Counting down - days 54-49

Day 54, Wednesday: Very little swelling or bruising looks very good. So far shows no interest in incision. Feels very sorry for himself. Tried to go toward our bed and outside - though he won't touch his toe down at all yet and needs support to go pee still. We put our king-size mattress on the floor and totally surrounded it with ex-pens so Tiko could be on the bed when he wanted a change from the dining area bed, and go back to sleeping with us. This means my husband gets a medal for marriage-above-and-beyond- the-call, and provided good humor watching him get up from the floor each morning! Up at 3 am again. Both of us.

Day 53, Thursday: More difficult day. He went to Physical Therapy today (signed up for twice a week, for 5 weeks) and was in pain and restless afterwards. They did electrical stimulation and cold laser before passive range of motion.

Stopped briefly to take something in to my elderly mom and found he had licked his incision. No real damage, but a bit inflamed. DARNIT. Toe touched briefly. Very restless so gave him 1/2 Ace(acepromazine) and once it worked he could barely walk. Woke in the middle of the night with a nightmare and had to be stroked back to sleep. Just like a baby. Refused dinner. Just an unhappy dog, all in all.

Day 52, Friday: A better day. Began stretching leg out when rolling around, though no toe touching yet. Gave 1/4 Ace at bedtime and morning.

Day 51, Saturday: Reduced pain med to 1. Eating and eliminating finally! Got off his bed and marched to front door on three legs - I was too slow apparently.

Day 50, Sunday: Reduced pain meds again, made him more restless. Will not eat anything with a pill in it and absolutely furious when I put them down his throat. Outrageous! Insult to injury, says Tiko.

Day 49: Monday: Stopped pain meds. Tiko has a new routine: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays he lives in a crate in the back of my classroom in a large public high school. Tuesdays and Thursdays he is dropped off at physical therapy where he is kept in a cage and taken out for PT.  Still will barely touch his toe. (I teach with the lights off, since it keeps the students (and me) calmer; and not that I have a lot of students or anything, but the administration came in my room and observed four separate times, and not once noticed Tiko in his crate. Tiko comes to school when I teach learning and conditioning, so his crate is not unexpected....but still!....I operate under the principle of "it's easier to get forgiveness than permission" half HOPING they'd make me go home with him... - and he became the Class Dog...pretty cute, really)