intervertebral disc disease

Meet Jackson: Another Recipient of the Frankie Wheelchair Fund

Posted by Barbara Techel

jackson

Can you believe how cute that face is?  Love it!  Below is a note I received from Jenelle Conley of Lilly Bear’s Rescue about Jackson:

Hi, my name is Jenelle and I run a small rescue in Northeast Indiana called Lilly Bear’s Rescue. We took in a very sweet 3 year old Dachshund named Jackson. He was adopted out to an older woman who loved him so much. After about 4 months in his new home Jackson was chasing a squirrel in his back yard and slipped 3 disk in his back. He was instantly unable to walk. She took him into the vet where they tried steroids because she was unable to afford surgery. The steroids did not help Jackson and she was forced to return him to the rescue. She was just physically unable to take care of him as a handicapped dog.

After taking Jackson back we have been taking him to a Chiropractor and are hopeful he may one day walk again but in the meantime we thought getting him a wheelchair would help him get around better. We began the search for a wheelchair when we found the company Eddies Wheels. They told us about Frankie and offered to build Jackson’s wheelchair for no charge! We are so grateful for your work and just wanted you to know that Frankie was able to help another Dachshund! Thanks again you have changed Jackson’s life! 

jackson 2

I don’t know about you, but this never gets old hearing from those we could help… and all because of all of you who have donated to the Frankie Wheelchair Fund to make this possible, I say a big thank you once again. Be sure to stop by Lilly Bear’s Rescue and watch the video of Jackson fetching his toy– the little girl’s giggles are priceless!

Please  join me in wishing Jackson the very best as he live’s a full, happy, quality life in his Eddie’s Wheels wheelchair.

If you are interested in helping with our efforts to help dogs in need of wheelchairs (those in rescue or families in financial stress) please visit National Walk ‘N Roll Dog website where we have an on going Chip In set up.  This fund is also a wonderful way in which to honor or memorialize your pet or a pet you may know’or just to make a feel good donation. Feel free to also join us on Facebook where we recently hit over 1,000 followers!

Don’t forget– should your dog or someone’s you know be diagnosed with Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD) be sure to visit Dodgerslist for all the educational information you will need to help save your dog (or someone else’s) life.  THERE IS HOPE!

Joie’s Visit to Specialist Today. Someone’s Exhausted!

Posted by Barbara Techel

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!

What You Need to Know NOW About Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD) to Save Your Dogs Life!

Posted by Barbara Techel

This online presentation is absolutely wonderful! If you have an IVDD prone breed of dog (Dachshund, Beagle, Basset, Chihuahua, Pug, Cocker Spaniel, etc) please take a few minutes from your time and go through it. If you have friends who also have any of those dog breeds (or mixes), please share with them too! You could save a dog’s life!

Click here for the online presentation— packed full of all the information and hope you need, plus peace of mind should your dog be diagnosed with IVDD.  Educate yourself TODAY so you know what to do.