Monday, February 21, 2011

Day 3- The First Dressing Change


Day 3- 2/21/2011

Oscar slept quietly and comfortably all night. No barking or howling. But, if had to choose one I would say howling is his noise of choice. He gets along beautifully with my two dogs. It's odd because my one German mix loves to play but, she can sense that Oscar is in pain and doesn't bother him. She just sniffs him sweetly and leaves him alone. I have always known that dogs can sense things, but her behavior just floors me. Dogs are truly compassionate and empathetic creatures.

Oscar continues to eat and drink well. He has not had an accident in the house, but unfortunately his wound continues to ooze blood and pus. He loves to be outside and stares out the window longingly. The picture to the left shows him while my boyfriend, Matt, shoveled the evening snow.

Today was his first dressing change. He took it like a champion. It is obvious he is in a great deal of pain, but did not nip or growl once. The skin surrounding the wound is badly swollen with fluid, and there is plenty of dead skin on the edges of the wound and inside of it. The Shady Oak Vet taught us how to wash it out with water and then wipe away the dead skin. We will then put honey soaked bandages (honey is a great antimicrobial) in the wound and wrap it snug. These dressing changes will be done daily by two people.

He weighed in at 75 pounds so his antibiotic dose was increased and he was started on Tramadol for pain control. However, he is about 15-20 pounds underweight. Most likely from being homeless with a significant injury, but he also has tapeworm which we are treating. Once that has cleared he should start to gain weight easier. I am keeping the protein high in his diet to help with new tissue growth.

Many people have contributed to Oscar's recovery thus far and I would like to thank Shady Oak Vet today along with Secondhand Hounds who was willing to take this boy home despite knowing he would have an expensive road ahead of him. I can say from personal experience that he is worth every penny!!

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