Sparky's Journey

Sadly, I have to let you all know that we had to say our Goodbyes to Sparky last Friday, May 6.  Sparky was diagnosed with a bone tumor on Dec 31 2015 and had his right front leg amputated on that day – great way to celebrate NYE, not!!.  His recovery was going well, but after about 3 months he started to slow down and it was pretty clear that he was dealing with other challenges.  Seemed like his hind legs were losing power and then he started favoring his rear left leg.

I’m really happy that I had the resources to have his surgery and I have no regrets.  After the surgery it was so clear that the pain for that limb had gone away.  He was a happy boy once again.  Fortunately his inner circle of humans were able to be with him as he left the planet.  What a wonderful Dog.

 

 

Sparky’s new print pattern

Sparky is able to walk a little longer each time we walk. And I know he’s working hard.

Sparky is doing better and taking longer walks with fewer breaks. His appetite has also come back to almost normal levels. A friend of mine had some Kangaroo meat kibbles that she had gotten for her dog who ate it at first but then rejected it. She gave me some and I must say, Sparky does seem to like it. I’ve been mixing it in w/his Iams and he seems more interested in eating since I started that. Can’t wait for some warmer weather to arrive so the walks will be more comfortable while waiting around.

And a couple days ago I came home and found him on my bed, which was a huge surprise. It’s pretty high off the ground so it must’ve been an interesting site to see him manage to get up there.

One day at a time…

Sparky is doing well. He’s happy, he gets up and greets people when we have company and he genuinely seems happy and not in pain. His stamina for walking is unmatched to his desire to go for longer walks. And now taking him for a walk is an exercise in patience as he needs to take many short rests while out. Last week I took him out for what I thought was just a bathroom break but he really wanted to go around the block (about 1/2 mile). About a 1/3 of the way in, he just stops and looks around for about a minute or so and then I say ‘Ready?…’ and then I start walking again and he follows. As we get further into the walk, the intervals between resting get shorter and sometimes i’ll just pick him up (he only weighs 65# – hah!) but I can’t carry him too far. One thing that’s very noticeable is that he never used to let me pick him up before the amputation. These days he really seems to enjoy the help – and the cuddles.

Before the surgery, he used to lay on the couch while I was at work. Since the surgery, I didn’t want him up there because I was afraid he’d injure himself on the way down. But just this past week he started getting up and down pretty well so I’m thinking he’ll be OK on the way down

Sparky has been walking pretty well since his surgery.  He likes to take little breaks while we’re out and will just stand still for a minute or so and then start going again.  He loves going outside, and always has.