The Cone Monster

Back before we left for the summer we had Chinook neutered.  (Poor boy!)  We were hoping for the magical reduction in energy and hyperactivity.  Considering that we left just a couple weeks after the surgery, I can't be sure that it made any difference.  Frank has returned to Kazakhstan and says while he might be about 10% calmer he is now about 20% bigger which negates any benefits from the surgery and puts him back on the plus side (or negative, depending on how you consider it) for destructive behavior.

After the surgery he was even more of a terror than usual because of his cone.  He had to wear it for more than a week.  Day one home with it he had already broken and it required duct tape to repair.  This was the only cone we could find in the whole city and our driver Ivan looked everywhere, even getting his daughter to check the internet.  So we had to make MANY repairs before he could take it off.

The cone with minor duct tape repairs

He ran it into everything - walls, stairs, doors, door frames, furniture, bushes, curbs, the food bowl, the water bowl, people, and poor Snuggles.  This was definitely a "Marley" episode.  After one week we took him back to the vet.  They removed the stitches and he was supposed to get to ditch the cone.  But, one section was still a bit tender so they said a few more days.  After one extra day he split the cone yet one more time and I ran out of duct tape.  We decided enough was enough!

The end of the cone

The most interesting thing about having the surgery done in Kazakhstan was the after-care instructions.  They said to clean the stitches everyday with  vodka - yes, vodka.  They weren't kidding.  So, I went to the grocery store and bought a bottle of vodka with a name that translates to Winter's Night for the equivalent of $1.50 - you can stay plenty warm in the winter at that price!