Bruno healed and bounced back quickly from his surgery in July 2008. The remainder of 2008 went by without any problems or hiccups and before I knew it, 2009 was upon us. The first eleven months went by without any noteworthy or remarkable issues. Once every four weeks, Dr. Yamate would arrive as scheduled to treat Bruno with acupuncture and bring with her a new round of herbs. I kept Bruno’s weight down, diet on track, activity level up, and maintained the regular preventative care issues such as monthly heart-worm and grooming standards. As winter set in I wondered if the cold weather would affect Bruno but the big guy continued to hold his own. Dr. Yamate was keeping my boy together.
Early in December Dr. Yamate arrive for a treatment session and discovered troublesome news. One of Bruno’s testicles was hardening. (Yes, Bruno was soon to be 13 years old and was intact. Do not leave comments about neutering and health. That is another post for another day.) Dr. Yamate recommended that I have Bruno neutered immediately. Better safe than sorry.
Due to the holidays and scheduling issues, “immediately” turned out to actually be Monday, December 28. A senior screen was run before the procedure date and as usual, the results were good. Everyone tried to ease my mind by telling me how “easy” this procedure was due to the testicles being external. It all sounded good until I was informed that this surgical procedure required an overnight stay. That did not make me happy.
I dropped Bruno off knowing this procedure needed to be done and thankful that Dr. Yamate had caught it so early. The vet called me early that afternoon to let me know that Bruno was out of surgery, was okay, and that the procedure went smoothly without any problems or complications. I could pick up Bruno the following morning.
That night I missed my boy terribly. I picked him up first thing the next morning and brought him home. He was still a little groggy but we were both glad he was home.
The New Year was only a few days away. I crossed my fingers that 2010 would be kind and forgiving to my household.
*Originally posted June 16, 2010*
