Arthur's first snow fall

YouTube: http://youtu.be/TCqa7HaFy9g

This is Arthur's first experience with snow.  He navigates by scent, which gets tricky when snowflakes go up his nose.

Arthur's Art Work

Arthur did this painting with his tail.

 

 

Thank you to Karli the Naked Dachshund for the art lesson.

This says it all

My new tshirt.

Jackie is improving

Jackie had her second acupuncture treatment last week and the vet is thrilled with Jackie's progress.

Jackie was able to stand and support her own weight (albeit her back feet were knuckled over) for a few seconds.  She also reacted more to the acupuncture needles, indicating that at least some feeling is returning to the lower portion of her body.

When you run your hand down Jackie's back, you do feel a hot spot at her injury site, so this is an indication there is still some inflamation at the injury point.  Dr. Pat was also very impressed that Jackie has lost 1.5 pounds and is a much slimmer 12.7 pounds now.  Proper nourishment is important during the recovery process and most dachshunds gain weight on crate rest.  Jackie has been able to lose weight as we are carefully  measuring her food portions and minimal treats.  We do have treats which are 3 calories and veggies are always a good alternative as well.  Jackie is also receiving a mamal based Omega3 supplement and Sasha's Blend for the inflamation.

As soon as I get new batteries for my camera, I will post a picture of Jackie's recovery suite.

Jackie's Timeline

Oct. 1 (approx) injury occured
Nov. 1 (approx) Jackie received her cart
Nov. 11 Jackie arrives in rescue and starts crate rest
Nov. 19 first acupuncture treatment - no deep pain, minimal movement of legs
Nov. 29 second acupuncture treatment with 1.5 pound weight loss and increased movement & feeling in both legs, left leg stronger than the right.

Arthur's Announcement !!

Earlier this month, I mentioned that Arthur would have an exciting announcement.  He has just received confirmation that he (along with Heidi, Grace and Pogo) will be participating in the Toronto Dachshund UN.  It is a 4 day event and they will be participating Sat. March 2 and Sun. March 3, 2013 at the Toronto Harbourfront theatre.

Admission to the four performances (Thurs. Fri. Sat. and Sun.) is free, hopefully we will see some of our Ontario/GTA followers there.

This is what it will look like (except that we will be in an indoor theatre)

During the 50 minute performance, the humans are hidden inside the display.

Bennett, the artist, was concerned for Arthur's safety because of  his blindness (falling off the seat) so he will be the Speaker of the Assembly as this is a larger platform.

 

 

This is what it looks like with the facade on the front.

 

We are all very excited that Bennet was very open to and eager to include the handicapped kids (sight, mobility, etc.) in the performance.

Jackie's first treatment

Jackie saw Dr. Pat tonight and had her first acupuncture treatment.  She was a very good girl and sat still throughout the treatment, even when we put the electric stimulation on the acupuncture needles.  The electric current stimulates deep inside the nerves and muscles, giving her the most benefit from the treatment.

We have confirmed her injuries are at T11 and T12.  This is the same place where Pogo was injured earlier this year (below the shoulder blades, just before the middle of the back).

Jackie is on crate rest with physiotherapy exercises at home to keep her legs from stiffening and to help retain muscle strength.

Dr. Pat said that Jackie's neuro responses are the most I have given her to work with, of the three dachshunds she has treated for me.  This is encouraging news as the two girls who had less feelings/responses are both walking in one form or another.  (Heidi can walk on carpeting and Grace is just starting to spinal walk.)

Dr. Pat will check on Jackie in a week and we have another treatment tentatively planned in two weeks.

Jackie's crate has been fitted with a memory foam bed, she has soft blankies and a nice big bone to chew on.  She is in the kitchen, so she has 4 other dachshunds for company.  We are trying to make the next 6 weeks of crate rest as comfortable as possible for her.  She is a good little girl and deserves every bit of comfort and pampering we can give her.  (And we have told Santa where to find Jackie this Christmas as well)

It has been a big first day for Jackie in her new foster home, so time for bed

Night everyone

Jackie's story

Sometime around Oct. 1, Jackie peed on the carpet of her home, so her owner hit her with a golf club.  A neighbour felt sorry for her, so she took Jackie into her home, but was overwhelmed with Jackie's injuries and needs. 

The awesome owners of K911 Animal Transport were at the vet's office on other business, when they saw a lady sitting in the waiting room with a dachshund on her lap.  They realized the dog was injured and that she was most likely there to be euthanized.  Because they had met Heidi and Grace only one week beforehand, they knew there were other options, and so they talked to the lady, got Jackie's story and got Jackie.

