in the joint. I asked my hubby what that meant, and he said it meant that at a later date we'd have to deal with Kodi's arthritis and how it'll affect him. But for now, everything is okay.

I can't wait to see our baby. I'm worried how frail he'll look, but I know he's a trooper and will do great. One day at a time... the recovery time begins.

UPDATE: 7:45pm, Monday - Kodi is HOME! He is hanging out in the office where we have made him a "recovery room". Complete with a new bed and his own bowl of water and food (when it's time to eat of course). He's supposed to move minimally, so the smaller space is important. He looks great. His knee has a nasty looking 4 inch+ incision in it, but I know he'll recover in time. Glad to have my baby home!