Last night, we had a visit with the surgeon who repaired Itzl's knee.
He was extremely apologetic about the drug overdose and pleased that Itzl took no lasting harm from it. He was overdosed on metacam.He is now completely recovered from the overdose.
The vet was pleased to hear that he would put his foot down and put his weight on the leg, however lightly and briefly. He's right on schedule for recovery.
And because his incision is well-healed, he gets to start his physical therapy on Wednesday at 6:00 pm.
Here he is alerting on something just outside the vet's office.
It turned out to be an IV alarm on a little dog that was being visited by his owner - the dog was a Papillon/Chihuahua mix that had been attacked by a larger dog and had infected bite wounds. The little dog wasn't eating, so I told her that little dogs sometimes wouldn't eat at the vet's office especially if they were on IV fluids because that made them feel full. Since the little dog looked alert and interested in things around him, he looked like he'd recover just fine.
Here's Itzl just waiting for the vet to arrive:
He does the "I'm waiting" look very well, but I didn't capture it very well.
This picture is from when the vet came in and Itzl is giving me the "Do I have to talk to him?" look.
He was actually quite well behaved, letting the vet tug and rotate his leg and prod at the incision. as long as the vet kept him on the little mat I brought, that is. The counter top is slick and Itzl likes having traction, especially when he's currently still on three legs. The vet was actually pretty cool with keeping Itzl on the mat since it didn't slip and slide like towels do.
I bought the mat at a kitchen store. Technically, it's a microfiber dish draining mat. It's highly absorbent, non-slip, and just the right size to fit into his bag. The mat is part of Itzl's gear - he's been trained to stay on it at restaurants and other places where he's allowed down and I'll be staying in one place for a while. And it's perfect for vet visits.
When we got home, Xoco immediately cuddled up to Itzl while also enticing me to pet her tummy. She loves her tummy rubs.
When she went off to get a drink, Itzl rolled over into her space.
I'll do a diary of Itzl in his physical therapy. I don't know how many pictures I will get, but I should get a few at least.