Halas Removed His Stitches! ER Thinks No Big Deal? (really gross photo)

[Leslie and Halas]

Halas wears his cone of shame when I'm at work.  I was home for a long lunch today, just to give him a break from his cone.  I put it back on before I left, and went back to work.  I got home about 30 minutes ago to this:

The stitches are gone from this one on his left side, and the one on his right hip.  The right hip is pretty much closed up, so I'm not too worried about that one.  But, as you can see, this one is an open wound.  And it's deep.  My vet had closed about 15 minutes before I got home, so I called the ER vet.  They said it should be fine for tonight, since the surgery was 5 days ago, but I should get him to his regular vet first thing tomorrow.  I will definitely do that tomorrow as soon as they open, but what about tonight?  I don't see how this big, open wound is going to be ok overnight.  Maybe they are assuming that it's mostly closed up, but I tried to explain that this one WAS NOT closed up.  I even said I could email a picture of it to them.  Is this really something that looks like it will be ok overnight?!  I asked if I should at least put Polysporin and a bandage over it, but they said no.  WTD?!

And he did still have his cone on when I got home, which means he did all of this between 12:30 - 5:45 today while working around his cone.  And based on the fact that the other side is practically closed up, I think he's been messing with this one on his left side at other times, too, when I've been at work.  The one on his groin still has stitches, and doesn't look like he's bothered it, so at least the cone worked for that one.

This is grossing me out, and I'm really worried about it being OK overnight.  Any advice?  Call the ER vet back and explain it again? Put some Polysporin and a big bandage over it?  Leave it alone?

[Leslie and Halas]

They open at 8:00am, so I will call at exactly 8:00, and we will be there at 8:05 (they are about 2 blocks away).  I've got sterile, non-stick gauze on it now, and I'll tape it down better before we go to bed.  And I'll rig a t-shirt or something on it.  I don't think he's been bothering it overnight, because he's been sleeping practically on top of me, and hitting me with that d#@% cone whenever he moves, so it would be waking me up if he was messing with it at night.  Between the gauze, tape, t-shirt, cone, and probably very little sleep on my part, I'll make sure he doesn't mess with it.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Good, sounds like a plan.

[Leslie and Halas]

If I had more faith in the ER vets, I would probably go tonight.  But I've heard not-so-great things about them from time to time, so I just don't have a huge level of trust that Halas would be better off after leaving there.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I agree with that, lol. I'm sure he'll be fine until you get to the vet tomorrow. You probably won't get much sleep though. :)

[Leslie and Halas]

He just HAD to get his stitches out before mine!  Couldn't wait until Monday!  Where is this competitive spirit during flyball?

A co-worker who uses the same vet as me had a huge emergency with her dog a few years ago.  He needed around-the-clock care for at least a week.  She took him to the regular vet in the morning, picked him up after work, took him to the ER vet (there's only one in our area) to stay overnight, picked him up the next morning, and took him back to the regular vet for the day.  After a few days of doing this, and the dog seeming to be a little worse every morning compared to the night before, the vet finally said not to take him to the ER at night.  The vet took the dog home with her for the rest of the nights.  

[F, Calla & Luca]

Interesting. What a good vet, though.

[a.k.a. Rodney]

Please just show up there....sometimes the receptionists think they are the docs and offer advise...usually half right...just go there & be there when they open ... Good luck!!

[Leslie and Halas]

My vet's office won't give me any trouble when I call first thing.  I'll basically be warning them that I'm on my way.  

[Bonnie and Kona]

Hoping all works out for your dear boy!

[Leslie and Halas]

I feel a little relieved now.  Halas' groomer, who used to work at the boarding/grooming place attached to our vet clinic, gave me our vet's cell phone number.  Tina the Groomer knows Dr. Walsh, and said she wouldn't mind.  So I just got off the phone with Dr. Walsh.  She said they will probably put a numbing agent and some staples in it tomorrow, but it should be OK overnight.  She did say to keep the gauze on it, and keep him from getting to it.  She also said that I didn't need to call in the morning.  When she gets there, she'll tell them that I'm coming in at 8:00.  I apologized a few times for bothering her at home, but she said it was not a problem.  I also explained that I just didn't trust the ER.  To that she just said, "Yeaahhhh..."  I wonder what that means.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It means that it's unprofessional to say anything negative about other local people in your field, even if you agree. :)

[Leslie and Halas]

Good to know.  Thanks.  I think it's hard to get a cone to fit Halas right.  He has a tiny little neck, so if it fits around his neck, it's a pretty small cone, and his face sticks way out in front of it.  If it's a bigger cone, big enough to cover his whole face, it's hard to get it small enough around his neck, which means he can still manage to push his face out of it, because it moves back and forth so easily.