Surgery Day (2/23)

Wednesday, 2/23 - Tinker would be going into surgery around 9 AM. Amazingly, and quite ridiculously, the surgeon's office called 2 minutes before surgery to ask for a down payment. Great timing. Of course, we were going forward, but it was rude to say the least.

The surgery lasted about 1-1/2 hours. We held our breath as Dr. Hunt called us in the early afternoon. The surgery had gone very well and he discovered, most importantly, the effect of the ruptured disk was localized and there was NO sign of Ascending/Descending Myelomalacia. He said Tinker now had a 50% chance of walking again. We went from 0 chance to less than 5% to 50% in a matter of days.

We couldn't have been more ecstatic at that point. We went to visit Tinker on Friday (2/25) and Sunday (2/27). He was still pretty much out of it on Friday, but was fairly animated on Sunday. By the time we picked him up on Tuesday to bring him home, we felt like we had our boy back. He slept on my lap in the back seat almost the entire way home. I couldn't stop kissing those soft Beagley ears. It was so good to have my 'Lil' Dude' back. It's funny how things evolve. When we first got him, I was concerned that Virginia would be jealous of another dog getting attention and taking attention away from her. She had been Numero Uno for 4 years. Over time you make adjustments and fall into patterns without even realizing it. Virginia is our "heart dog"; the one that gets you right there. Tinker, however, isn't far behind. His spirit, happy-go-lucky attitude, and playfulness makes him a great dog and companion. We know the months ahead will be tough, but he's so worth it.