Best friend paralyzed

[Old Dog]

Last Friday night was a very sad day at our house. Our Dog, Oscar jumped off the bed to greet me at the door and ruptured a disk in his back and had to have surgery on his spine which didn't work and left him paralyzed in the hind quarters. He's home now and doing fine otherwise but my wife and I have cried or eyes out for the last several days. At least he's alive and seems in very good spirits , but it's so sad seeing him confined to a playpen for now. There is a "slight" chance he could regain some mobility and we are certainly hoping for the best. If he stays this way he's going to be getting the nicest set of wheels of any dog on the block.

Just a word to any of you Dachshund owners that don't already know... DO NOT LET THEM JUMP ON OR OFF OF ANYTHING. I'm attempting a pic but I'm not real good at doing this. Oh well.

 

[nusman68]

-sorry to hear about your dog; such problems can really get you down; when I was growing up, we had a Dachshund that would actually sit up & beg, despite that long back! In his last years he became diabetic (of all things) and we had to administer insulin daily in addition to making custom meals for him. He ate better than any other canine around! Of course he was just another member of the family as far as we were concerned, as all our pets are. Best of luck in Oscar's outcome.

 

[fjr]

If, ultimately, he needs wheels make sure you post them. Good luck!

 

[Toecutter]

Sorry to hear of Oscar's misfortune. Luckily, he has a great family to support him. It's almost gotten to the point for me where I don't even want to get pets anymore. They give so much joy, then rip your heart out. My name is Bob and I now own a $600.00 cat.

Poor ole Gozer musta gotten latched onto by a dog and was in the bathroom trying to die when I scooped him up for medical attention. He's made a full recovery and we have entertainment to no end when he and Doobie, our Queensland/Aussie mix play smackdown in the living room every night. I gotta invest in a video camera soon. They are definitely two of the planet's funniest animals.

 

[twowheelnut]

Man, sorry to hear of this. I feel for you and your poochie...

 

[Old Dog]

Thanks to all of you so much for the support. This little guy has been (and will continue to be) my best buddy. I didn't even want a dog a few years ago as we've always had cats that I always get attached to also, but Oscar really stole our hearts. Our cat misses being chased around the house and can't figure out what's going on. I'll work on the pic thing... I always screw up getting them posted.

Thanks again to all of you.

 

[Fallen Jim Rides again]

Old Dog, Sorry to hear of the misfortune.

FWIW, my daughter and son-in-law have a toy Dachshund who suffered a similar incident last summer. The vet told them that it was a common problem with long body short legged dogs. Things didn't look too good for Gibson till the vet tried a newer treatment that I think involved a couple of steriod shots to the problem area. I am very happy to report that Gibson is 95% his old self and must be restrained from jumping on and off the furniture.

There is hope.

Best wishes to Oscar and all.

 

[Bounce]

  Just a word to any of you Dachshund owners that don't already know... DO NOT LET THEM JUMP ON OR OFF OF ANYTHING. I'm attempting a pic but I'm not real good at doing this. Oh well.

After years of owning duck-sons Red, our last one ended up the same way (vet said 1 in 4 chance). It was gradual and not due to any one single event. After confinement and nurturing him for months, it only got worse. We were told surgery, while expensive, was not likely to help. His quality of life was awful and only going to get worse. We made a very tough decision, as a family (and with lots of heart ache and discussion). My daughters were entry-level high school students at the time (they're now 24 and 25). We took them out of school that day and we spent all of Red's last day together and held him as he went to sleep. To this day it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.

Dachshund owners, PLEASE care for your pet and it's special needs. Discourage them from sitting up on their haunches (like a stack of quarters) and create intermediate paths to places they tend to jump on and off of. Remember that their attempts to always be the center of attention are just because they love you and want you to love them back.

My heart goes out to you and my hopes for a full recovery. It's good to hear from others that treatment options have gotten better since way back then.

 

[Rogue]

I really feel for you, I am "Mr. Dog Guy" and have had buddy's in bad shape before. The main thing is if you can keep him happy in the condition he ends up in then all is really well. If not ... its not easy but you have to decide what is best for him.

