Gavin was delighted to leave the vet’s office without them doing anything to him.  Our vet decided that although Gavin’s ear looked great, the stitches should remain in for another week.  He said that Gavin could go without his E-collar and could play with Patty under supervision.  As if they play any other way.

       Patty was tickled to get out of her crate at the same time that Gavin was out of his, and she made sure he got a thorough sniffing.   The two of them jumped up on Dear Hubby’s chair with him and snuggled there until DH complained his legs were numb. 

     Both dogs are now asleep in their crates and for the first time in two weeks Gavin is snoring, a good sign that he’s comfortable at last.  I’m sure the E-collar wasn’t very comfortable to sleep in.

     When it is sitting in the back of the crate and isn’t on Gavin.  I went to take him out of his crate this morning and to my surprise he was sitting there with no E-collar on.  Sometime in the 3 hours when I slept last night, he managed to shred it off his neck.

Happily, Gavin hadn’t touched his ear, the stitches were intact.  I couldn’t duct tape that collar back into shape it was a lost cause.  I pulled out the other damaged collar, taped the crap out of it, and he’s wearing that one again.  I hope the new one gets here tomorrow. 

     If we’re real lucky the vet will remove the stitches on Tuesday, but I’m not holding my breath since he did warn us it could take as long as three weeks.

     Dear Hubby’s mom had a busy day today with her physical therapist and I was told she did pretty darned well.  DH was in to see her and said she’s looking good.

     Gavin is getting so used to backing into his crate with the E-collar on that it’s rather funny.  He’s almost destroyed the second E-collar banging about in his crate while arranging his bedding to his satisfaction.  Listening to that you’d think he was playing with a baseball bat in there.   There will soon be more duct tape than E-collar.  I’m anxiously waiting for the new E-collars to arrive–I hope they get here in time. 

     Patty would sure like him to play with her but the vet said keep him quiet and DO NOT allow them to play.  Our vet knows these two well enough to be certain that if they are allowed to play together he’ll be redoing stitches in no time.  

     I’m still running on naps and a few hours of sleep a night.  DH has been getting a good night’s sleep for the last several nights so at least one of us is well rested.

    Gavin was fussy most of the night last night and today. Sleep? No, I didn’t get much. I’ve taken a new direction tonight to try to ease Gavin’s distress. I brought my CD player down, set it on top of his crate, and I have Mozart playing at a low volume. I’m hoping this keeps him soothed and quiet long enough for us to get a bit of sleep.

    The poor baby is having a rough time with that E-collar. However, there’s no way he can go without it because he’d definitely dig at his ear and rip out the stitches.

    I might not be posting for a few days due to exhaustion and lack of time. I will try but I’m not guaranteeing anything right now.

    The vet said it could take up to twenty one days for Gavin’s ear to heal and if each day turns out as hectic and long as today, I’ll need at least a solid week of sleep to recover.

     We picked Gavin up around 3:30 this afternoon.  Poor, baby.  He was dopey and didn’t like his new attire one bit.  He has an Elizabethan collar on to keep him from messing with the ear.  We sure don’t need him ripping out the stitches.  His feet look terrific with the new manicure, and his teeth are gleaming white.

     Once we got him in the house, all Gavin wanted to do was sprawl out on the kitchen floor next to Dear Hubby and whine out his tales of woe.  This went on for quite a while.  Then he dozed off with his buckethead on DH’s lap.  Poor DH told me his butt was going numb.  He finally eased Gavin’s head off his lap and onto the blanket.  We thought, “Great, he’ll sleep for a while.”  Nope.  Within minutes, he was whining again and DH was back on the floor with him.  Where was I?  I was trying to feed Patty, take her out, fix our dinner, and let friends know Gavin was home.

     We had to feed Gavin in stages to make sure he could keep food down after the anesthesia.  He had no problem in that area.  However, the E-collar was such a distraction for him he couldn’t relieve himself while it was on.  We took it off to feed him and take him out and Gavin had no trouble.  He also learned how to back into his crate with his buckethead by the third time out.  He’s sound asleep and snoring now.  Let’s hope the healing is quick.