Looking for ideas for elbow pads

I’m pleased to report that Rowan’s pressure sore on his remaining elbow is healing over, and a callus of sorts forming.  I am leaving the dressing on a for another week, but will continue to provide him with some protection and padding for the foreseeable future.  I’m thinking of shopping around for some thick opaque cotton stockings that I could cut to make a few tubes of thick but breathable fabric … perhaps kid-sizes might be a better bet, and I am more likely to find 100% cotton there too, I’d imagine. Greys have very skinny, bony legs, so I will need to give it some thought.

He continues to wear a heavy cotton T shirt … his coat is growing back from where it was shaved for the op (7 weeks ago now) but the darker guard hairs don’t seem to be showing as yet; the patch is quite blonde in comparison with his red tan colouration elsewhere.  Anyway, I think he must feel the cold … the clocks went back last week and the days are growing shorter.  It has been strangely mild of late, although the word is that we’re facing another hard winter.  There are certainly a LOT of berries in the hedgerows, which is usually taken as an indication … country lore says it presages cold winters …  though I would imagine it reflects past weather conditions, rather than a predictor of future ones!  Whatever, we have had torrential rain for most of the last couple of weeks; the ground is sodden and I’m terrified of Rowan slipping on the mud, especially after the chickens have had a sortie. (Though the girls bustle about like gossiping matrons, their standard of cleanliness would shame even the most slovenly housewife!)

We’ve had a bit of a battle of wills over the last week.  Rowan had got very used to being fed choicest morsels of food, and was NOT impressed when I tried to reintroduce the tinned meat he’d always wolfed down.  The vet said that he could stand a couple of days on low rations, so I have been putting food down, then picking it up after half an hour, to re-present it at dinner time.  It’s worked, but I do feel guilty ….

Last weekend my husband & I drove North to visit parents.  We have not been North for a few months, given all the upset and uncertainty over Rowan.  I was distressed when both my Mother and my brother both said that in my shoes they’d have had Ro PTS.  I wasn’t especially surprised by my Ma, as I knew she has always taken that tack … when I was a tot she had my (first) pet cat PTS because she’d lost her eye in an accident.  But my brother has always doted on Rowan, and I was surprised he took the same line.  His reasoning seems to be that it was a shame for Rowan, and I tried to explain some key points, namely, a) we took the leg and the intense pain away, b) that Rowan doesn’t remember having another leg nor does he fret over its loss, and c) he lives in the present and so should we.  He seemed to hear what I said, but there again, he has never kept a pet since he left home, 30 odd years ago.  I was surprised how upset I was.  Mother always trots out, “You have to be cruel to be kind.”  tho I am not 100% sure what she means by that, nor, I suspect, is she.  Ah well, takes her sort to make all sorts and all sorts to make the world go round I suppose!

Thanks for listening.

Polly, Rowan & Willow XXX

Edited to add:  I meant to mention that when I took him to the vet on Monday, he said that Rowan was one of the happiest dogs he can remember, and that he is the perfect patient, standing still and letting people do what they need.  He said he had been a little doubtful that Ro would cope with an amputation, but that he’s delighted by how resilient Rowan has proved to be, and anyone seeing the joy in Ro’s face when he greets people couldn’t  help but be moved by him.  He’s made the vet rethink some of his ideas about big dogs.  Rowan absolutely loves going to the vet, and literally dragged me into the consulting room when we were called.  He gets a lot of attention form other clients, both because of his size and beauty and the op.