surgery for the bug...

Right after we returned from our Spring break road trip I noticed that Pepper was not acting like herself.  Normally, she follows me from room to room, she watches tv & barks at every single dog or animal that appears, she barks at dogs passing by in front of our house & she chases the squirrels that dash across the fence in the backyard.  She was not doing any of those things.  She didn't even react when we played the Range Rover commercial that usually makes her go ballistic. Instead she retreated to her crate & slept for the majority of the day.  Olivia pointed out that Pepper was also breathing heavy.  One day when she appeared to have a bit more energy & tried to bark at a passing puppy & her bark sounded muffled & forced.

After two trips to the vet I was told that she had a lung lob torsion that would require immediate surgery or it could result in acute distress. The went in & confirmed that the lobe was definitely twisted which resulted in lack of blood flow & oxygen.  They did a lobectomy & did a biopsy to make sure that there were no masses. Pepper made it though the surgery remarkably & got to go home after they removed the chest tube, a mere 24 hours after surgery.

She rested well for the first few days or so & then apparently felt much better because it was all we could do to keep her from jumping up on things.  They assured me that the pain meds would keep her sedated...however, giving her the pain meds was another story.  She would run in the opposite direction as soon as she saw me coming with the meds & I practically had to wrestle with her to get her to take them.  If I did happen to get any in her mouth she would immediately foam at the mouth like a rabid dog.  I'm not exactly sure how much of the pain meds she was actually ingesting but I do know a good portion of them were flung in every direction as she tried to shake it out of her mouth.

She enjoyed her convalescence & all the extra cuddles....
I'm not sure why we are so prone to high maintenance dogs but we are thrilled that the biopsy came back negative for cancer.  It has now been three weeks since her surgery & she no longer has her staples & her hair is even growing back at a rapid pace.  We love out little bug