Jesse's First Surgery and Recovery
Jesse the morning of his first surgery.
April 26, 2001- Jesse's surgery day. He went for his pre -op labs and appointment yesterday and everything went well. The surgery will take place this afternoon. The procedure lasts about 2 hours. We'll have updates and photos as Jesse recovers. Again, Jesse and the Golden Bond Board of Directors are deeply thankful to each and every person who has donated to the Fund for Jesse. Without your generous contributions , this second chance for Jesse would not be possible.
April 26, 2001
Hi all you Jessie Lovers,
It is now 5:45 pm and I have talked with Dr. Munjar. He certainly is a gentle human being. The surgery started about 2pm and the actual surgery ended about 4:15 but it was 5pm before Jessie was out of surgery.
 
They operated on his right side today and found no cartiledge left. Dr. Munjar feels very good about how the surgery went. Jessie did very nicely and should be quite comfy on this side. He is now resting nicely and is coming out of the anthesthetic slowly which is what he wants.
 
Dr. Munjar will call me in the morning to let me know how Jessie is doing. Linda has gotten his recovery suite ready at her house and is ready to bring him home tomorrow. He will have a very nice and comfy place to recuperate.
 
A much relieved Patsy
April 27, 2001
 
Hi again all you Jessie Lovers,
 
It is now 10am and I just received a call from Dr. Munjar's office. Jessie is doing very well. He rested just fine during the night. He is lying quietly in his kennel, just waiting for us to come pick him up.
Linda and I will meet with Dr. Munjar around noon. He will show us the new x-rays of Jessie's hip, go over post operative care and give us medications, etc. We will then take Jessie home, very carefully.
From here on it is just the healing process with lots of love and careful attention paid to one really sweet dog. I am so very confident that Linda will do a really great job caring for Jessie. (Look for a great upcoming shot of Linda and Murry, the heart worm dog that she fostered, who now has a wonderful home in Eugene. By the way Murry's blood work continues to show negative on worm eggs. One more test and he is home free!)
 
More updates on Jessie after he is home and look for pictures of his comings and goings. How about all the great letters that Jessie's supporters have sent in. Be sure to check these out .
 
Thanks to you all for your support.
Patsy
Dr Munjar and His assistant with Jesse the day after his surgery
 
April 28, 2001
Hi again all you Jessie Lovers,
Jessie is home! Linda and I met with Dr. Munjar (what a kind and gentle man he is) about noon and were filled in with all pertinent information on Jessie & his care. We looked again at the old x-rays and then an x-ray of his new hip. Wow! Dr. Munjar is very pleased with how the implant worked out. He felt it all fit very well. We also went over what to do and not to do and got some tablets for sedation. They had already given Jessie one this morning.
Then they brought out Jessie. Boy what energy. You would never have known he had surgery yesterday. In fact Dr. Munjar went back and returned with another injection of the sedative. As we left we heard Dr. Munjar say,"Boy you really have your hands full." Thank heaven for Linda. What would we do without her?
So for two weeks he needs to be kept really calm. So we brought him home and he went directly in his kennel which he did not care for but I think he will be spending 90% of his time in. One thing we need to think about are ways to keep him busy while in the crate.
Thank you all so very much for your support in this group effort for Jessie.
Patsy
Jesse Shows off his scar.
May 1st ,2001
Jessie continues to do very well according to his foster mom Linda. She is not having to keep him quite as sedated and he is moving around the laundry room, not having to be in his kennel quite as much. Linda still spends a lot of time with him and has set up a comfy chair, TV and reading lamp so she can be with Jessie as much as possible. It has been almost a week now since his surgery.
We continue to get contributions for his surgery. Thanks to all of our generous donors.
Thank you all for your love and concern for this sweet dog. He's been kind of tired and asked me to thank everyone for him.
Slobbers and kisses from Jessie.
Linda Keeping Jesse company while he recovers.
May 7,2001

Hi again!

I spoke with Linda today and Jessie is continuing on his recovery at an impressive rate. Linda has been keeping Jessie in the laundry room so as to restrict his movement. Well today she didn't shut the door into the laundry room tight and before she knew it there was a little nose poking out of the slightly open door. Well, who could resist that, so she called Jessie out and he was so good just came and laid on the dog pillow under her desk.

Thursday is his visit to Dr. Munjar for an exam and a follow-up x-ray to be sure all is in the proper place. Linda has been so good and careful with him that I am sure that he will receive a glowing report. But we certainly will let you know.

The Jessie fund is at $4,000 which is just outstanding and so appreciated by Jessie and Golden Bond. Thank you for your generosity. His second surgery will be in the near future.

There will be another update after the appointment with Dr Munjar.

Patsy
5/10/01

Linda and I loaded Jessie into the car and off we went for our two week appointment. Well, this was really big stuff for Jessie since he has only been out of the house for short walks around the yard to do his business.

When we got to Dr. Munjar's office Jessie decided that the car ride was not long enough so it was all we could do to get him out and into the exam room. Everyone greeted him happily. Good thing Jessie had been sedated as it was not easy to quell his enthusiasm for this outing.

Jessie came through the exam with flying colors. In fact, everything looked so great that an x-ray was not needed. There is a little fluid under the scar but that will go away in no time. The stitches were removed and his incision looks great. Jessie has been really good at not chewing on himself. We don't go back now for another four weeks.

