Long Night

Snickers wakes up as the sedation leaves her system. I have some chopped lamb and rice to feed her. She hasn't eaten all day and is hungry. Once she eats and drinks some water, I am able to give her a pain pill.
Bob has gone to bed and Snickers begins to cry. Bob wakes up when he hears her crying and comes downstairs to try to comfort her. Snickers sees him and tries to walk to him. She is still unstable and stumbles. It is pretty heartbreaking. Once Bob takes her, she settles down.
It is time for Snickers to go outside, but she is too unstable to try to support herself as she squats. I use a long kitchen towel, folded over lengthwise, to wrap under her abdomen to support her as she walks and squats. It works so well that Snickers feels comfortable walking on her remaining three legs and takes me for a tour of the front yard. Once she goes potty, I bring her back in to the house and get her settled back down for some more rest.
Bob tries to leave the room, but she begins to cry again. I sleep on the couch with Snickers, and Bob stretches out on the recliner. She wakes once more during the night and we go outside and walk around with the towel splint. Snickers seems to need to move around, almost as though it helps her to walk away from the pain. I give her one more pain pill and she is able to sleep until mid-morning.
We visit the surgeon about 11am so she can remove the dressing and check the wound. As soon as Snickers sees her, she wags her tail and licks her hands. Even though Snickers is obviously in pain, she seems to understand that everyone is trying to help her. Her whole left hind quarter has been shaved, so she looks quite thin. But the surgeon is very pleased with how the wound looks and how well Snickers is doing. At this point, the dressing will remain off. We take Snickers home until the stitches are ready to come out.