Just because I’ve had a hard time finding this information in one place, here’s a quick rundown of what I’ve accumulated to support Dieter’s pre-and post-op. I’ll add more things as they reveal themselves to be useful.
1. The Big Barker (7″ of American-made support for your big 4-legged friend – yeah!)
2. The Webmaster – I’ve been using Ruffwear stuff for years and this product is outstanding, as are all their other things.
2.5. A soft towel to act as a sling for getting in and out of the car until he can wear the Webmaster
3. Random “dog towels” – for whatever spills, accidents, oozing, and/or drooling may be going on
4. Grip Trex booties – these I bought for Otto many years ago and he HATED them. I’ve been easing them onto Dieter’s feet for familiarity in case they’d be helpful at the vet’s office down the line
5. Hydrogen peroxide and triple antibacterial lotion – just in case things look a little too pink / red at some point
6. Inflatable cone – somehow this just seems a teeny bit more dignified than the “cone of shame”
7. I’m going to buy Bella’s hot/cold pack for pain management
8. The BF showed up on Friday night with 500 sq ft of commercial-grade carpeting in his truck. The whole house, which has stained concrete floors, is now carpeted. I doubt you have as amazing a BF as I do, but now you know the secret.
9. A baby gate with a swinging door to cordon off his recovery area (aka the bedroom)
10. A bunch of new toys to destroy as he recovers (Goodwill and Costco are cheap sources of soft toys that destruct gratifyingly easily).
11. Elevated food bowls – really tall ones since he’s such a tall boy. His current 12″ ones will not be good for his posture on three legs. I can’t remember the brand name, but these are 16″ tall and I ordered them from amazon.com
12. I raided Costco for soups, canned fruits, cereal, yogurt, Clif bars and other easy-to-prepare and reasonably healthy foods (oh, ok, except for the 15-pack of mac and cheese) so that I would not have to think about what I was going to eat while I was paying attention to his recovery
12.5. Comfort food (see #12)
13. The Dog Cancer Survival Guide. I haven’t started reading it yet, but I’ll review it when I do.
14. A good book to read for when I can’t concentrate on work or just want to hang out with him while he’s less mobile.