Back in the car for the ride home and this time there was no doubt in Jessie's mind that he wanted a field trip! Since that was out of the question, back home we went and this time it was even more difficult to get him out of the car. It was the old drag and lift routine.

So Jessie had a big day and is once more back in the safety of his laundry room. He is such a sweet boy and asked us to send you his love, slobber and all.

Patsy
I'm feeling like myself- this bed is soft and cozy.
May 20, 2001

Hi all you Jessie Lovers!

Today I can really give you an up close and personal update on Jessie. First of all, the Doggie Dash was yesterday in Waterfront Park and a huge success. Lots of Goldens and Golden Bond people stopped by to show us their dogs and also ask how Jessie was doing. We had pictures of him and all were pleased to hear the latest of how well his recovery is coming along.

Then last evening Linda had to go out for a long afternoon and evening so I went over and spent time with Jessie. He sure isn't much of an eater; he managed to pick through the dry food and just get out the canned, but it was the time spent alone with him that was so very special.

We took several walks around the yard on a leash to take care of business and then just sat down on a bench for some loves. He sat so calmly while I petted him and spoke with him just staring off into space. He sure loves his one on one time. He was so calm, so different than when there is more than one person there. He doesn't have to go between two people to get his attention, he just sits quietly. His coat is so soft and smooth, petting him is calming for both dog and human.

Once inside he loves to roll, tummy up and just relax. We laid on the floor together for quite a while but then I had to bid him farewell as I had my own four dogs to get home to. He just laid there with those huge eyes staring, while I reluctantly got up and closed the door to the laundry room behind me. He never cried or barked. He is just a sweetheart. He certainly is well worth what Golden Bond is doing for him. Those eyes just tell you, "Thank you, thank, to all my human friends, I love you all."

Patsy
May 29, 2001

Hello again all you Jessie followers,

It has been a little while since an update on our sweet Jessie so here we go. Linda reports that Jessie is really doing well on his own. Jessie has been left in the house by himself with free reign while Linda has been gone as long as 4 hours at a time. He does not get into a thing he shouldn't and obviously just relaxes by the sliding glass door waiting for Linda's return.

Over the Memorial Day week-end, Linda was out in the yard quite a bit with Jessie totally off leash just roaming around her fenced yard sniffing the roses. He is able to occupy himself very well and is much calmer this way.

Jessie has his appointment next week for an x-ray to see how all is "coming together." Also, an appointment will be made for his second surgery at that time. Linda hopes to take a little break in central Oregon before his second surgery. This second surgery will be a shock for Jessie as it will be back to the laundry room and the kennel. But he is so sweet that he will probably understand why it is all happening and in case he doesn't, Linda will be ready with the sedatives to relax him!

So as you can see, Jessie is a real trouper and again he wants us to be sure and thank all his donors for making all this possible. He sends his love.

Patsy
June 6, 2001
The Latest on Jessie!
 
Big News, Big News: Jessie had his final x-ray on his hip Wednesday, and he passed with flying colors! So now we have a new surgery date! Jessie will get a thorough bath on Monday, June 10, to get rid of any unwanted hair that may get into the open surgical area, then he will go to Dr. Munjar's on Tuesday morning and will be operated on that day, Tuesday, June 12, probably in the morning. He will stay overnight and then come home Wednesday, June 13.
 
Jessie has been doing great with his new hip with it giving him no problems at all. He played some with another Golden Bond dog yesterday (more about that later) and by the evening he was limping on the old hip -the new one held up wonderfully!
 
Now about the new Golden Bond dog. The Oregon Humane Society called us Monday afternoon saying they had just gotten in a 4 year old male Golden who was blind in one eye and almost blind in the other with cataracts. He was not doing well there, scared to death, shaking and could we take him ASAP. So off to the Humane Society Tuesday afternoon to take a look. Well, all it took was a look and we hooked him up to our leash and off we went. While we worked on finding him a foster, Linda offered to bring him home to Jessie so off he went with us. We made a short stop at Dr. Dan's to check his eyes, and then to Linda's for a temporary foster.
Jessie was just beside himself with excitement at seeing Murphy since he hasn't had much social contact with other dogs since he had his surgery. Linda regulated their play, after all one blind dog and one with a bad hip, what more do you want! By the end of the day both were tuckered out and Jessie was limping. They sure slept well that night.
 
Our new almost blind dog is just a sweetheart. Dr. Dan feels that sense of smell and hearing are more important that sight, but Murphy is only four and Dan feels that he may be a candidate for surgical correction. So, of course, we will do our homework and look into that for our new boy, Murphy. Carla has now found him a wonderful foster home where he will be loved and treated with great kindness. He should really bloom there.
 
Thank you all again for your continued interest and concern for Jessie. My next update will be next Tuesday or Wednesday after his surgery. We can all ask our Golden Bond angel to keep a careful watch over our sweet Jessie, just like he did with the first hip.
Patsy
Jessie sends a big paw in your face and slobber on your shirt,
Love, Jessie
Jesses Second Surgery
Back to the Fund for Jesse
More Photos of Jesse
List of Donors to Jesses Fund
Read the letters that Jesse has gotten from his supporters.