Instead of picking Cookie up on Friday we got a call to say she was staying in an extra night. Tom the vet explained that the anaesthetic that is used to numb the leg can often stay a little longer in the bigger dogs and at the moment she was still dragging it. As a precaution he'd rather keep an eye on her for a little longer and whilst we were obviously disappointed you have to admire the professionalism and commitment to the animal's welfare, and know absolutely that it's the right decision.

Saturday was a case of waiting for a call again and when it came at around 11am we were told she was doing really well and was ready for discharge. We were offered 12 or 2pm and though we are about 45 minutes away there was no real choice and we jumped in the car within five minutes of putting the phone down.

Tom wasn't on duty but the vet who went through everything with us was what we'd come to expect from this top class establishment. He explained everything slowly and you never felt like you were being rushed. He answered all our questions, went through the medication one at a time and when we were happy he brought Cookie through.

It goes without saying we were delighted to see her but we didn't want to get her too excited so we got her carefully in the car and headed home to get her settled. Unfortunatly she had a stomach upset again and we have been unable to give her the Metacam so pain relief is down to the Paracetamol and Codeine alone. Despite being obviously uncomfortable she had a really good night and just seemed very happy to be home.

Now it's the recovery and the management of everything that involves will be our biggest challenge. We have had lots of advice from those who have been there before and the advice from those with experience is invaluable. One of the tips was the Help'EmUp harness and I can't even begin to say how useful this has been so far. I know I've mentioned it previously but it is an Absolutely brilliant piece of kit .

The medication alone is a challenge and the whiteboard usually reserved for work now resembles and ER station. Cookie is confined to small room rest for two weeks and then can begin light lead exercise of 10 minutes 2 to 3 times a day. We are very lucky that when we built the extension on the house it was with the dogs in mind. We have rooms that easily divide just for this type of thing so Cookie has her own space with direct access out to the toilet with no furniture to tempt her and she can still see Monty without them being physically together.

So we have the room sorted the medication organised and now to try and keep her occupied. We had the wonderful snuffle mat sent to us by Stacey from My Fab Dog and she has certainly got some use out of it already and it's definitely going to be a firm favourite over the coming weeks. We also have the old favourites that are the Kong's and she's already had a Sweet Potato, Yoghurt and kibble one to keep her occupied but Kong recipes are always very welcome.

She is currently snoring very contentedly a few yards away from me as I type this, so I'm very happy to report that it's so far so good, and hopefully now she'll go from strength to strength....