Recovery and a new dog

[sweetc]

Hello all,

I am a week away from getting my GCS surgery and with that my family and I are in the process of getting a new small dog. My mothers mind set was it would keep my company and encouraged me to walk since my doctor said I will need  to walk after I get back from the Hospital I was wondering if anyone has had any experience or advice as to whether this is a good idea or not.

[Dena]

I would question getting a dog before you know how you will feel after surgery unless somebody can care for it until you are ready to. You can be very weak after surgery and even more so if the surgeon confines you to bed longer than the normal 2 days. If it's a young dog, your sleep requirement might interfere with your ability to care for the dog. After you know how your recovery is going, I see no problem.