Adventure in Surgery - Sibes.Org Article

TAZ Adventures -- Adventures in surgery.

Thank you all for your overwhelming sympathy and prayerful support of Colonel TAZ. TAZ had two disks in his lower back compress -- essentially, he could not walk nor could he evacuate his bowels (that's technical talk for 'not able to poop'). His rear legs simply failed.

TAZ underwent surgery at All-Care in Fountain Valley, CA...the Mayo Clinic of vet medicine. And wouldn't you know it...he managed to be a celebrity even at that. He was operated on a week ago Friday by Dr. Robert Rooks, the chief of staff and one of the vaunted Iditarod vets. The surgery was oddly scheduled for 4am. Then I discovered that certain major procedures are done at that time so they can be televised and shown live to classrooms of various veterinary schools on the east coast. A national TV link up even as he is being cut up and torn apart by doctors...even when he is unconscious he manages to outshine me!!!

TAZ came through very well. He looks terrible, like a Siberian Frankenstein crossed with a demented French poodle...all shaved in weird places and patterns with massive scars held closed with huge metal staples. Taz now can eat food and he drinks massive amounts of water.

FYI - I have always thought that dogs in general and huskies in particular have a bladder that must extend from the base of the neck right down to the tip of the tail. How else can one explain why a dog is able to save a squirt for every tree? Well, if you have ever wondered what an uninterrupted flow is like, I now can safely report the results: Two minutes. Yes, I timed it. TAZ stands there for two solid minutes and issues a strong and steady stream. Oh yes, he also completely reloads every couple of hours and is able to repeat the stopwatch time.

For the next 60 days (pretty much until Thanksgiving) TAZ will be crate bound. He is not allowed to jump, take stairs or run. His crate sits near the front door and I am creating a ramp to allow gentle trundling down to the front yard. Right now I simply pick him up and take him down the porch stairs...and then back up after he is done. Then, right back to the crate. Not real exciting, but he knows he is healing from major surgery. Those massive metal stitches remind him of it every time he poops. It will be a long recovery, but when I look into his eyes...there, just beyond the mischievous, malevolent, calculating ice blue eyed stare...I can catch just a hint of a glint of gratitude.

And that makes the difference.

Thank you for your continued prayers.

Scott, Robbi, TAZ and the Siberian Cyclone.