That's a nice thought. However, not ignoring the pain and grief when it happens I think we're better at coping with their passing than a dog is with that of the centre of its life (AKA you, the owner).
Reuben turned 11 years old last week whilst we were in Devon. He's an absolute pleasure of a dog. Such a good boy, really he is. Obedient and incredibly patient, even if the most detectible food is within easy reach he won't touch it. This isn't an older age thing, he's always been this way. An evolved version of his old brother (and mentor) from another mother, see last pic.
The vet/surgeon just called. Iggy’s operation was a success, although it took longer than expected as the “shunt” blood vessel was in a tricky position on the dorsal side of his liver and near his spine, plus it was on the large side (over 1cm in diameter) so they couldn’t close it fully in one go as that would cause too much of a shock to his system. It has been partially closed with a cellophane band which will fully constrict and close the shunt over the course of a few weeks. He’s come round from the anaesthetic (which was another potential issue as dogs with poor liver function struggle to clear the anaesthetic from their system) and will be in post-op ICU for at least 24 hours to monitor him for potential complications such as blood back-flowing into his gut circulation leading to increased blood pressure. I’m probably not going to be able to see him today as it will unsettle him when he needs to be kept calm and quiet while he recovers, but the vet will call me again late afternoon/evening. Thanks everyone for your kind words over the past few, very worrying, weeks
Black Labs always remind me of this, and yours is even called Reuben: https://www.pressreader.com/uk/dail...JPxChvhEwHwelr6qvKNSz0-Cx8hHzI5Zm-E-ZM1UJLoft We still have the fridge magnet of Reuben we purchased in Monty's shop in Dartmouth many years ago.
That's great news @Zhed46, wishing him a full recovery, he'll be back to his usual self in no time I'm sure. I completely understand why they won't let you see him, or rather him see you more to the point. A reunion with the centre of the their lives is something to energetically celebrate, no matter how short the separation.
I had a call from the vet about an hour ago who reports that Iggy is doing well, but he has already started telling them it’s time for him to go home. They have to balance the stress of him being unhappy at hospital against the need to monitor his recovery and having medical resources on hand in case something goes wrong. He’ll most likely be discharged on Monday or Tuesday but if he behaves like he did last time he was in hospital, I imagine they'll want him to go home asap because he was a damn nuisance as once they'd got him over the immediate crisis he wouldn't eat or sleep and spent the whole time barking and howling for me and trying to escape from the pen by kicking the door off its hinges
Sorry guys, didn't mean to upset anyone, and perhaps it was a little insensitive for me to post considering how similar @Bumpkin 's Reuben is. I posted as a demonstration of just how much a dog can mean to those of us who understand. We met Monty's Reuben several times when his family were based in Dartmouth, he was a big clown of a dog who obviously had a very special relationship with Monty. Monty is also a really nice guy, he stopped several times to say hello out on the water in Dartmouth harbour, and for some reason was always interested in our tatty old RIB when his was bigger, faster, newer, and in every way better. Lady Nasher was always Very pleased to see him for some reason
Just had another call from the vet. Iggy is making a good recovery but as I predicted, he’s being a bit of a pest as he won’t eat and he’s complaining all the time by barking, howling and trying to kick the door of the crate off, so they’re talking about discharging him tomorrow rather than after the weekend. The poor thing is in quite a lot of pain, so they’ve got him on a morphine drip, but by the sound of it even mainlining smack doesn’t seem to have calmed him down at all. The vet said that given the way he’s carrying on, the priority is getting him off intravenous morphine and onto oral painkillers so they can get rid of him medically discharge him asap.
Dogs can be odd with pain seemingly able to ignore it. But it sounds like he's pining for his master, his bed & his delicious breakfasts.... bank holiday weekend coming up so plenty of time to keep him quiet and let him recover. The are remarkably quick at the latter.
