Chachi update. Needle update

Chachi is feeling better today. Adam and I went to visit him a couple times and as the day passed he became more aware. He is still really skinny, and his eyes look even more buggy. It's kinda cute.
We saw the blockage that made him so sick. It wasn't a discernible anything, there was some fluff from the couch, some fuzz from his bed, some bark mulch and some of my hair. Clearly he eats everything. I don't know how I can break him of that. We are going to throw away any of his toys which are stuffed, unless they are holding up really well (many aren't). The vet suggested rawhide toys and rubber toys. Chachi has those, but he loves stuffed toys. He loves to rip them open and tear their guts out. (chihuahuas eat small rodents in the wild and would shake it to kill it then rip it open and pull everything out, which is just how Chachi plays) Anyhow I hope he doesn't miss his toys. As for the couch, I think we're going to try and find some slip covers and if we can't I'll try to make some. It should be interesting!
Along with removing the blockage the vet also had to remove 14 inches of his intestines, which is 20% of the total length, which is a little scary to me. Having so much removed makes him at a higher risk of another blockage, which worries me. The vet explained that it's not uncommon for dogs to have this happen to them a couple times in their lives. Unlike livers, intestines don't grow back.
When they were looking at the blockage on the ultrasound they thought it was just a mass, which is easier to remove and causes less damage, but Chachi's was a long mass, that caused a lot of damage as it was pushed and pulled through his intestines. We were teasing him earlier that he wants to be like his Uncle Ceaser, who is Adam's mom's cat, who ate a polyester string a year ago in November and had something similar happen. Ceaser was a little less lucky and lost close to 3 feet of his intestines. However he is a fully recovered kitty, complete with his starlet complex.
When we were visiting him tonight, one of the techs suggested that we give Chachi some food since he might be more likey to take it while we are there. So she prepared a tablespoon of babyfood for him and gave it to me to give to him. I sat Chachi down in his little cage and gave him the plate of food and he gobbled it down in record time. I was insanely happy to see my little dog eat, especially since I was doing everything all week to get him to eat. So, it looks like he'll be better now. He's going to be the toughest chihuahua on the block with all of his scars. He will have three scars on his belly now, all acquired in less than four months.
Thanks for all of your good wishes, and I'll post pictures soon.

On to my needles.
I know I shocked some people by talking about it last time. I'm sorry.
Today was a little better, I hesitated less, but it still sucked. It also stung a lot, but it's a short sting. I can't get over watching the needle enter my skin, it's so weird and surreal. The needle is tiny and sharp, so there is no resistance going in, but I still don't want to push down too hard when I actually depress the plunger. I expect I'll get better at it.
I learned a couple things tonight:
1. Before I fill the syringe with saline I need to first fill it with air, and inject the air into the bottle so that I will get the right amount of saline. I didn't do that last night and I ended up not getting enough saline, but I think I still had enough of the dose. (I mix the saline with the powdered hormones.)
2. When pulling the needle from your body, pull straight out. I pulled at a slight angle today and the tip of the needle caught on the inside of my skin and kinda scratched/ popped it's way out. It gave me the shivers.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll get everything perfect.