K911 did all they could for Jackie, including providing her with a cart.  She lived with one of the business owners, but theirs is a demanding business.  They can be out in the ambulance for 12 or more hours at a time. Although they took Jackie with them, this was not the ideal situation for Jackie.  As much as it broke Rodney's heart, he called me to ask if I could take Jackie.  He knew this was better for Jackie, as much as it hurt him to let her go.

Jackie arrives here in a couple of days and we already have an appointment booked for Monday with the vet who does acupuncture and cold laser.  Jackie's injuries are T3-5 with at least one disc bulging.  "According to the textbook, there are no signs for recovery" said the initial vet with a little smile and a wink - you see, she knows about Heidi and Grace.  Neither were ever supposed to walk again, but neither of them can read the textbook either.

So stay tuned for more news of Jackie when she arrives and her continuing journey with us, as we work towards as much healing as possible and finding a forever home for this little one.

GRACE WALKED !!!

Two plus years after her injury and against all odds, Grace has been showing more and more signs of movement in her legs. Well, on Tuesday night she just stood up, walked about 5 feet on the smooth kitchen floor, had a drink of water and returned to the big dog pillow, where she continued to stand until one of the others bumped into her.  This was not a flash-in-the-pan either, Grace has walked several times since then and stood to eat an entire meal!!

I doubt that Grace will ever be able to completely retire her wheels, but who knows how far she may go???  Never say "never".

Our newest foster

This our newest foster coming in this Sunday.  Meet Jackie !!

More to come about her.

Exciting news !!

Exciting news!!!  I have been asked to contribute articles about handicapped pets.  My first article appears tomorrow on www.montrealdogblog.com.

The plan is for monthly articles/stories about Heidi, Arthur and other handicapped pets.  Entertainment and Education are the two watchwords for this new endeavour.  (Much the same as this blog)

The first article introduces Heidi, next month ????? who knows !!!

All ready for our talk show

Arthur is all ready, we just need the networks to call him for his own talk show

 

 

 

What should we call his show?  Teckel Talk?  Other suggestions??????

LIfe with Arthur

Wow, I can't believe it has been over 3 months since I was here!  It seems like last week.  A lot has happened with Arthur. He has had his eye surgery; they found embryonic eye material which never developed and a complete absence of an optic nerve.  Things were cleaned up and his eyes were closed.  Especially with his long hair, it is hard to tell at first that his eyes are closed.

Arthur is a "chick magnet" what can he say? When you've got "it" you've got it !!

Arthur passed Puppy Pre-school with flying colours and continues to expand his skills set.  Although we are still working out leash skills and the right tools to teach Arthur how to heel on lead, he gets around just fine.  He is quite adept at mapping out his surroundings in very short order.

Check back with us often, Arthur has a very exciting announcement to make in the near future !!

Introducing Arthur

Meet Arthur.  He is 10 weeks old and born without eyes; our newest foster.  I know about human blindness, but Arthur and  I will be journeying together into the world of canine blindness. 

Pogo's back bracer

Pogo is recovering well.  Thank you Lil' Back Bracer for letting us be product testers.  It has definately helped Pogo to walk better and not to try to do stupid things like jumping.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ea5eo7QQM5c

The Ups and Downs

Wienerfest was this past weekend.  Pogo did well travelling, hanging out with his doxie buddies and not over-doing his back.  We got to see former fosters (now adopted) and renew annual doxie friendships.  The day went by in a blur, the camera never made it out of the camera bag.

Part of not taking pictures, unfortunately, had to do with the "down" of this post.  Heidi was not well on the weekend and scared both her Mama and Uncle Robert.  She stopped eating and drinking around Thursday.  By Friday night, at the event, she was listless and severely dehydrated.  We syringed fluids down her throat overnight and blessedly, this year we had a vet on the picnic site.  Dr. Yellan gave Heidi sub-q fluids on the spot.  Home Monday morning to our own vet, we determined that Heidi was basically suffering from age and her paralysis.

She has an infection, her anal glands needed attention and an enema (sorry, sweetie, no secrets here).  Her bloodwork came back all normal (the vet was impressed considering Heidi is likely 14 or 15 yrs old).  Because Heidi has two fistuals as a result of her February dental, we believe she has little or no sense of smell, which can affect appetite.

Because she is incontinent and a wobble walker (at best) Heidi will be more prone to urninary tract infections, less movement/stimulation for her bowels and mild dehydration will not be consdered mild for her because of her age.

A little tweeking for the special needs girl:  I am warming her canned dog food to accentuate the smell for her (to stimulate appette) adding lots of water to the canned food (which is supplementing her kibble) and I have removed the doggie steps from the sofa.  Heidi will now hang out on the dog bed on the floor during the day.  The hope is that she will move around more and potentially drink more water as it will be on the floor beside her and she won't have to go up and down the doggie steps from her favourite sofa.

