shadow's recovery

Shadow's surgery was a success. I cannot say enough good about the hospital and staff of Veterinary Specialties. We dropped him off Monday morning and were instructed that they would call just as they were beginning the surgery. They cannot give an exact appointment time but just as they said, they called at 12:50pm monday to say that he was under anesthesia and being prepped (read shaved). At about 2:20pm they called again to say that he was in recovery and doing well. They instructed us to call a little later for an update. Which we did and found that he was very groggy but ok. On Tuesday morning at 9:30 we called for a discharge time and found that they were not happy with his lack of motivation to get up on his own. Apparently shadow was relishing in the attention of having nurses help him. So, they told us that they wanted him to stay another night. At this idea, the guilt started setting in on me and all I could think was that this poor animal was going to think that we brought him to a place, allowed them to inflict a huge amount of pain on him and that we were never coming back. I called the vet again and asked if they were sure he could not come home that night and the nurse told me that right after she talked to us the last time, they brought his leash in and when he saw it he got up and acted much perkier, therefore, the doctor agreed that he could be discharged that night. This was good news. The other good news is that he now has full range of motion in his leg again. He limps on it but is able to get up and down. The doctor encouraged 10-15 minute slow walks to keep the muscle from getting weak and in 3 weeks he should be walking normally. As you can see he is shaved and his skin looks irritated. They said he has allergies (which we kinda figured all along) and prescribed him an antibiotic for a staph infection from the irritations. In the spring he will require bloodwork and probably allergy shots. While we are in "let's really baby our dog" mode, we stopped and bought him a new bed. It is extremely plush and he was hesitant to put the weight on his bad leg to get on it and preferred to lay in his regular spot by the coach with reagan at his side. Tramedol (an opiate) must be good stuff, because it knocks him right out. He started scratching his shaved skin with his back leg, so the doctor suggested putting a t-shirt on him to buffer it a bit. He has been such a good boy...we bought him special snacks to chase the medicine.
What is wrong with this picture?
This is what happens while I'm blogging. Greg goes to the dogs. Hopefully, he doesn't aquire a taste for "bacon and cheese madness".