What kind of surgery is your pom having? Our dog Chica had a TPLO done several years ago after she blew out her ACL doing a quick turn at the end of her morning fence run with the dog next door. I have never heard any animal scream like that, and hope never to hear it again.
Since it happened on a weekend, we had to go to a different vet. That idiot told us it was sprained toes! We knew he was a quack, and when our good vet was back in his office, he correctly diagnosed the problem. The surgery was pretty expensive - about $2,500 if I remember correctly, but at least she has the use of the leg back. Now we just battle the arthritis at the surgery site with deramax and she's doing great. We are also lucky to have a pool - swimming is great for humans and dogs as a physical therapy tool.
After any leg surgery on a dog, you'll really need to keep up the regular walking. Dave and I learned the hard way that even after Chica seemed recovered, she really needed regular exercise to stay that way. A few months ago she started falling down - just standing there and BOOM! Down went the backside. It took a couple months of building her up slowly (and myself I might add!) and increasing the walking time, but now she's just about back to her old self. And I do mean old - she's 12 now, but is acting half her age again.
