| Carlee's Story by Anne Machmer I noticed that 2 people requested info on how Carlee ended up in her situation. They are cocker lovers, so I wanted to give her story to them and others. You only have so much room on your blog, so you decide what to print or omit. Carlee was a very active cocker girl until she was two. I noticed one day that she seemed "ouchy" and didn't want to do much. The next day, I took her to the vet. They checked her over, and observed her for a day, but she didn't show any symptoms. She seemed fine for a week, then I saw the symptoms again. I took her to the vet, and they did an xray, which showed nothing. When I picked her up though, she had a different bark and I noticed it. Two hours later, I noticed that she was doing that same unusual bark (more excited, or something) and growled anytime the other dogs came near her. I called the vet who told me to bring her in; By the time I got her there, she couldn't walk and was in alot of pain. The vet called Colonial Vet Hospital in Ithaca, NY and I drove her there that night. She had a mylogram the next morning and surgery the next day. The surgeon said that a disc had ruptured and entered the spinal cord "at great force". She felt that it was probably a genetic issue. They always gave me hope. These surgeries can be effective, nerve tissue regenerates (although slowly), and we began physical therapy with their therapist. At some point, she recommended I look into a dog cart because it can also help with rehab. I contacted Doggon Wheels - wonderful people in Bozeman, MT - who custom made her cart. It cost less than I thought it would, and was worth 10 times more than I paid. On one of my physical therapy visits, the surgeon was there while we celebrated Carlee racing around in her wheels. She looked at me and said, "I'm sorry she can't walk." A thousand words - she won't walk. Important lesson - if your dog seems "ouchy", and you can't localize it to a limb or it seems to be a back issue - GET THEM TO A SPECIALIST. I think if Carlee had gone to Colonial the first time, she might have not experienced the rupture, and be walking now. I don't blame the local vet - this is a specialty issue, they sometimes aren't trained to recognize symptoms. They're all difficult decisions - most of us having the little knowledge I had (and love, love, love their dogs) would go for the surgery. The next steps take knowledge, more love, and knowledgeable people. The support, information, technology and guidance I received from Colonial Veterinary Hospital was invaluable, and has continued. When I decided on Doggon Wheels for Carlee's cart, I got even more help - tips from people with special needs dogs. So there's Carlee's story! Caring for a special needs dog is a totally different (and long!) topic. If you want to talk about it, my email address is annem1@frontiernet.net. Thanks Mary. Like I said, cut or omit if there's too much. Just thought people's questions deserved a response |
