Questions Answered…
Whenever I post any reference to Niki' spinal surgery I get several questions....please feel free to post any comments and questions in the comments section of each post, lots easier for me to answer in a timely fashion that way. Niki is a ckr mix, her spinal surgery was about a year and a half ago ...although it seems like such a lonnnng time for me. The emergency clinic that originally treated her made a huge mistake in her care....while the treatment choice was correct they dropped the ball and did not check on her throughout the night as they should have for her serious type injury. They did not and to this day, do not, have the proper amount of staff, or experienced staff for them to be called an emergency clinic. there is no access to surgeons....most importantly they do not refer you to clinics that can properly care for your dog. That was very costly to Niki's future and ability to walk. I no doubt, although she is a happy dog now....this will be a problem for the rest of her life.
There are several rehab facilities in the Atlanta area....all of which are a bit costly...you must try all to know what will work best for your dog. The facility that did the surgery was on the North side of Atlanta....that is all they did and we had o support from them after the surgery. We were told there was no hope of her regaining the ability to walk. From the moment she was home and healing I did research and started rehab with her myself. We also ordered her a doggie cart and once she was on the mend I allowed her time throughout the day for cart runs. I taught her to balance on her own....soon she had some feeling in her spine, her legs could move although little to no control of them. I took her to water treadmill therapy....which is about an hour away from my home with out hitting any traffic. They wanted me to drop her off for several hours and then pick her up when they were finished. I was told to not use the cart for she had to learn to do this on her own. Well....I disagreed. Niki had plenty of time cart free however when she was tired she would lie down....the cart gave her the ability to run with the pack and play, smell....she remained part of the pack which in my opinion did more for her then anything else. Once I saw little improvement with the treadmill therapy I stopped bringing her....the warmer weather had come and I decided to have her walk in a kiddie pool, and swim in a larger sized pool. For Niki this is what has been so very beneficial and the stretches and exercises. It was not very long after the cart was just being dusted and we packed it away for safe keeping.
Including with this post a video that already appears somewhere on this blog (too lazy to look for it) ...8 weeks after her surgery, not a happy pup and we had not yet properly fitted her into the cart....with the company's help that made the cart, images forwarded to them they told us where to make the adjustments. So, lots of help from us in the form of exercises, stretches...the ability to remain part of the pack....lot of love and devotion from all pack members and slowly she healed. She is not a 100 % but as you can see in comparing her today vs this video clip....She's come a long way Baby ;--)
