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I do not know exactly how Pookie injured his back. One morning I noticed that he would not jump on the bed or anything else. He had done this before with a kidney infection so I thought that was the problem again. I took him to the vet that day and they started him on medication for the infection. That afternoon I noticed that his back legs would slip out from under him when he walked. By the next morning he could not walk at all. I took him back to the vet the next day and asked about this. The immediately started him on medications and told me to keep him crated and as quiet as possible. This was not easy since Pookie is a very hyper pooch and he had never been in a crate before. This went on for about 2 weeks with no improvement. Then the vet x-rayed him and told me his injury was very high between his shoulder blades. He set me up an appointment at the small animal clinic at Texas A&M which is about 3 hours from my home. I had never been there before but I was very impressed with it. The doctors their examined Pookie but told me there was nothing they could do. With his injury, surgery would have to have been done almost immediately. They also told me that many dogs lived long, happy lives with this disability. They gave me information about carts. I never gave it a second thought about getting the cart. I knew that was what I was going to do. I could never "put down" a family member, especially one with the determination that Pookie has. He has no control of his bladder or bowel, but we deal with that with diapers and wraps with pads. I have learned a lot by trial and error. I wish I had this group when it all started 3 and a half years ago. There wouldn't have been so many errors. Pookie is still going strong with as much energy as he had 3 years ago. I have never regretted my decision about him. |
