Praise the Lord

And if you don't come from a Christian background then praise Allah, Buddha, Joseph Smith, Little Red Riding Hood, or whoever.

I took Alvin for his check up at the orthopedic surgeon and Alvin is completely healed and his x-rays looked great!  He is ahead of schedule and no longer needs to be on cage rest.......yes, well the "cage rest" had to end a long time ago, if you recall.  We did do that bed rest thing for the first six weeks but I couldn't stay on the bed all the time and we had to abandon that too.  I was quite apprehensive about taking him because what can go wrong, does when it comes to Alvin.  I was worried that he would need another surgery because recently another cocker that had the exact same condition and also had a first unsuccessful surgery, and had a second surgery by the same surgeon, had to have another surgery due to too much scar tissue build up.  Alvin also had a lot of scar tissue when they went in for the second surgery, his condition was worse than the other dog's, and we weren't able to put Alvin on the cage rest that the other dog did.  I just couldn't imagine that Alvin's outcome would be more successful and this was the best possible news.  I could hardly bear the idea of him going through another surgery and both of us going through the rehab again but the coast is clear and he can now go back to the dog park!  Because there always seems to be some hiccup, the dog park just abruptly closed until the end of April.  'Ya just can't win them all.

Last night, I gave Alvin his last sedative in order to groom him and let's just say, he won't be winning any awards for best groomed dog.  He squirmed far less due to being sedated and I was able to get all his face hair shaved completely down, which was what I most wanted because his eyes continue to water and it doesn't dry very fast because of the fur.  It was enough of a struggle that I broke out in a sweat but it was night and day from grooming a non-sedated Alvin.  I did get a little rattled and mixed up the 4 blade with the 10 blade and didn't catch it until my mom asked by Alvin was bald in one place.  He is quite uneven but if you don't look closely and you aren't a groomer, then it passes. 

I had to drive Alvin two hours both ways to the surgeon, which considering Alvin gets nervous riding in cars, it makes for a hard day for him.  Not to mention that I was delivering him to his own personal house of horrors.  I ended up bring Stevie for moral support.  Alvin continues to improve when riding in the car and was able to go to sleep within 45 minutes of the drive, he wasn't salivating, panting, or doing that shaking thing he used to do that I once mistook for a seizure (we sure have been through a lot together).  When we got to the place, I watched Alvin and I didn't get the impression that he realized where he was because I can always tell when he is stressed by the way he holds his mouth.  I think it helped to have Stevie with him.  Then the bad lady came to take him to the chamber of doom, aka the surgical room.  He put on the breaks and didn't even want to go through the door, although he is afraid of doorways in general and so having to go through the doorway to hell was too much!  I was walking ahead of him with Stevie because I was going to use the restroom and when the woman went to turn into the room, Alvin was looking so imploringly at me that I felt like a terrible person.  She then brought him out about 10 minutes later and Alvin looked like he had been electrocuted.  His eyes were as big as saucers and they looked like pinwheels rolling around in his head.  The hair on top of his head was sticking straight up and he was panting, with the characteristic tongue sticking out and mouth wide open that he does when he's terrified.  If I hadn't known, I would have thought that he had been hit with a cattle prod, instead of getting a few x-rays.  She brought him out to what he thought was safety, only to hand him to me to bring him right back in to see the doctor.  They left me alone in the room with him and I tried to apologize but I don't think he could hear over his panting or see due to his eyes rolling around in his head like saucers.  When the surgeon came in and told me that not only will he not require another surgery but that he didn't even have to come in for the usual second check up, I couldn't wait to break the news to Alvin.  As soon as we got out of there I told Alvin that he never had to come back to the place of pain or see that very bad man that made money by cutting dogs on purpose.  I can't tell you how relieved I was to be able to break that news to him.  And I can't tell you how relieved he was to get a bunch of snacks in the car in an effort to try to undo some of the damage because of him associating car rides with being prodded, poked, and cut open.  I have a feeling there will need to be another few thousand snacks to undo that damage.

For those of you who have been through Alvin's surgery saga, I have no doubt you are celebrating with for Alvin and me.  I haven't determined what Alvin's religious leanings are yet and so for now, we'll praise them all!