As soon as we got to the car after picking Benny up from his brachycephalic surgery I knew he was going to be OK. In our excitement to go pick Benny up, we forgot to remove a small container of kibble that we brought with us to his pre-surgery visit the day before.
His pre-surgery appointment required fasting and we weren't expecting to leave him so we brought a small meal to give him after his visit. But, Benny ended up staying for his surgery so there was no need for the meal we brought with us.
When we picked Benny up to bring him home the next day, he sat on my lap on the passenger seat. After about a minute or two, he went to the back seat and immediately found the bag of kibble that we had previously brought.
He smelled and stared at the bag for a bit and then he started whining and barking at the bag. Except, his bark wasn't quite back so soon after his surgery. I have only a tiny clip of his barking, but it is enough to give you an idea.
Benny's little tantrum went on for about 60 miles and then finally we were back home. Once home, we followed doctor's orders and gave him a soft meal. He gobbled it up and then took a much needed nap.
For all the trouble it was raising two puppies at the same time, I wouldn't trade it for anything given the tight bond that the boys share. Sure, they welcomed Luna and Sol into their pack, but for a good, long time it was just the boys and from time to time it shows.
After all, these two broke their puppy teeth in together by devouring a wicker toy basket, learned to climb stairs together and always had someone else to blame for potty accidents in the house before they were fully trained.
I don't think Benny can remember a time when there wasn't a Henry around and as much as he likes to play it cool, I don't think Henry would know what to do with himself if there wasn't a Benny around.
After 8 years, they have mellowed more than I could ever imagine. But, from time to time, the boys will be playing and Henry will grab hold of that big wrinkle on the side of Benny's face and pull him around by it, the way he always used to do when they were pups. And, in that moment, it is like having two, clumsy puppies playing at my feet once more.
On Monday, we took Benjamin back to the specialist for his post surgery checkup. When we arrived we were promptly assigned a room where we waited to see the veterinarian.
The rooms at the facility serve as a small private waiting room and a consultation area where you get to meet with the veterinarians and surgeons. There is no exam table or other items that you typically find in a veterinary exam room. Instead, the rectangular rooms are filled with a long bench that runs the length of the room and a couple of stools. All exams and pet evaluations are done in the back section of the facility, away from nervous pet owners. The rooms have two doors. One that leads to the back section of the facility where all the real work is done and one that leads to the lobby.
When we arrived for our checkup, Benjamin immediately remembered where he was and he quickly became a bundle of nervous energy. We were assigned a room right away and we waited in our room for our turn to speak with the veterinarian. Both doors to the room were closed and Benjamin ran from one door to the other. Taking a second to peer and smell under each door. Back and forth and back and forth, pausing each time a little longer at the door leading to the lobby as if to give us a clue that that is the door he hopes to be leaving from. However, he couldn't ignore the other door because he could hear voices coming from that direction. So, back and forth he paced, heading from door to door as quick as he could go on the slippery floor.
To distract him, we had Benny pose with the framed collage of the agility dogs in the room that have had surgery at AVS and are all healed up and back on the agility course. This served only as a mild distraction because as you can see Benjamin's gaze is intently focused on the door that leads to the exam side of the facility.
When our veterinarian entered the room, Benjamin gave him an overzealous greeting and jumped around a bit while we talked and gave an update on how Benjamin has been doing. Then it was time for Benny to get a thorough examination, which meant it was time for him to go through door #2 leading to the back of the house.
Once he realized he was being led through door #2, his tail uncurled and he tried his best to dig his nails into the floor to resist being taken for his dreaded exam. He looked at us and gave us a look of "Oh, no! Not door #2!" So I casually mentioned that there might be treats back there and his little tail curled right up and off he went.
After his exam, he came back to the room and promptly went to door #1, which leads to the lobby, and scratched at it. As far as he was concerned he was done and he would like someone to take him to the car. But, we still needed to hear how his exam went. And, despite not wanting to get his exam, Benjamin got a great report. Everything is look great after his surgery.
When we wrapped up our conversation with the vet, Benjamin bolted out door #1 and right to the front door of the facility where he scratched at that door was well. Once he was outside, he marched directly to the car, as if to say, "I'm not letting you forget to take me home this time!"
