Incision Update and a Renegade Staple

Bailey's incision is looking really great - I'm actually amazed at how well it's healed (except of course, that one little spot... sigh). I also found one staple hidden at the bottom of her incision that the vet missed while removing them. Hopefully my sister (a Family Practice PA) will be able to swing by and help get that removed, since I really don't want to have to go through the ordeal of taking Bailey back to the vet (more on that later) for something that minor.

Here is the latest picture (with the staple highlighted):

Now that everything looks so good on the outside, my main concern is how things are healing inside her knee. It's so hard to know if she's progressing as expected there. I've been working on our range of motion exercises, but it's been difficult since she immediately tenses up her muscles (can't blame her). I've been looking for pointers online on how to deal with this, but haven't found anything very helpful yet.

When I took her to the vet a few days ago for her first checkup and staple removal, we did have an "oops" moment. I made the mistake of taking her right up to my car (where the door was open), thinking I'd lift her in from there. Well she had other ideas... she tried to jump in. I grabbed her collar and stopped her just in time, but it threw her off balance and she landed on her surgery leg. Much yelping and whining ensued, along with trembling - I knew that had to hurt. I was very worried she had done some damage to the vet's handiwork in her knee, but she seemed to check out ok there. I do think it set us back a little though, since she seemed to be more sore for a few days. Next time I think I will lift her AWAY from the car and carry her there, to avoid this issue in the future.

She's still restricted to a small section of my bedroom (carpeted, which is very important for good footing) and only goes out for bathroom breaks. I've been watching her closely outside for clues on her healing progress. She varies from 3-legged, to toe-touching, to actually putting some weight on that leg and walking (well, limping) on it. At this point, I can only hope she's on track and try to be patient over the next few months.

Patience, patience. Someday there might be another tennis ball in her future. Until then, they are hidden.