Freedom!!

I am pleased to announce that Riley is free of the crate for the majority of her time!  She got the go-ahead from her surgeon this morning to be out of her crate while I’m home and just be crated when we’re away.  She still has to go potty on the leash, but she can roam around the house and jump on the furniture.

Dr. Dassler said that her leg looked great on her X-rays and that she’s healed up enough that he doesn’t worry about her undoing anything they did in surgery (which is good since she and Chloe have been going nutso playing…) and that her bone is healed up enough that he could actually remove the plate and screws in her leg and she’d be fine.  No worries, she’s not getting her plate and screws removed…he was just making a point.

Look how much fur has grown back in on her hind leg!

He said she’s sitting well with it (usually they tend to splay their injured leg out to the side, but she’s sitting with hers underneath her like a normal dog) and she’s walking on it very well.  She’s free to climb the stairs and can jump on the couch, she just isn’t allowed to chase squirrels or birds for another month or so.

She’ll be getting three 5-minute walks a day for the next 5 days, then three 10-minute walks for 5 more days, then 15-minute, then 20-minute until we work up to 30 minute walks.  No more physical therapy–the walks will be enough therapy.  Then after 30 days, she can be off-leash in the backyard.

Oh, it also says on the paper they gave me that I “have done an excellent job with all of Riley’s nursing needs.”  Thank goodness.  Phew!  🙂  I forgot to ask for a copy of her X-rays…in fact, I didn’t even see her X-rays, he just told us all about how well she had recovered.

Let the party begin!!