Cadence Update: Three Months Post-Op
Last time I visited this blog, I shared news that shook my world to its core: the sudden passing of my beloved Brew. Prior to that, I jumped on here with regularity to chronicle Cadence's recovery. In the week's following Brew's passing, I didn't have much to say. Our rehab routine went out the window. It was all we could do to walk, breathe and stay afloat.
Cadence, at that time, was still in the throes of rehab. We had a few weeks remaining of restricted activity for her shoulders, and several rehab sessions left. The twice-daily exercises became non existent. The leash walks became longer because I needed to walk, and then the leash came off altogether. She remained sound as I slowly gave her more and more freedom. And she still looks great.
I will add that, although I added creative flair to our recovery plan, I watched closely to ensure the symptoms remained absent. We returned to our exercises after a bit of a hiatus and we have two weeks remaining of rehab.
We're back to full function, for the most part. We're walking/hiking up to two hours at a time, we're playing tug, and we're training for her potential new career as a human remains detection dog. Her gait and movement officially look better than they were prior to her surgery.
The purpose of this post isn't to say you should purposely deviate from the plan of your rehab and veterinary professionals, because ideally you wouldn't. But, also, life happens to all of us. We do the very best we can and I'm grateful that was enough this go around.
Her rehab may be coming to a close, but we're getting back into the groove of working dog events and sharing relevant content here. Hug your dogs and check back here soon!