Hi everyone! My name is Nicole. I have an 8 year old doxie named Pork Chop, we also call him Porky and Choppy. :)
At the start of this month he hurt his back. This month has been a crazy roller coaster, but I've realized with all the dachshund lovers out there, and all the potential injuries and heartbreak, the information out there is very streamline and not totally correct, in my opinion. So I am determined to share my story as much as possible, so people are more educated about their options.
First of all, Pork Chop hurt his back on July 4th. All the research I did said- crate him or take him to surgery. I didn't feel like it was bad enough to begin with to warrant surgery. He still could walk to pee and poop and I carried him everywhere and he just laid down in the house and rested. He was getting better every day... until I made a very bad decision. I had committed to a weekend trip with the family for a birthday several months prior. This was the weekend after the 4th. My husband convinced me that leaving Pork Chop with some other family that also own doxies would be fine. I gave them strict instructions to keep him from jumping on or off furniture and to carry him up and down stairs and make sure that he relaxed.
I came back from that weekend to a "down" dog. Totally paralyzed in his back half. Couldn't pee. Poop just came out when it wanted. I had to put him in diapers. Of course I cried. And felt like the worst doggie parent in the world. Even though articles said get him to surgery as quick as possible... people's blogs, posts, and chatter painted a different picture. The surgery didn't seem to really work that often. I also read that if I didn't get him to the vet and into surgery with 24 hours of him being down he only had a 5% chance of walking again. We did not meet that deadline. I did not feel like surgery was right for us. Honestly I'm somewhat of an anti-modern medicine type gal to begin with, and everything I read lead me to believe that the doxie community is being misinformed about what to do when your doxie goes "down."
I was feeling quite hopless, and preparing for the long haul of having a paralyzed dog. Diapers and wheelchairs. But I kept coming across small posts here and there on the internet that said acupuncture cured my dog. VOM was awesome. So I started looking for vets in my area that did both of these things. I came across the awesome and wonderful Dr. Jill Todd at Bellevue Animal Hospital (WA). I thought it was the only thing that actually gave me hope, so I figured I'd give it a try. Maybe it would help him a little. Maybe after 3 months or something of treatment he would be limping around again.
Boy was I wrong. I certainly did not get enough information about the possibilities. Now keep in mind, when I first took my dog in he had been paralyzed for at least a week and a half. After two sessions my dog was walking. After the third, he's acting like nothing ever happened. He's totally back to the happy, gleeful little pup he's always been. Of course I'm keeping him in a playpen for most of the day. Letting him out for 15-30 minutes at a time, being much stricter about no furniture and no stairs. But he's fine. FINE. Not barely walking, totally walking no problem. What the heck. Why didn't I know this was possible? Why does all the information I can find say, get him to surgery within 24 hours and then crate him for months. And some dogs never recover after surgery. I took my dog in... paralyzed... and literally a week later he was walking. A week. Some people uthenize their dogs for this!
So I know what it's like to be hopeless, sad, guilty, and scared your dog is never going to walk again. I want to share with ALL the doxie owners that I can exactly what my hero, our vet, did so others know this option is there... (and if you live in Washington state take your dog to Dr. Jill Todd in Bellevue).
My vet treated our dog with Acupuncture, VOM (veterinarian orthopedic manipulation), Cold Laser Therapy, and Aquapuncture (B12 injections). She put him on a serious diet and sent us home with Synovial Maxx Minis (a multi-vitamin for dogs) and Canine Omega-3.
So far I've spent a total of $700 but that also includes treatment of a UTI that he developed when he couldn't potty and a staph infection he developed because of an allergy to his diaper pads. That's massively cheaper than the surgery that can run $6,000 and much more effective, at least I believe in our case. Surgery obviously wasn't necessary, though I'm sure a vet and the Internet would have said it was... and we were probably too late for it to help anyways.
So spread the word doxie lovers! There is alternative hope!! Find a good holistic vet. :)
I love my doxie, and I'm so glad he can walk, pee, and poop!
<3 Nicole
OMG that is AWESOME!!!! My Jasmine has back injuries and if this EVER happens to her I will search until I find a doctor that does this procedure. It would be totally worth it if it could cured her like it did your little pork chop. I'm so glad he's up and running again and feeling so much better. It's a miracle!!!
sara
- Nicole101306
on Jul. 29, 2011 at 4:24 PM