Ruffin Update: He is back home after surgery.

Things moved very quickly after Ruff had the Ultrasound done on Wednesday by Dr. Bruner. Because of the large size of the tumor and the fact that it was cavitated I changed my plans to have his surgery done next Tuesday at the Care Center and Dr. McGlasson, our Veterinarian at Noah's Ark in Fort Wright, Kentucky did the surgery yesterday morning. It was a good thing to move quickly because the tumor had not yet started to bleed. The doctor told me they will not know until next week if the tumor was benign or malignant. Last night I picked Ruff up and brought him home to recuperate in a more familiar surrounding.  You will appreciate hearing that after surgery Ruff spent the entire day sleeping on a quilt on the floor in the back room of the clinic where all the girls were working. I have seen this once before when Ruff spent the afternoon back there. He enjoys listening to the voices of the girls talking.

When I took Ruff home they gave me some pills to help manage the pain, Tramadol, Rimadyl and an antibiotic Cephalexin and something to calm his stomach. Before I picked him up I stopped at Home Depot and bought a new mat for Ruff to lay on. This will also make it easier for him to stand up without his feet sliding on the floor. I made this into a bed for him to sleep on in the kitchen and as soon as we got home he laid down and slept for 4 more hours.

Around 11 PM last night Ruff woke up and I found him walking out of the kitchen so I took him outside and he did the biggest pee I have ever seen at one time. Probably had his bladder filled by all the fluids they had given him intravenously after the surgery. Since I was totally wiped out myself after the long day I took Ruff into the bedroom and we all went to bed early. Ruff seemed stressed and had a lot of heavy breathing so I gave him a dose of his pain medication.

And Bess has been worried about her friend. I love the way she fusses over him like a mother hen, licking his face and his ears. She has been doing this a lot lately. And the day before his surgery she spent some time laying next to him in my den.

I am very concerned about the results from the patholgy test coming back next week. I posted several updates on Ruff on my Facebook page asking for prayers and there have been literally hundreds of people from around the world responding with prayers. We, and I am referring to the Ruffin fans all over the world, are all continuing to say prayers for Ruffin to get well again. If you are not on Facebook and your reading this here for the first time I ask you for your prayers as well. Thank you.

Update on Ruffin: Saturday 3PM
Continuing from last night, Ruff slept on his bed in the kitchen from the minute we got home until 11PM when I found him up on his feet. I am thinking he got up because he had to go out so I took him out and he did the longest, largest pee I have ever seen. It must have been all the IV fluids they put into him at the Vet's.

I tried to give him some of his pain medication but he wasn't in any mood to take it and because we were all exhausted I decided to go to bed early. Ruff went right back to sleep as soon as I brought him into my bedroom and put him on his bed. But a little after 3AM he woke me and Bess up with some scary heavy panting. At first I thought he was having trouble breathing then it dawned on me he was in pain and the drugs from the Vet had worn off. So I gave him a spoonful of peanut butter with a Rimadyl and two Tramadol pills. After a bit he managed to go back to sleep.

We got up at 8AM and when I took him outside to go pee he didn't have any left. Went back inside and fried up 4 oz of chopped sirloin which he ate right away. I tried to give him some Cephalexin and the antacid pill but he spit it out. I put him back on his bed in the kitchen and he went to sleep.

Around 12 noon I took him out and still no more pee but he did do a normal poop. I fried up another 4 oz of chopped sirloin and he ate it but he wouldn't take any pills. This time I refused to take no for an answer and forced him to swallow the rest of his midday pills. He must have had a bad taste in his mouth from having the pills dissolve because he gobbled a large drink of water. Now he is back on his bed sleeping.