Run, Don't Walk

Yesterday we took Tinker to see his surgeon, Dr. Hunt, for his 9-week post-surgical checkup. His assistant, Meaghan (who wrote a very sweet note in our guestbook for this blog) came out to the waiting area to get us. As soon as Meaghan called, "Tinker", our little boy revved up his cart and tore like a bat out of hell over to her. They were both so happy to see each other. Tinker loves everyone, but he definitely makes a special connection to certain people; the people he knows have been there for him. Having worked with Tinker before and after (and possibly during) the surgery, Meaghan could see firsthand just how much progress he had made. It brought a huge smile to her face. Tinker's appearance also brought a smile to several of the other vet techs who peeked through the exam room window to see Tinker- his own little fan club. One said his name and he immediately looked up at the glass and started doing "tippy head", his RCA dog imitation.

Tippy-head at home

Dr. Hunt's expression upon seeing Tinker told us more than his words did. While he is quite succinct in what he says, we could see on his face just how truly happy he was that his patient was up on all fours. We have another follow-up in 2 months. Dr. Hunt said (in his Aussie accent), "I expect him to walk in here then".

We have had to temper our own expectations a little. Tinker has progressed so quickly that we tend to forget sometimes that he will not be able to use the stairs again and he shouldn't be climbing down or jumping off of things, like the couch. He also won't go for very long walks like he used to...but all of that is all right :) He won't walk completely normally again, but then his walk was a little funky when we adopted him. All we want is for him to be able to stand on all fours, unassisted, harness and leash on, out taking a stroll with us and his big sister.

And, who knows, maybe one day he'll run too. :)