Little Miss Starshine is Back in Action

Hooray! Cabana got her spay stitches out today. Overall, the healing process was quick and uneventful, as many commenters predicted. The timing was fortunate in some ways, with my daughters on vacation from school. It was easy to have someone watching Cabana the whole time, saving her from prolonged use of the e-collar.


Unfortunately, Cabana missed out on a lot of fun holiday events because of her spay. We had a big party at our house, just 2 days after the surgery. She would have loved to be in the thick of things, but not this time. Then on Christmas Day, we went into San Francisco and enjoyed a beautiful day, going to lunch and a museum. Too bad no more jacketed outings for Cabana, the one big drawback of being a pet instead of a working dog! And two days ago, we had relatives visiting us all the way from Australia. We took them to a lot of places, including the beach, but again, no running for Cabana, so she had to stay home. Poor thing doesn't even know what she missed.


At least Cabana got some nice Christmas toys! Most of them are already somewhat demolished, but here's one I just pulled out for her today. A fleecey star with innards yet intact...

...for the next 5 minutes anyway.

When we were at Guide Dogs today, we stopped at the reception desk, and guess who was hanging out behind the desk?! It's Forte, Fullerton's brother. He is such a handsome guy, currently being evaluated as a breeder.
I have to say, Guide Dogs' puppies seem to be getting more and more good looking. When entering the kennels, we passed by a lot of dogs, all poking their heads up to see who's coming in. Today as Cabana and I walked by, I thought, these dogs are all SO gorgeous. Kudos to the breeding department! They sure know how to pick 'em (even if they did miss out on having a Mama Cabana).

Spanx for Dogs?

Before you all think I've gone over the edge with the chubby dog issue, Cabana is not wearing Spanx or the Kymaro Body Shaper!

The e-collar is an ordeal to get off and on, since it attaches to her flat collar--plus it makes Cabana go a bit bonkers, which is not desirable at this point. So this morning, I made her a soft lycra knit "belly band" to cover her incision, just for a short amount of time when I can't keep an eye on her. It's a simple tube of stretchy fabric with elastic on the top to help it stay in place. I was glad to be able to use materials I already had on hand, and it took less than 5 minutes to make.

Cabana doesn't seem to mind wearing it one bit. And it gave me peace of mind while I was in the shower this morning.

We went for a very early walk this morning, hoping to minimize the number of dog meetings, which would be too exciting for Cabana. The sky was all pink as the sun rose, and then voila, a big orange sun! Cabana wanted to run, or at least walk really fast--but she finally got the idea that we were going to keep a leisurely pace. I can tell that inside, she's saying, "Why so slow? I've got a need for speed!" But the only thing we want to be speedy for now is, hopefully, her recovery.

Little Miss Pudgey is Home

This afternoon, I went to Guide Dogs in San Rafael to pick up my little pudgeball, where she was recuperating after her spay surgery yesterday. For some reason, I thought Cabana would be really calm, maybe sedated and woozy from her operation. Boy, was I wrong! She came out like a bucking bronco, wearing that horrendous contraption of an e-collar. The e-collar was attached to her flat collar, and I didn't know how I could get her head collar on through it, so she pulled and flailed all the way to the car.

The first thing I did was take that e-collar off her, poor thing! I've been running around like a headless chicken for the past couple days while Cabana was gone, trying to finish up all my Christmas shopping and preparations--so now I can relax and keep a close eye on Cabana. I am surprised at how oblivious Cabana is to her stitches--she hasn't made any effort to lick her incision at all so far.


Minutes after getting home, Cabana went straight to her bed. She is exhausted! Usually, she wakes up when she hears the camera shutter, but not this time.

Here's her poor shaved tummy and stitches.


They also shaved a little rectangle off her front right paw. Anyone know why?

As far as Cabana's girth, we will cut back to 3.5 cups a day (2 in the morning, 1.5 at night, since she'll have more opportunity to burn her breakfast off). I personally don't think she's fat right now, but as others commented, it is winter, and her activity may be somewhat reduced, especially during the next two weeks. Cutting back on her kibble will also give me more leeway for occasional carrots and green beans and whatnot. ;)