The Pup Is Back

It's taken Tristan a very, very long time to recover from his surgery. Finally about a month ago I realized that Tristan was starting to show his happy face and getting back to his old mischievous self. I had almost given up and was mostly resigned that he would never be 100% again.

After Tristan's surgery I spent three weeks sleeping on the floor with him. I didn't want him trying to jump up on the bed so I covered it with big plastic storage tubs. During the day he stayed in his big wire crate. We hadn't used it since he was a pup but I soon realized that he actually likes the crate. Now I keep the door open and he often retires to it.

I kept Tristan on the quiet activity schedule prescribed for the first weeks and several months. Tristan got better but he seemed to plateau at the point where he was before the surgery. We went back to the neurologist several times and didn't really get any answers. There didn't appear to be any nerve damage but it was possible that an infection at the surgery site was present and he was treated for that. Options presented were another MRI or seeing an orthopedic vet although it wasn't too likely there was an orthopedic problem.

Tristan continued to hesitate getting into the Xterra. It broke my heart to see him occasionally put his front paws up on an embankment but then drop down clearly deciding not to follow through. I took him to his regular vet who is wonderful. He also was concerned that Tristan wasn't progressing. Tristan went on anti-inflammatory meds and some pain pills. The vet pointed out that Tristan's muscles hadn't recovered on one side of the spine at the surgery site. (I hope I'm phrasing this correctly). There was a dip on one side of his spine.

Finally as I noted, Tristan seemed to get back to his old self. I think his happy face was the best indicator. Too bad our pets can't just tell us how they feel. Tristan was very stoic throughout this ordeal but I knew he was better when the happy face was back on a regular basis.

Tristan's recovery took so much longer than I expected. I'm happy he's finally bounced back. We'll continue to take it easy but it's great to have him back to his "play with me, play with me, play with me" self.

Here's Tristan's own version of Marley and Me.