 

[gypsy]

Old Dog,

I am certainly not an expert (but Rocketdoc is so if this is bullshit please say so) but I was wondering if your dog likes to swim and if so putting him the bathtub might serve as some form of physical therapy? I am sure this is a bad idea right after surgery but maybe as time goes along. I was to a veterinary physical therapy clinic and they had special baths that had a treadmill in them and they had dogs walk on them. I realize you pup can't do that at the moment but exercising in water lightens the load.

Just a thought,

gypsy

 

[radman]

"This is what you should do: love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men ... re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss what insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem."

- Walt Whitman

 

[donaldb]

A new friend and new FJRForum member sent this to me this week, looks like a good thread for it's placement. My sister-in-law has a mini dachshund that is 14-1/2, she has liver failure and is not expected to live but another month or two, very sad situation, hope yours the very best w/recovery and regaining some mobility! This is wonderful....enjoy.

The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue.

-Anonymous

Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.

-Ann Landers

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

-Will Rogers

There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.

-Ben Williams

A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves

himself.

-Josh Billings

The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.

-Andy Rooney

We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It's the best deal man has ever made.

-M. Acklam

Dogs love their friends and bite their enemies, quite unlike people, who are incapable of pure love and always have to mix love and hate.

-Sigmund Freud

I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult.

-Rita Rudner

A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three

times before lying down.

-Robert Benchley

Anybody who doesn't know what soap tastes like never washed a dog.

-Franklin P. Jones

If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have

known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons.

-James Thurber

If your dog is fat, you aren't getting enough exercise.

-Unknown

My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to $3.00 a can. That's almost $21.00 in dog money.

-Joe Weinstein

Ever consider what our dogs must think of us? I mean, here we come back from a grocery store with the most amazing haul -- chicken, pork, half a cow. They must think we're the greatest hunters on earth!

-Anne Tyler

Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.

-Robert A. Heinlein

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man.

-Mark Twain

You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says, 'Wow, you're right! I never would've thought of that!'

- Dave Barry

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.

-Roger Caras

If you think dogs can't count, try putting three dog biscuits in your

pocket and then give him only two of them.

-Phil Pastoret

My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am.

 

[KSFJR]

I read this once. "You'll know your in heaven when all the dog's you ever loved come running to meet you". How simple but beautiful.

My two dogs died a few years ago from old age and before that I had to put down my old Quarterhorse. These things are very hard to do.

As much as a non fan of Ann Landers as I am, she once told a mother whose kids had just lost a dog and didn't want another because of the pain, that she needed to remember how much joy it brought to their lives.

Good luck.

 

[Thumperbike]

It happened to our Daschund Twig and we cried our eyes out. The surgery was more sucessful than yours and she gained more use as time went on. Hopefully yours will get some back. Here is commiserating with you...

 

[throttlejockeyTJ]

We had a gorgeous Red Male Husky. He died in his sleep at 4. He had cancerous growths on his heart and stopped beating at slow idle. I know the pain. Best wishes to Oscar for improvement.

 

[teerex51]

Hi , name's Jinny and I'm Teerex's dog...

I'm a somewhat hairy dwarf Schnauzer and wish Oscar a speedy recovery.

We short-legged dogs oughta stick together...

 

[BlueBear06]

OldDog -

There are mobility harnesses and even K9 Carts that may help if Oscar needs them. The mobility harnesses help you to help him. The K9 carts have wheels.

It's great Oscar has such a great family surrounding him!

best wishes to him

-BBear

 

[Old Dog]

Man... You guys are gonna make me cry all over again. I feel for each and every one of you that have laost either a pet or family member (not much difference to me sometimes, but darn close no matter what.) Well it's been a week since the accident and he's been home for two days now and my wife is taking some time off work to tend to him. He's wearing diapers at the moment but hopefully he'll regain control. Also while I was at work today my wife said he stretched out his left rear leg and then his tail flopped once.... We're not betting the farm on him , but maybe things will slowly return even if he staggers around some. Luckily my wifes co-worker has something to do with the "Disabled Dachshund Society" so we're getting all kinds of info on this.

I'm gonna try a pic again. I don't do this often enough to remember the hang of it, so it may not work ... again.

Thanks to all, and my sympathy goes out to everyone in similar or worse circumstances. Keep the Faith. Oscar says woof!

 

[Rogue]

Soo glad to hear he is doing better!