The day is here! We were all so excited. It was a family adventure, with my parents & son Kellan in tow. Of course Sparta was happy for the car ride. We headed to the repro vet in Fort Collins, about 1.5 hours away. Appointment was at noon. She was going to have a TCI, Trans Cervical Insemination done. I have never been through this process & was told it would take about 45min. I had already paid($450) to have the frozen semen arrive a few weeks earlier at the vets.
Sparta was put on a raised table & with a vet tech holding her, along with my mom & I. The vet had the semen thawing & getting prepared to use this very long scope. A dogs vagina is very long, so the scope must be as well. We got to watch the screen & follow where the scope was going. The goal is to pass the cervix & that is a very small opening. Sparta did not enjoy this & I can't blame her for a minute! She was to stand very still & straight. This just wasn't going to happen. Another tech was called in for help. Sparta kept wanting to look behind her to see what the heck was going on, but that made her body too crooked. After 30 minutes of this struggle & the vet NOT being able to get past the cervix, something else had to be done. I asked if she was now a canidate for a surgical insemination, as this was stressing her out big time. I hated seeing her like that. The vet want to try a little longer, but finally called the owner & repro specialist of this clinic. That vet couldn't make it in that day. Anyway, she agreed that a surgical be done. Either that or lose the breeding. Not a whole lot of choices, especially since the semen has already been thawing longer than I wanted. Ugh. I never imagined that we would end up doing surgery. Poor Sparta Mae :-( She was shaved & prepped for surgery. My mom & I watched the whole thing. The benefit of surgery besides getting the semen exactly where it needs to go is they can inspect the uterus & ovaries. Make sure it is healthy & free of any cysts. Sparta's looked perfect.
Recovering was not easy for her. She had a hard time waking up. Once she did, she wanted to bolt. She couldn't stop crying or struggling to get away from the tech holding her, so they sedated her. They moved her to a dark room, on a soft blanket where I held her. Kellan stayed with us. She started to wake up & we got her moving. She was very wobbly. We got her out to pee, then in the car for home.
What was supposed to take 45 min. took 4 hours! The price jumped as well from $160 to $600. Another yikes moment. The biggest stressor was watching what Sparta went through. She slept on the ride home. She would sometimes wake up crying & my mom would sing her a lullaby. Too sweet. Once home, Selous had no idea what to think! She knew something was different about her mom. She kept running circles around her. Gane just softly sniffed her & was very gentle. If I walked away from her, she would cry so obviously I couldn't walk away! I placed her in a big soft bed in the tv room & we all stayed there together watching movies. Three dogs & three people in a tiny room, lol. Wade had done the Spartan obstacle race that day in Colorado Springs & did awesome but was worn out also. I was beyond mentally drained.
What a day!! Sparta was much better the next day & now you couldn't tell she had anything done. She's not even messing with the incision. We find out the last week in May if she's pregnant. More waiting for us!
Sparta was put on a raised table & with a vet tech holding her, along with my mom & I. The vet had the semen thawing & getting prepared to use this very long scope. A dogs vagina is very long, so the scope must be as well. We got to watch the screen & follow where the scope was going. The goal is to pass the cervix & that is a very small opening. Sparta did not enjoy this & I can't blame her for a minute! She was to stand very still & straight. This just wasn't going to happen. Another tech was called in for help. Sparta kept wanting to look behind her to see what the heck was going on, but that made her body too crooked. After 30 minutes of this struggle & the vet NOT being able to get past the cervix, something else had to be done. I asked if she was now a canidate for a surgical insemination, as this was stressing her out big time. I hated seeing her like that. The vet want to try a little longer, but finally called the owner & repro specialist of this clinic. That vet couldn't make it in that day. Anyway, she agreed that a surgical be done. Either that or lose the breeding. Not a whole lot of choices, especially since the semen has already been thawing longer than I wanted. Ugh. I never imagined that we would end up doing surgery. Poor Sparta Mae :-( She was shaved & prepped for surgery. My mom & I watched the whole thing. The benefit of surgery besides getting the semen exactly where it needs to go is they can inspect the uterus & ovaries. Make sure it is healthy & free of any cysts. Sparta's looked perfect.
Recovering was not easy for her. She had a hard time waking up. Once she did, she wanted to bolt. She couldn't stop crying or struggling to get away from the tech holding her, so they sedated her. They moved her to a dark room, on a soft blanket where I held her. Kellan stayed with us. She started to wake up & we got her moving. She was very wobbly. We got her out to pee, then in the car for home.
What was supposed to take 45 min. took 4 hours! The price jumped as well from $160 to $600. Another yikes moment. The biggest stressor was watching what Sparta went through. She slept on the ride home. She would sometimes wake up crying & my mom would sing her a lullaby. Too sweet. Once home, Selous had no idea what to think! She knew something was different about her mom. She kept running circles around her. Gane just softly sniffed her & was very gentle. If I walked away from her, she would cry so obviously I couldn't walk away! I placed her in a big soft bed in the tv room & we all stayed there together watching movies. Three dogs & three people in a tiny room, lol. Wade had done the Spartan obstacle race that day in Colorado Springs & did awesome but was worn out also. I was beyond mentally drained.
What a day!! Sparta was much better the next day & now you couldn't tell she had anything done. She's not even messing with the incision. We find out the last week in May if she's pregnant. More waiting for us!