Veterama

The other day, maybe last week, I took a look at Doggers still open incision. I don't look at it as often as I should because an open incision no matter how pink is still an open incision. I don't think you should spend that much time looking them, it's bad for your eyes and your appetite.  I looked at the incision because it was the day after the last day of her most recent course of antibiotics, we're seven weeks post op and she has been on antibiotics for five of them.

I was looking at the now pinkish hole in her leg - down from the red gash it was before she started her second round of antibiotics - and I saw a "thing" a dark "thing". "Tick" I said. As per doctors orders Dogger and I have been walking and most of this walking has been outside, I would prefer walking her inside but most gyms won't allow dogs in to use their treadmills .Bastard speciesists!

Sometimes when we walk we walk on grass and things smaller and nastier than Dogger live in the grass we walk on, some of those small nasty things don't care for walking and prefer to ride for free and I assumed that she had picked up a hitchhiker. I poured some peroxide on the wound to clean it out and maybe dislodge or annoy Mr. Tick, thinking maybe he would be drowned... He wasn't because there was no "he" because after the peroxide did its job, the "thing" was reveled to be clear plastic.   I had been told about internal stitches that would maybe come out... No stitch is that solid or plastic, it was not a stitch it was part of the surgery and it was poking through the wound.

Is this why it won't heal and why she is in a constant state of infection? I called the doctor who when he finally got back to me told me that I wasn't seeing what I was seeing. I told him I sure as hell was seeing what I was seeing  and I needed to come in. It didn't help that all weekend it was wet and nasty and Dogger and I didn't walk, I noticed that the "thing" went back inside when she didn't use the knee, this annoyed me. I had made an appointment for Tuesday and I didn't need the "thing" to play hide and seek. I don't want to be "that" Dog Mom.

Monday we took a long walk and like magic the "thing" made an appearance!  Dogger seemed a little fatigued and maybe a little sore. Tuesday she was more gimpy than she had been and this upset me, also I saw same signs of infection. Again. We went in and had our appointment and I told the vet about the "thing" and the walking and the gimpy and the pain and the fatigue. He made Dogger lay down and he preceded to pull a half an inch of what appeared to be heavy duty cat gut out of the wound track. He explained he had tied many knots and one had gotten loose. He examined her and and was very happy with the surgery and assured me the rest of the knot was in good shape and that the knee was doing very well. He hooked me up with two more weeks of antibiotics and told me to keep neosporin on the wound and to keep walking her. He wants to see us in three weeks.