It just goes to show you that downed needs may be a little different, but you don't need to be a vet tech to care for a happy and healthy IVDD dachshund (or one that is getting up in age)

The backyard should be fenced in the next day or two, so Heidi will be able to motor about outside in her cart, so stay tuned for photos.

Pogo

Here is Pogo before his injury.  You can see some of his bald chest here.

Happy Dance!!

Pogo's stitches came out yesterday.  Dr. Kilburn is very pleased with Pogo's progress.  Normally, Pogo would go back for a check up in 6 weeks, but because of the distance (and my experience), Pogo does not go back for a check up for 12 weeks !!! 

Pogo's pain meds finished on Saturday.  He was a bit whiny Sunday night, so I gave him a bit of Metacam.  He is been fine for pain, but I notice him voluntarily going into his crate more.  Pogo is still on 2 more weeks of crate rest.  His crate door is open, when I am home and he has access to his pee pad (additional confined space, not quite as big as his crate).  The surgeon ok'd this, but Pogo seems to like his crate now (memory foam and a chewie, who wouldn't prefer the crate!)  I am sure this lull will soon be over and Mr. Pogo will be trying to live up to his name again.

Two weeks ago today

Two weeks ago today, I came home to find Pogo paralized.

This is the last look at his stitches, they come out tomorrow !!

He is doing very well.  One intersting thing I have noticed is that when he first came home from hospital, his bark was unusually high pitched.  As he has healed, his bark is returning to normal.  I think the reverberations of his usual bark hurt him, hence the higher pitched bark.

Today is his first day without ny pain medication and he seems to be doing fairly well.  Maybe slightly quieter, but that is not a bad thing.  The tail still wags madly in circle :-)

Mum calls this "crate rest", I call it JAIL !!

I ask you, is 6 weeks "jail" a fair sentence for one little jump?

Woe is me

Maybe if I rattle the bars with my bone, the "warden" (aka Mum) will let me out?

Day 8 Post Op.

Here is Pogo's incision Day 8 Post Op.  The swelling is going down, he is getting a waistline again.  There is a fine layer of fur starting to grow back as well.  Today he switches from pain meds every 8 hours (Tramadol and Gabapentin) to every 12 hours.  I can see him hurting a bit during the switch over.  Still on Metacam every 24 hours.  A warm Magic Sac will help ease the pain while waiting longer for his pain meds.

We are still not seeing a steady stream when he pees (Sorry Pogo, no secrets here).  It still comes in spurts, which is mostly due to the catheter.

Travelling safely AND in style !!

This is Pogo's new travel crate.  The base can stay seat belted in the vehicle, just pop the crate in and out.  I know the second photo looks tilted, but the base compensates for the tilt in a vehicle seat.  Installed in a vehicle, the crate is perfectly level.  Just the thing to keep our recoverying boy safe traveling the hour+ to his specialist appointments.

Pogo is doing well for one week today since surgery.  Both legs and the tail are working, now to get the right leg to the same level as the left, then strengthen both of them.  4 to 5 more weeks of crate rest to let that spine heal.

Every dachshund owner's worst nightmare

Every dachshund owner's worst nightmare came true for me last Sunday.  I came home from an all day Pet First Aid course, to find Pogo lying paralized on the kitchen floor.  I gently wrapped him in a blanket, into a crate in the car and off to the Veterinary Emergency Clinic we raced.

I have had experience with 4 downed dachshunds, but they all came to me already injured and past treatment.  I could not do any more damange to them by trying different therapies, etc.  This is my first "ground zeor" experience, with a walking dog who suddenly became injured.  Here is Pogo's "zipper".  He is now on 6 weeks crate rest.

Please be careful with  your dachsunds with this changing weather.  Two of our friends have gone down in the past week.  Both are on crate rest.  Large, sudden swings in temperature seem to trigger back episodes. I know that my bones are aching these days.

Exciting news to come here.  Heidi is being measured for a new cart. I think she will be much more comfortable in the new cart and with the backyard being fenced in at the end of the month, she will have more space to use a cart.

Heidi has more exciting news, but we can't announce it just yet.  Stay tuned for that announcement.

Here is a pictoral hint.

Happy Tuesday everyone !

It has been a long and tough year; finally lost my mother to congestive heart failure just over a month ago.

Today I attended at Tellington Touch beginner's seminar.  It was very informative and I will be starting work on Heidi's weaker leg to see if she can improve the strength in that leg.

Tyrone and Oskar come/gone and been adopted.  Tyrone was 14 months with us, until his colitis was diagnosed and brought under control.  Oskar was a scared little boy who learned that not all humans are mean and scary.  He now goes to work daily with his new mom.

Happy to say that while we were away from here, the blog still helped owners of newly downed dogs to find hope and help.  Popeye is walking again, Bear and Twinkle have carts and mobility through this blog.