Photo courtesy of Barry Adams and Wisconsin State Journal
I was so thrilled when reporter Barry Adams of the Wisconsin State Journal contacted me a few weeks ago to do a story on Frankie, Joie and me. I’m so happy with the wonderful article and his help in spreading the positive message about IVDD dogs and dogs in wheelchairs!. Thank you, Barry!! Read the article here.
Wow, I just can’t say enough good things about Pewaukee Veterinary Center, Dr. Ann-Margaret Morgan, Sarah vet technician, and their staff. Everyone is so kind and so helpful. I’m so glad to have this resource relatively close to me.
The minute we got home and came out to my writing cottage, Joie zonked out face down on her blanket! Dr. Morgan ran her through different exercises showing me what I can do to help her get along better, and as you can see she is now exhausted. She worked really hard and I’m so proud of her.
I initially thought Joie was weak in her front legs, but she is actually super strong. Dr. Morgan was amazed at the amount of upper body strength Joie has comparing her to a super gymnast. Though we are still perplexed as to why Joie has this wiggly back and forth motion when sitting still– or rather she can’t quite sit still. But she felt because she does not have use of her back legs she has been overcompensating with her front legs.
Joie does not have deep pain sensation which is the somewhat bad news and she is indeed paralyzed in her hind quarters. But her reflexes are good which will only help her in the exercises I will be doing for her. We have to work hard to not have her back legs splay out to the sides when she scoots as that is not good at all for her muscles in her back end. So I’ll also work with a sling to help her walk to her food dish, etc. until we can get her not to do that and then soon hopefully in a wheelchair to alleviate that as well.
Because I didn’t get any vet records from went Joie went down in May we can only guess where the rupture may have occurred and try to relate it to what we are seeing in terms of how she has tried to adjust. The great news is she will be fine. I will do my best to work with her at home to help her become more stable in her front and back end, and then having her use a wheelchair we believe can only help her. As always, hope is never lost that she could walk on her own again. You just never know. But if she needs the wheelchair permanently that is okay too, as I know, and you all know from Frankie, these little ones live wonderful lives with the great invention of the dog wheelchair.
Joie also has some funky, fun booties to wear to help her grip better and she will wear them when we do her exercises. They are awesome! I’ll share a photo tomorrow and a resource of where you can get them for your dog. Not only are they good for IVDD dogs, but also for walking your dogs in the cold and snow, etc….. and they stay on!
I’ll continue to share Joie’s progress and photos of the exercises I will be doing with her. It continues to be so important to me to share this information and continue to educate others that these dogs can live happy, healthy lives with a little help. I feel blessed to have been able to take Joie to Dr. Morgan today, as well as feel blessed to have another little one who is inspiring me beyond words!
Three times a day I wash Joie’s belly and flush it with Betadine. Because she was not spayed, they spayed her before she flew home to live with us. She almost didn’t get to fly home the scheduled day because the incision had become infected. But thanks to Jenell of Oregon Dachshund Rescue (ODR) and Linda the volunteer with ODR, the vet felt good about releasing Joie to them and knowing she would be taken care of when she arrived at our home.
Her belly is doing so much better. We have a ways to go– but it has improved quite a bit. I love this time with her when I treat her tummy as it is helping us bond. It’s funny when I first lay her down her back feet are curled up to her front feet. I tell her that wiener dogs can’t bend in half. Then I tell her that she has to unfold so I can help her tummy get better. As I talk quietly and calmly to her, her little legs relax and she goes into her “mama time” trance as I gently treat her incision.
I posted a photo on Facebook yesterday of Joie looking out the front window dressed in her infant onesie. Some wondered why I have her in it. I keep her in this to protect her belly, which also allows her to scoot around on the wood floors to help build up the strength in her front legs which seemed weak when she arrived. I’ll try to capture a video of her scooting, cause believe me, she has no idea she has IVDD and she can fly! And it seems her front legs are getting stronger everyday too. I’m anxious to take her to the vet who specializes in IVDD and I’ll be doing that in about two weeks. Her tummy has to be fully healed before then so if the vet suggests a hydrotherapy treadmill treatment we can do that and learn how, so I can adapt to do it at home for her.