Frankenpug!?!

I am now four days post surgery, and Mommy said it was finally OK to take a picture of my incision. It's healing nicely, she says, only I have a couple of razor burns (that's what those red areas are). And, the stainless steel sutures rub my top neck roll. Mommy says that wouldn't happen if I was a little less chubby. Apparently, that's one of my goals for the summer. My other goal is to start walking without a limp. The doctor says it may take up to six weeks, and Mommy says I'm already doing better. I even shake my leg when she scratches my booty now. I haven't been able to do that in over a month, so that has to be a good sign.


Surgery, guys and gals, is not fun, but it did leave me with that cool-looking incision, which gets me lots of love, attention, and treats, of course.

So, in case everydoggy is wondering what back surgery is like, I'll take you through it. Mommy and Daddy dropped me off at the vet around 9 a.m. (yes, dropped me off, as in left me there if you can believe it ... they said they didn't want to go, but the vet said they wouldn't be able to see me anyway ... I still think they were horrible for leaving me). The vet did a chemistry panel to make sure I wasn't allergic to anesthesia. They shaved my chest, gave me a shot, and that's really all I remember. Mommy will have to take over from here.


Mom: It was terrifying, I'm not going to lie. Leaving Newton there was one of the hardest things I've had to do, especially when the vet explained the risks. He was scheduled to start the surgery around 11 and work through lunchtime. When 1 p.m. rolled around and we hadn't heard anything, we started to panic. Finally, we got a call at 1:30 p.m. saying Newton had done well, that a lot of pressure was taken off the spinal cord, but also that the vet had nicked an artery in the process. Apparently, this is common when working in tight spaces, and fortunately he was able to repair it. It sure scared us--and the vet--half to death. We got to go see Newton in recovery around 4, and the vet announced that we could take him home. He thought he would be more comfortable and less stressed with us. I'm sure glad of it. The thought of leaving him there overnight just killed me. Anyway, he is doing well. His surgical site is healing. He has good moments and bad moments, but it's getting better day by day.


Thanks everyone for praying for us and sending positive comments our way. They sure helped. We will keep you updated throughout the recovery process.

Newton (Frankenpug) and his very relieved Mommy, Amy

P.S. This is a picture of Mommy and me before I got my MRI and before we knew that I did not have a tumor. Notice how sad we both looked. We were terrified. I think Mommy was even crying. She's done a lot of that the past month. We are much happier now that we know I am on the road to recovery. We are certainly counting our blessings!