The Cone of Doom...

On Thursday, J told me that he had spotted a large black lump under the skin on Huck's belly, right where his testicles should be. We both immediately panicked. In a fear that it was an undescended testicle or a tumor, we called our veterinary hospital in a rush. We scheduled him for an exam, and thought that while he's there he may as well get the whole kit-n-caboodle, so we also scheduled a neuter, vaccinations and a microchipping. Yesterday we arrived at the hospital at 8:00 a.m., and walked him into the lobby. He was shaking with fear and refused to walk anywhere with the nurse. When we finally got him to go with her to the examination room, she said that the vet had checked quickly and stated that the black lump was simple the color of his skin over his testicle and there was no reason to worry. Both extremely relieved, we left him there to undergo his procedures. We were instructed to return between 4:30 and 5:30 in the afternoon to pick him up. When we picked him up, they told us that everything had gone fine. With new tags indicating that he had a microchip, that he had a rabies vaccine and that he was licensed with Ada County, a small bottle of animal ibuprofen, and a cone to put on him later, we headed home. We'd been so worried about him, we were just happy to have him back home and healthy.

By midnight last night, his anesthesia from the surgery had worn off and he was experiencing some major anxiety, agitation and pain. He was bouncing all over the place sitting for a few seconds before moving a foot and sitting again. He was inconsolable and the cone was only making it worse. He wouldn't stop crying!! I finally broke down and called a 24-hour vet clinic to ask them if there was anything more I could do for him. The woman on the other end of the line told me that the anxiety was being caused both by the cone and by the anesthesia wearing off. She stated that he was awake but very disoriented, and that was making the cone seem all the more frightening. There was nothing else to be done but comfort him and let him work it out. We were worried that he would lick his stitches if we took the cone off, but we knew for certain that neither of us would get any sleep if we kept the cone on, as he would cry through the entire night. I had to work at 7:30 this morning, and I would be teaching an 8-hour class, so not getting any sleep was NOT an option for me. J, being the wonderful, considerate fiance that he is, volunteered to stay up with him and try to get him to be quiet so I could sleep for work. He stayed up the whole night, and came to bed when my alarm went off at 6:20 a.m!! He obviously crashed immediately after being awake for almost 24 hours!!

So today I am reminded of what a lucky girl I am. How many men do you know that would volunteer (that's right - I didn't even ask him to!) to stay up through the entire night with a crying puppy so that their fiancee could sleep?? I only know of one, and I'm proud to say that he's mine! It makes me imagine what kind of dad he's going to be when we finally have children... A great one, no doubt! :)