Yet another update
Yes, I do need to find more creative titles...
I let John Henry get up on the couch last night. He was the happiest boy alive. He'd already managed to get up on the couch in the spare bedroom by himself (I don't know how--I didn't see it), but it wasn't comfortable because he couldn't lie down the right way.
Word of advice--When you bring that new puppy home and wonder if you should let them get up on the furniture or not, you really ought to ask yourself--when they get to be ten years old and they have bone cancer and they have to have their leg amputated, will that getting up on the furniture thing be a really big hassle then?
John Henry continues to get around better, which pleases me though it makes life more difficult. Now that it's finally stopped raining he is getting around the yard pretty well (he already shows interest in chasing things he shouldn't chase).
I haven't heard back from the pathology lab yet so don't know whether there are next steps to take or not, but may find out more next week.
(and thank you for the comments--although I generally assume there's someone out there, occasionally it helps to know for sure :-)