Neuter Surgery Update- 9/15/03
Zeus was neutered on Friday September
12th.
He is doing well. He is still a little bit sore of course and has a little
swelling and bruising which is getting better quickly.
His appetite has been great since the
surgery.
He's still very skinny so I'm very glad to see an increase in his appetite
so we can put some weight on Zeus.
The surgery cost us $200.00 which was
higher than the original estimate but because of Zeus's blindness the Veterinarian-
Dr. Brian and I agreed that a more expensive anesthesia was better for Zeus
as it would wear off faster making it easier for Zeus to navigate around
once he got back to his foster home and yard.
Great Danes and other Giant Breed Dogs have a hard time with anesthesia
and with Zeus's blindness we agreed the more expensive anethesia was worth
the cost to ease Zeus's recovery time from the surgery as he is still not
fully recovered from the abuse and neglect he suffered prior to arriving
in rescue.
Here's a picture of Zeus recovering after his neuter surgery on September
12th, 2003.
Zeus returned to see Dr. Brian this afternoon
to have his stitches removed from his neuter surgery. A few days after Zeus
was neutered on 9/12/03 he developed swelling in his testicles.
Zeus was put on lasix to reduce the swelling
on 9/16/03 and took his last lasix pill on 9/21/03 and the swelling and
bruising had pretty much subsided fully by the time he had completed the
lasix.
By Sunday September 21 st the swelling had subsided enough so that Zeus
could walk comfortably again so he was able to attend the SW PA Deaf Dog
Picnic at Misty Pines Dog Park with his deaf Great Dane Foster brother Finnean.
Zeus got along great with all the other
dogs including little "Annie" the power jumping Deaf JRT in the
picture above!
So today we went for a check up and to have his stitches removed. Zeus has
an infection and is draining a lot still, so he had to have a shot today
in a very unpleasant place, and was also placed on antibiotics for the next
7 days. I also have to use hot compresses for the next 3-5 days to draw
out the infection which Zeus is not taking to very well.
Dr. Brian said that Zeus has some scar tissue in his testicles and that
if the infection spreads to his scar tissue he would probably have to go
through another surgery to have his entire testicular sac removed.
Zeus had a slightly enlarged prostate prior the neuter surgery and was having
occasionally blood dripping from his penis which leads us to believe he
may have had an underlying infection in his testiular sac prior to the neuter
surgery.
So everyone please send good thoughts, and prayers that Zeus will be able
to overcome this infection quickly as we surely don't want to have to see
Zeus go through any more surgery after all he's been through already since
he's come into rescue a little over 6weeks ago.
UPDATE- 9/4/03
Zeus returned to the vet today to check his progress.Dr Brian thought Zeus was looking markedly improved and felt Zeus was now strong enough for his vaccinations. So Zeus received his Rabies and DHLPP vaccinations today along with the nasal Bortadello vaccine.
We also did a fecal worm check today and Zeus's fecal check came back negative for any worms. So all those nasty little internal parasites are dead and gone. Zeus's appetitie has improved greatly and Zeus is now off all the other medications except for his daily eye drops and his monthly heartguard tabs.
Zeus is scheduled for his neuter surgery
on Sept 12th.
With the help of some wonderful people who have donated funds to help Zeus
we have raised enough money to cover all his vet bills through today.
Now we are raising money for Zeus's neuter surgery and upcoming blood tests and pre op staging with the Canine Eye Specialist.
We also have items available on EBAY AUCTIONS to help raise funds for Zeus.
All the EBAY AUCTION ITEMS are things your dogs will love and all products have been tested by our own dogs.We have some great new chew treat items added and will be adding more soon so please check back often.
Here is a link that will take you to all the items we currently have listed for Zeus medical bills on EBAY.
I was so proud of Zeus today when we went to the Vet because Zeus has learned to walk like a total Gentleman on a leash instead of the "charging bull on a leash" that arrived here a few short weeks ago.
We've been doing leash training with Zeus so that he will be able to go everywhere with confidence in his human guide even if he can't see where he's going. He is learning well to read off my knee when he is being walked and is learning to "heal" very nicely.
The vet staff even commented on the big difference from the first visit when I came in the door covered in sweat from trying to keep Zeus from charging head first into everything as he tried to walk me on a leash, to the total behaved gentleman that walked in their door this afternoon. People were actually surprised to find out Zeus was blind since he navigated through the double locking doors with such ease using verbal commands to guide him.
Here is a photo of Zeus doing some leash training recently at the park around the corner.
Jogging to exercise Zeus
Practicing "Stop" and "Turn"
verbal commands
We will be starting several new verbal commands
this week such as "left" ,"right", "move foward"
and "back up" to help build Zeus's confidence in his human guide
when he's on a leash. We believe a big reason Zeus's overall posture is
so bad , including hip deformities is due to Zeus not being able to move
at the normal pace a 3 year-old Great Dane should move at or being able
to jog or run in order to properly exercise his body due to being totally
blind, this is why leash training is a very important part of Zeus's overall
recovery!
Zeus is even overcoming his fear of jumping out of the covered bed of our
pick up truck. Afterall it is a blind "leap of faith" for him
to jump when he can't see where he's going and he knows he's on the edge
of something because he feels with his paw pads. This is another reason
we've been exercising him at our local park so that he also learns to trust
his human guide enough to "jump up" and " jump down"
when prompted to with verbal commands. Zeus has going in and out the back
door at his foster home down to a science already. We count each step out
verbally as he feels for each step as he goes in and out. Now he just makes
sure he's centered coming in the door and then runs right up the steps.
Zeus still is very careful going out and we will insist he continues to
do down slowly as there are 4 steps and winter is coming sooner than any
of us would like and we sure don't need Zeus getting over confident and
slipping or falling and injuring himself
Check back on September 13 th for an update on how everything goes with
Zeus's neuter surgery. Everyone say a prayer he'll pull through just fine
please as we always worry when subjecting a giant breed dog to anesthesia.
If you'd like to donate to help Zeus
the Blind Great Dane get healthy while he lives in a great foster home until
he's ready for a Great New Forever Home please donate online through paypal
by clicking the button below:
You may also send a donation for Zeus' veterinary care to
Zeus' Medical Fund
c/o CODA COMPANY
P.O. Box 44092
Brooklyn, Ohio 44144
