Recovery of Rom, Part 3

This is hopefully the last chapter in the Recovery of Rommel. Our 4-year-old German Shepherd's brush with death has passed and hopefully this is the end of our medical drama with him. His staples were removed yesterday at the veterinarian's office. Farmer B called me from the exam room and said that quite a few staples had twisted in Rommel's belly causing him quite a bit of discomfort, squeaking and some blood upon their removal. The vet was quite impressed that Rommel was the same weight yesterday that he was the day he went in to have his spleen removed 10 days ago. His spleen weighed about 4 lbs, so that means our skinny dog actually put on 4 lbs in 10 days - quite a remarkable achievement for any dog, especially one recovering from major surgery. The pathology results showed that his tissue was consistent with a flipped spleen, so this surgery definitely saved his life.

Although we're still making him take it slowly, he's back to his quirky, nutty self now. We all feel like we can safely breathe a sigh of relief that he'll be okay. When someone you love (or some pet you love) experiences a brush with death, that's when you realize how much you really love them and how life wouldn't be the same without them. I'm glad we got that second chance with Rommel.

So this silly dog is getting extra hugs right now. And we're all trying to remember not to take each other - or our pets - for granted.

Here is the new spleen-less Rommel showing off his personality.




Hope that last picture of him showing off his teeth didn't scare you too much.