I wanted to let everyone know that Benjamin is home and is doing very well. He was very excited to see us this morning and was bouncing around like his usual self. He certainly did not look like a pug that just had surgery the day before.
After we got home and Henry and Luna frantically smelled him for clues to see where he had been, Benny hopped up on the couch and took his usual spot on the pile of pillows. He is still there now, snoring away, getting some much needed rest.
Thank you for the well wishes and have a great weekend!
Yesterday, Benny had his consultation for his soft palate issues at the the specialist. The consultation went very well. So well, actually, that Benjamin had the surgery yesterday.
The surgery wasn't planned, but there was an open slot on the surgery schedule and after the consultation wrapped up the surgeon said it would be no problem for Benny to have the operation that day. It went against all of my instincts to have Benny's surgery yesterday. It was unexpected. Well, it was sorta expected because I knew he would be having it, I just wasn't planning on it being so soon. I didn't feel prepared. But, then I thought to myself, what exactly do I have to prepare for. It's not like I am doing the surgery. As odd as it sounds, since I didn't have a night or two to worry about the upcoming surgery, I didn't feel ready.
I managed to get a hold of myself and realize how ridiculous my thoughts were and I gave the go ahead to put Benny on the schedule. After all, we were there and Benny had already skipped breakfast for his requested consultation fast. If we scheduled the surgery on a different day, Benny would need to fast again and I know how much he hates to miss a meal. Plus, with the holiday weekend, we would be off on Monday and be able to tend to Baby Benny while he recovers.
So we left Benjamin yesterday morning to have what they called his Brachycephalic Surgery. The surgery includes soft palate resection, a rhinoplasty (widening of the nasal passages), and if needed laryngeal sacculectomy. It turns out that Benny needed the laryngeal sacculectomy but not the rhinoplasty. During the surgery they determined that Benny's nasal passages were not too constricted and they would only be able to improve them a minimal amount. So they opted not to do the additional procedure.
When we spoke to the surgeon after the operation, he told us that Benny's soft palate was "definietely elongated" and his saccules where very much in the way. Shortening and removing these items should help Benny tremendously.
Benny had to stay at the vet's office last night, but we get to pick him up today at 10:45 AM. I will be so happy to get the little guy back home. He was bouncing off the walls of the exam room with nervous energy when we left him yesterday, so I am pretty sure he will be happy to get back home and relax with his brother and sister. Benny is all about sticking to his routine and yesterday was no where near ordinary for him.
I hope everyone enjoys the holiday weekend. I am looking forward to a nice quiet weekend with the pugs. Happy 4th of July!
For the last week, we have been telling Benny that today is his "Special" day. But, I am pretty sure that the type of "special" that today holds isn't quite the "special" that Benny has in mind.
This morning we are off to see the Specialist about Benny's soft palate surgery. Being all healed up from the surgery to remove his mast cell tumor, we wanted to get in to see the specialist to hopefully rid him of his cough. He still has been waking himself up with a little cough pretty regularly.
Hopefully, the consultation will go well and we will be able to schedule Baby Benny's surgery. Then, fingers crossed for another quick recovery and that Benny will be breathing a lot better after the operation.
Despite being a land lover, Benjamin is a very good swimmer. Rather than swimming laps, Benjamin prefers to swim circles. This completely makes sense for him because when he gets excited on dry ground he runs circles around everything. The coffee table, the bench in the yard, the sofa. Since circles come naturally to him we don't insist that he swim a more traditional lap.
Benjamin starts standing on the first step. And then he jumps. Yes, he jumps just like Henry. It took him a while to work up to it, but now he just leaps into the water. Watching him jump in makes me one proud momma.
Once he pops back up after his dive, he starts his circle. He swims one big circle and then heads back to the step. Once on the step he promptly jumps out of the pool and then runs a circle around the table on the lanai. I guess you could say that he prefers cross training. Perhaps, we could teach him how to ride a bike and then he could be a triathlete?
After a little rest, it is back to the step and then Benjamin begins his circle routine again.
