These Days

Last Tuesday, Gus, the giant Golden Retriever, had a second knee operation - this time on his left knee. The operation is called a TPLO, which is supposed to stabilize the knee joint and fix the absence of the canine cruciate ligament. He had had surgery on the right leg back in 2008, and afterwards had infections for a few months. His right leg is now quite arthritic, and poor Gus has two hurting knees at this point. We are hopeful that once he recovers from this most recent surgery, plus takes some supplements for the arthritis, he can have a good quality of life once again.

These first several days are spent tending to Gus, giving him his pills at scheduled times, and taking care of ordinary tasks of life. Gus clearly has pain, and it is hard to watch him struggle to stand and walk. Yet, once he is outside, he clearly relishes sniffing the air, looking out over his domain, and enjoying the good drinking water in his outside dish. He is both brave and mindful of what he can do and not do, as well as alert for opportunities for little joys, such as a treat, a belly rub, or a good roll in the grass. What a good teacher he is!