Titan's Story: First Day Home

(Family is happy Titan's home)

Today started with a phone call. The vet was calling to give us an update on how Titan is doing. So far so good, he made it through the night and even toe touched a little bit and he tried to eat a bit of food with his medication. It did take 3 people to get him outside to pee but he did it, which was the important thing. All good news and we were on track to pick him up at 6pm.

We spent the day running the last of our errands to get ready. Mike's sister kindly offered us the use of her van to make getting Titan home easier and more comfortable. And while we were there to pick up the van we also visited with his parents to update them and were surprised by a little financial help as well. Everyone is coming together to help make sure Titan gets home and gets well and I couldn't be more thankful for that. Finally 5pm was here and we set out and bring our baby home. We were happy and excited and it reminded us of when Titan was a puppy and we were bringing him home for the first time.

When we arrived at Caven Hill we first had to meet with the vet tech. He went over what medication Titan would have. There was a fentanyl patch for helping with the pain. This would stay on for 3 days and we could remove it at home. However, this is a narcotic drug so we are to use gloves to remove it and take it to a vet, medical office, or pharmacy to dispose of it. Next he would be on Clavaseptin to be given every 12 hours for 10 days. Clavaseptin contains a combination of amoxicillin in combination with clavulanic acid and a beta-lactomase inhibitor. It is an antibiotic tablet used in dogs and cats. The third drug would be Meloxicam to be given every 24 hours once a day. Meloxicam is a prescription medication that is not FDA approved for veterinary use. However, it is a commonly accepted practice for veterinarians to use Meloxicam in dogs. Meloxicam is a nonsteroidal ant-inflammatory drug (NSAID). Meloxicam works by reducing hormones that cause pain and inflammation in the body.

Once the medication talk was out of the way, the most important talk, we moved on to after care. The first 2 weeks are the most important for rest. He will have post operative discomfort for the first couple of days and that will be the worst. We must be so careful not to let Titan use this leg or we could end up with delayed or deformed healing, or worse, no healing at all. So we went over with the vet exactly how Titan can move and how we would be helping him. The knee may be gently flexed and extended manually to improve the range of motion but that is it. We are also able to apply ice packs 3-4 times a day to help reduce the swelling. We decided to try and use a towel or blanket to help assist Titan up when he needs to move or go to the bathroom. Everything seemed in order and we got a little booklet with all the info and recovery steps written down. Very helpful!

Now was the moment. We were going to see our Titan. We went out to the back where we could pull the van as close to the door and grass as we could. And waited. We knew Titan doesn't like to be picked up or moved, he's always so scared when someone wants to make him do something, but after a short wait there he was in the doorway! He was whining a little as the one lady tried to assist him out. He was toe touching a very little bit and he would only take a few steps then stop. It was hard to see him like this and I was so nervous of an accident happening right there but, we made it to the van door and lifted him in. I got in the back with him and cuddled him up to try and use my body against his to keep him from moving too much when the van braked or started to go again. He whined the whole way home, but I think he was so drugged up that it was a scary ride. He kept looking up and out the window and watching the lights going by. What a long drive! We realized on the way home that trying to get Titan up the ramp in the back yard was going to be a very hard process, so we called our friends Amanda and Nathan and asked if they could help. And of course they would, these two are such amazing friends, always willing to help on short notice with any situation and I just love them! So when we got home we were able to get Titan sitting in the van so we could get the towel under his belly and the two guys were able to carry him up the stairs. First stressful hurdle out of the way. But at this point Titan decided in typical Dane fashion that he would just lay down on the front hall rug and that was that. After some rest the guys decided to just slide the carpet down the hall with Titan on it so he wouldn't have to get up or try hobbling along and it slide all the way to his new bed. Second hurdle done.

Our plan was to just let Titan sleep the first night. He had other plans. He wouldn't put his whole body on the bed and would keep sliding off the end, so that his front end was on the bed but his butt was on the ground. He was so uncomfortable and whiny that we ended up removing the mattress and just letting him sleep on a pile of blankets on the carpet. He liked this better, and that's when we noticed him starting to relax more. I was able to get a bit of water into him before we settled down for the night which made me feel a bit better. Then I tried to go to bed. Every time I got up to go to bed as I had to work the next day (and Mike was going to stay on the couch with him) Titan would whine. So we ended up having a family sleepover on the living room floor. My back wasn't happy, my sleep wasn't good, but Titan was resting finally and that was the most important thing.

(How we got Titan to sleep, curled up on mom)

The night was long as every time Titan would move to get comfortable I would wake up worried. He would whine at some points because he didn't know how to get settled and lay on his other side. It seems with the fentanyl patch he thinks he can't use either leg. The most rest I got was maybe 2 hours at a time. But we did make it though the first night and we will see what today brings.

Here are some photos of what Titan looks like the day after his surgery. There is one of his leg that is a little gross, just a warning. We were surprised with how swollen the leg already is and how red the area is as well. But thanks to the websites we've read through we know this is all normal and should reduce in the next few days.