dachshunds

Elmo with IVDD Rolling Again Courtesy of The Frankie Wheelchair Fund

Posted by Barbara Techel

Elmo with IVDD Rolling Again Courtesy of The Frankie Wheelchair Fund

Another pup up and rolling! Get along little doggie and roll, roll, roll!

I’m excited to share that Elmo is the 62nd dog the Frankie Wheelchair Fund granted a wheelchair to.

Elmo took right to his wheels as it seems most dachshunds do. You just can’t tell a dachshund that they can’t fly, because they are always eager to show you otherwise.

Elmo’s one ear back I’m sure is to help with speed in his new wheels and the other ear out to the side to help in navigating turns. Gotta love those determined and high spirited doxie’s!

And really good news about Elmo who was being fostered through Lovey Loaves Sanctuary is that his foster mom has become his forever mom! That deserves a spin around the floor in his slick wheels a thousand times over.

I know you will all join me in saying congratulations to dear Elmo!

Our Frankie Fund was also recently able to help a little dog named Wiz with a new saddle for his wheelchair. It seems Wiz was having an issue with his male part – and oh dear – even with a name like Wiz.

He had just gotten his new wheelchair, which has already set his caretakers back financially so they didn’t know how they could swing a new saddle so his delicate male part would be more protected.

Eddie’s Wheels contacted me asking if the Frankie Wheelchair Fund could help. And of course, we don’t want to keep a good man doxie down, so it was a pleasure to help.

While I’m on the topic of wheelie dogs today and IVDD, I want to take a moment to once again share two excellent resources regarding this disease.

I talked to a woman yesterday afternoon distraught after her 8 1/2 year old dachshund just had surgery and needed to know there is hope.

It’s a good reminder to share these resources I find so helpful and gave me peace of mind when my dear Frankie went down.

Dodgerslist is an online organization dedicated to educating the public about IVDD and helping pet owners whose pets have been given this diagnosis. I highly recommend signing up for their forum group and purchasing their three dollar DVD on living with, and caring for a dog with IVDD. 

The other relatively new resource is an excellent and very detailed book with a splash of humor written by Kristen Leydig Bryant and Dr. Adam Christman called Honey Have Your Squeezed the Dachshund. Every dachshund owner, whether your dog had IVDD or not, should have this in their library. You can purchase it on Amazon. 

Elmo’s wheelchair is custom-made by Eddie’s Wheels for Pets,- the company that I prefer and always refer when asked.

If you’d like to help me continue my mission in helping paralyzed dogs with wheelchairs you can donate to the Frankie Wheelchair Fund here.

Thank you for sharing and subscribing to my blog updates.

Signed Copies of My New Book Available Plus Special Gift – Limited Offer.

Posted by Barbara Techel

Signed Copies of My New Book Available Plus Special Gift - Limited Offer.

I have a limited quantity of my new memoir available that I’m happy to sign and personalize as gifts or a gift to yourself. There is still time that I can get those shipped to you in time for Christmas.

Joie gave me the gift of grace and wisdom, helping me understand that pausing in one’s life is essential to one’s well-being. 

As part of my two month sabbatical which I write about in my new memoir, I turned to my toolbox of self-help. One tool I chose during that time was to use Grace cards as a way to answer questions I had, confirmation, or to simply provide whatever wisdom it was I needed for that particular day. They never failed to help guide me in some way.

If you order a signed copy of my book, I will send along a Grace card, picked at random, with you in mind. This will be from my personal deck, the one I used during my sabbatical that led me to understanding the gift of wisdom found in the pause.

I only have a limited quantity of books on hand, so first come, first serve.  Cost with priority shipping within the US is $21.00

 

 

What a Year. Gidget’s Road Trip to Madison Tomorrow.

Posted by Barbara Techel

What a Year. Gidget's Road Trip to Madison Tomorrow.

Last December I vividly recall sitting with my mom at a restaurant for lunch trying to hold it together. It had been a rough year trying to find a way to help Gidget’s seizures. I was beside myself and my nerves frazzled to the core. I just didn’t know if taking care of a special needs pet was right for me anymore. 

Not that I had any plans on finding a new home for Gidget – that never crossed my mind. But I was tired. Very tired. And I questioned if after Gidget is gone someday if I will adopt another special needs dachshund after having three in a row since 2006– and honestly, that was one of the hardest things I’ve had to say in a long, long time. While I’m still not sure about how that will play out when Gidget is gone someday, I’m happy to say that I’m in a better place these days with how I’m feeling and that Gidget is doing well. 

December fifteenth will mark one year for Gidget being seizure free. While it was rocky at the beginning getting her adjusted to potassium bromide with two herb supplements she takes, the last few months have been such a joy to see her quirky, sweet personality come shining through once again. 

Tomorrow we hit the road to Madison, about two hours from home, for a check-up with Dr. Andrea who is trained in Chinese medicine, but also practices some Western modalities. The reason I sought her out was I believed that a holistic approach for Gidget was worth looking into. If I didn’t have to subject Gidget’s small, 10lb body to a heavy dose of medications, I wanted to give that a shot. As it turned out, which I’m also open to, it’s a combination of the two modalities that are helping her, and have kept her free of any seizures to date.

In this year, I’ve also learned more about myself and have opened more to the acceptance of death. While I hope Gidget will be with me for as long as possible, I feel like I’ve come to a new space within myself that will accept what is when the time does come. This in turn, has made each day with Gidget even more enriching, and has definitely deepened our bond.

I also believe that Gidget’s presence in my life and her seizures were in part a reflection of me and some healing I needed to do on a deeper level. Since then, I’ve often witnessed how we are reminders to each other to stay grounded as we can both tend to easily feel off balance if we don’t take time to just be. And really, if I’m off balance, it has become quite evident to me at times that Gidget mirrors that back to me.

So this trip to Madison tomorrow will be a fun road adventure – just me and Miss G, taking in the scenery, and excited to see Dr. Andrea once again.

Thank you for sharing and subscribing to my blog updates.