TIKI'S SURGERY UPDATE

All day I have been on edge. Tiki knew something was up. While normally, I have a dog that needs to be literally thrown out of bed in the morning so I can walk him before work, this morning, he was awake and playful at 6:20am. So, after making sure he did not wake me for an emergency bathroom trip, I grudgingly dressed and prepared to take him in for his surgery. I packed his a stuffed duck that he loves to play with and walked him along Amsterdam Avenue to the vet’s office. Normally playful and excited to see other doggies on the street, Tiki was a little jumpy and snappish this morning. When we got to the vet, he immediately sat (showing good behavior) in hopes of getting one of the cookies the vet keeps at the front desk. Of course, since he is not allowed to eat or drink pre-surgery, he was denied and sulked about it.

Generally, Tiki loves going to the vet. He sees it as an opportunity to play with the dogs in the waiting room and eat the cookies that the nurses keep in their pockets. Today, when we walked inside, he immediately tried to leave. I did not think I was nervous about his surgery anymore or showed any signs that would upset him, but maybe I did because when I left him with the nurse, Tiki (a dog that normally leave me without a problem and who had never experienced a moment of separation anxiety) kept looking back at me over his shoulder as he was led to the exam room to prep for surgery. My heart broke.

I kept my cell phone glued to my person all day and was so relieved when the surgeon called to let me know everything was fine and Tiki was waking up from surgery that I almost cried.

My poor little guy. I am not allowed to visit him and I hope he knows that I would never knowingly abandon him to harm. I forced the vet to let him keep his ducky throughout surgery and for the recovery so he would have something to remind him of home. Weird though, even though everything is fine, I am not feeling settled.

But, the good news is that it looks like Tiki will come home tomorrow. The recovery will be long and he will be bored not being allowed to run around, stalk pigeons, or spring from the couch to attack whichever unsuspecting toy he made his prey. But, as long as he is home, that is all that matters.

Oh, as an aside, I am not the only one who thinks my dog is cuter than most others. A photographer is taking his picture for some Japanese magazine’s story about dogs in NYC and wants to take the photo even if he is all bandaged.