The Cone of Shame.

I mentioned that baby dog Izzy had arthroscopic surgery last week. Also, since he was going under the ether (or whatever they use), we asked if they could neuter him as well. It was my wife's idea. A friend says, "Gee, she's pretty quick with the knife, isn't she?" Of course, I denied it.

But no, Izzy was at the proper age now, and I think if you're not going to breed the dog, leaving the ol' sackeroo intact does him no favors. It's like giving a teenager the keys to a Lambo and not allowing him to ever see the car. It also helps female dogs feel less threatened, allows us to legally attend the dog park in town, avoids some common types of cancer, and prevents me from being presented with a box full of puppies that look halfway like Izzy by an angry neighbor. 

One thing it has not done is cool his crazy attitude. The kid is still a nut.

Anyway, it's a curious thing, but Izzy has been pretty good in the post-op, despite having surgery on three parts of his body (two elbows and the manly center). He was wearing a cone when we picked him up, but my wife took it off him on the way home and we haven't had to put it back on since. However, we were ready if we had to. We have this.

The Comfy Cone by All Four Paws is a soft cone that can be used in place of the E-collar known colloquially as the Cone of Shame. It seems like a remarkable invention. Soft but secure, it still prevents the dog from going after most parts of his body, but it folds when he lies down and can be pulled back when he eats. We ordered it after baby dog Nipper had a skin infection back in '18, because he was absolutely miserable with the plastic collar. 

The funny thing was, by the time the Comfy Cone arrived, it had healed up enough so he didn't need it. 

I suggested we test the thing, but we didn't want to alarm the dogs unnecessarily. So I put it on myself. And yes, it was comfortable. I couldn't see anything, because my eyes are on the front of my head and I walk upright. Never mind that; I could lie down in it and it was fine, and that was more that Nipper could do in the plastic collar. His night with the cone was just awful, and he never slept a wink. But we have had the Comfy Cone on hand for the next emergency.

Since then we lost Nipper to cancer, but he had no treatments that required a cone. Older dog Tralfaz never needed a cone following neutering, and when he had a lumpectomy last year, the vet took a lump from his front shoulder, which he couldn't reach by any means, and thus didn't need the cone. And now Izzy is healing fine and hasn't needed it.

Which means that the only creature to date who has actually worn this cone is me. 

Although it was for altruistic reasons, I actually do feel a little ashamed about it.