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).

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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. ;)

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Off to the Vet

I dropped Cabana off at Guide Dogs' vet clinic this morning. One sniff when I opened the car door, and Cabana knew where we were. She was so excited I could barely get her head collar on her. You'd think we were at Disneyland! The vet did a quick examination of her and said she looked great. Then, he sent me over to kennel reception so I could "get her a room" for the next two nights.

When I went to kennel reception, the woman working there took one look at Cabana and said she was too fat!! She said Cabana didn't have enough of a waistline and asked how much we fed her. I said 2 cups morning, 2 cups evening. She said that was way too much and that we should even switch to a "light" food. She also asked dubiously if we ever exercise her, and I told her we walk her DAILY, 2-3 miles. I know she was trying to be helpful, but I felt like I had been slapped. I don't think I could have felt worse if she told ME I was too fat and ate too much!

But I know I don't need to take it so personally. I'll just cut back Cabana's food a bit--but I had always felt Cabana was on the thin side so it totally caught me off guard. It reminded me of Kate, saying the same thing about Faulkner--he was always thin and then all of a sudden, he chunked up!

Before I took Cabana in to the vet this morning, I got a nice email from Nicole, Chelsie's mom, wishing Cabana well for her surgery, and saying how much I would miss her and that the house would seem so empty. I thought, pah, no way! I'm going to do my Christmas shopping without worrying about getting back home, and it's going to be a great break for a couple days.

But darn it, Nicole was right! Now I'm worried about Cabana being fat, about the surgery, about her being lonely in the kennels. And the house does seem too quiet. I did manage to do some Christmas shopping on my way back from the vet, but it seems like a small consolation. :(

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Don't Litter, Spay or Neuter

I can't wear this t-shirt yet, but I'd be able to next week (if I owned it). Cabana is scheduled for her spay on Wednesday, December 16. That was the earliest date available at GDB vet clinic when I called right after Cabana was career changed. At the time, I thought that date was too far away and that SURELY Cabana would go into season in the interim. Then, I'd need to call and reschedule for a few weeks after she was finished being in season.

BUT, NO! At over 14 months of age, still no season for Cabana! Hopefully, she can hold out a few days longer so she can be spayed as scheduled.

I'll bring her in the day before, they'll keep her overnight, perform the operation. Then, I pick her up the following day, on Thursday. As luck would have it, months ago, we had planned a party at our house for that Saturday, just 3 days after her operation. We'll probably keep her upstairs in our bedroom so she won't get overly excited with all the people and festivities.

I know Cabana will have to wear an e-collar for a couple weeks and that she'll need to stay fairly still and unexcited for her recovery. But I don't really know much else about what to expect. I'd appreciate any tips and warnings.

After Cabana gets spayed, I can finally get her a city dog license (we didn't have one previously since she wasn't really our dog). If I get her a license without having her spayed first, it costs more than 3 times as much as for a spayed/neutered dog.

Then, after I get her dog license and after she's recuperated from her surgery, I can finally take her to the dog park! There's a fabulous private dog park nearby, where there are 3 separately fenced areas. So if there's a dog that doesn't get along with yours, you can go to one of the other areas. This place also has obedience training, canine good citizen testing, agility, doggie daycare, AND sheep herding! I don't think we'll do the sheep herding, but I'm looking forward to trying just about every other feature they offer.

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