Lookin good!

We had our first post-op checkup today and Callie was doing great! No causes for concern. What a relief! I'm an habitual worrier, so of course I am thinking that something has gone wrong, etc etc. But no, she's perfectly fine. We're going next Monday for another checkup. We still do the drops four times a day and rimadyl. She's almost out of her antibiodic, so we won't need any more than that. Just wanted to post a quick update!

OH and we're going to have a big first this weekend - the dogs are going to their first hotel! Watch out Holiday Inn Biltmore East, Asheville, lol! My good friends Meg and Will are getting married in Asheville on Saturday, so we're taking the dogs with us. We'll just be staying one night. It should be fun - road trip for the whole family!

A momentus occasion!

Callie has never jumped up on furniture. Dogs on furniture in our household is allowed. It's not something we would actually teach them to do, but if they get on the sofa, we welcome them. So today she just went up to the love seat and jumped onto it! She's also been more inclined to stay on the bed if we put her in it (she used to jump right off). She used to just stand on her hind legs and attempt to jump onto the sofa/bed/etc, but never quite mastered it. She's just more cuddly all together really. She lets us hold her, loves hanging out on the bed, and now is a sofa sitter like her brother the couch potato!!!

Bark In The Park

Downtown Duluth had a festival just for the doggies today! We took Calhoun and Callie and mama came with us too. My mom has been staying with me since Wednesday to take care of Callie while I was at work. She's been such a great help and I'm glad she got to go on our adventure to the park!! The dogs behaved wonderfully and met lots of other doggies and kids too! It was really hot, so we all ran around in the fountain for a bit to cool down, then we grabbed some lunch at Stevearenos pizza on the patio! Adam's office overlooks the park, so we went in to cool off and take a few pictures. The dogs were glad to get home and get some good air conditioning!!



The dogs are ready for work!!

Callie can see again!

I'm so happy! She did great overnight and didn't get any pressure on her eyes (glaucoma). They are getting ready to dialate her eyes to get a better look at them, so I have to call back around noon for another update and to find out when I can get her home. The guy I spoke to said she has a lot of vision. I'll post another update at noon!

UPDATE! 2:30 WED:

Callie is doing GREAT! She wants to be her normal energetic self, but she doesn't understand that she has to be c-a-l-m and be s-t-i-l-l. Oy, it's going to be a long few weeks, lol. She doesn't seem to have any pain and she did great at the vet's! She ate some food as soon as we got home, and the vet said she never lost her appetite there either (that's my girl!). She was 17 lbs when we got her and now she's a healthy 25!! She'll catch up to Calhoun in no time, lol.

She will need drops four times a day and she has two oral pills - one antibiodic and another antiinflamitory pill. They didn't have her e-collar on her at the doctor, but I went ahead and put it on at home. There are just too many corners and things to run into. She has been attached to my heels since we got home! Calhoun was a little nervous and had his tail tucked (I think the e-collar scared him) so I have them both in their crates resting now. I will probably have to keep them seperated for a while until she can play and rough house again - that will be a challenge. We also will have to leash walk her for up to 6 weeks. We have such a woodsy yard, she can't be running into sticks and running the risk of getting poked in the eye. The good news is, she can go on walks. So I will make sure to walk her a few times a day to help get her energy out!

We have a follow up next week and will be seeing the doctor a good bit for the next year. Her eyes are a little red and puffy, but not too bad. You can see her sutures up under her lids, but they will disolve in about 2 weeks. Here are some pictures - I didn't want to use the flash in her face so they're dark. She also moves a lot and it is hard to get a head-on shot of her!

Proof that she still has the appetite!


Sort of a face shot, she moved as soon as I snapped it!


Here's a better face shot:


And for good measure, here's Calhoun!

Callie's Eye Surgery

Callie had her cataract surgery today! According to the vet, she is doing well. She went to a Veterinary Opthamologist - wow there really is something for everything! We feel very confident with the doctor's abilities, according to "word on the street" she's been around forever and is the best in the area.

I got an update this afternoon. They removed the cataracts in both eyes and placed a lens in her right eye. They intended to place lenses in both eyes, but the left eye was not being very receptive. If they kept trying to force it in, it would have done more harm than good. According to the nurse, many dogs just have one lens and do just fine - it's not like she's going to be reading or driving any time soon :o) She also said that many doctors don't even do the lenses at all, but they like to give their patients the best shot at good vision.

Callie will spend the night at the doctor tonight. They are monitoring the pressure in her eyes really closely in order to make sure glaucoma doesn't set in. So we're not 100% out of the woods yet. Just pray that she has a good night tonight. I'll be calling tomorrow morning around 9:30 and hopefully will get to bring her home. They said she had been trying to rub her eyes, so they went ahead and put the e-collar on her.

I'll update again tomorrow!