The worst day of my life

[rugby's mom]

I own two wonderful dachsies ( aren;t they all??) and always believed paralysis would never happen to mine- after all - I took as many precautions as I could...My husband called me from 3000 miles away to tell me that this morning, my best friend, Rugby, never came out to the barn to feed the horses with him - and when he checked on him, he found him with his hind end paralysed. We have a vet appt in 12 hours for him, but I am feeling so horribly sad...My husband said he still has the ability to relieve himself and has been pulling himself to the water dish - he enclosed him in a small area in our home with his food and water nearby- but the waiting is awful. He has been my seizure alert dog for 5 years, and for the first time in 9 years we are seperated due to my job... I am heartbroken not only am I fearing the loss of my friend but also the loss of my life saving partner....Please pray for Rugby ...
Fran

[pennysmom]

Fran, Hope all goes well for Rugby. Please keep us posted and know that you and Rugby are in our prayers!! I know how I would feel too!! We try to be so careful with Penny. Sometimes it just happens. Hopefully the vet will be able to help your little sweetie. <img border="0" alt="[heart]" title="" src="graemlins/heart.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[dog]" title="" src="graemlins/dog.gif" />

[Mutzie's Mom]

Fran,
Your little Rugby will be in my prayers tonight. I can only imagine the agony you must be experiencing since you're not able to be with him. I can offer a little hope. My Mutzie, who was about 8 at the time, fell down our stairs. She heard me pouring a bowl of cereal and couldn't exercise self control! She could only move her front paws and was so pitiful. We had to carry her outside to go potty. We ended up making her a bed by the nice, warm fireplace. She was brought fresh food and water every hour or so. She had nice warm blankets. About a week later, I caught her (she did not hear me coming) sniffing around the living room looking for food. She didn't think anyone was watching. When I approached her, she immediately returned to her bed and started whimpering like she was in pain. She was quite the actress. Anyway, once I caught on to her game, she was running up and down the stairs like nothing ever happened. I hope this will be the case with yours. Please keep us updated on his condition!

My prayers are with you!
Sherry

[dutchman]

Our thoughts and rays are with you. I'm coming up on two years since I lost my little girl Aggie to complications following emergency surgery. Would I do surgery again? Sure if the vets recommended it. I'm lucky in that I live in a town with the number two ranked Vet Teaching Hospital in the country and Alemeda East of Animal Planet Emergency Vets fame is only about 60 miles away.

With rapid onset symptoms surgery is often recommend and most likely gives the best chance of recovery in such cases. In Aggie's case she went from walking to very minimal if any deep pain response in less than 24 hours. It was hard to diagnose pain response in her every one at the VTH said she was one of the most stoic animals they had ever seen. They do a pain response test by taking a pair of forceps and pinching on the top of a toe. If you didn't see any symptoms before this morning and you have any doubts about your vet don't be afraid to ask for a referral to a vet hospital (either private or teaching) that has neurological specialist on staff for a second opinion.

I'm not a professional and no one can diagnose a case long distance. If you vet doesn't take x-rays get to another ASAP. They need to take x-rays to determine the exact damage. A surgeon will want to do a milogram or cat scan before surgery. In aggie's case between her small size and the pressure that had built up in her spinal column they couldn't get a clear milogram and did a cat scan. If a disk has ruptured and is too far our of place it can put pressure on the spinal column and the longer it is left untreated the more damage is likely to occur. Other disk reputes are minor and respond very well to steroid treatment.

Having stated the case for surgery I'll also tell you that many dogs respond well to conservative treatments and confinement. No dragging should be allowed right now. I just remember my neurologist telling me that with rapid onset symptoms time is golden. If the symptoms have slowly progressed over a matter of several days then time if often less critical.

I hope I haven't scared you more than you already were. Many many dogs make full recoveries. A few have damage they can't recover from regardless of treatment. Please report back and keep us posted.

Tom

[pluto'slanie]

Dear Fran, I'm sending rayzz <img border="0" alt="[RayZ]" title="" src="graemlins/rayz.gif" /> from Brooklyn, NY, for the total recovery of Rugby. My thoughts are with you.

[mardoniche]

Fran,
I know exactly how you are feeling, this morning, Gem, my darling little red mini, raced out into the garden and fell sideways off the step. She screamed out in pain, by the time we got to her she was dragging herself along the path by her front legs. I cannot believe this has happend to one of my dachsies either. I have always been so careful with them. Gem didnt even fall very far, less than a foot. She must have twisted as she fell. I had her to the vets with in an hour of it happening. She has had steroids and pain killers but is unable to move her hind legs at all. I could not believe how much pain she was in, but she does seem more comfortable since the injections. She is having xrays tomorrow.
I am so worried for her, I love her so very mucch, what will I do with out her if things should go wrong. I dont really know what to say for you, as I feel so desperate myself. I have read all the posts on here, but still I feel so lost, so alone and so scared for my Gem. Please let us know how your little one gets on, I will pray for you both.
Love Dawn and dachsies <img border="0" alt="[heart]" title="" src="graemlins/heart.gif" />

[Augie Dog]

Oh no!

Do you have any idea what happend to cause it, or did it come on all of a sudden? I know it happens with doxies sometimes, but, I never have know a doxie that went down.

[crock]

Sending you rays and praying all will be okay.
Charlotte and the kids- Darby, Pepper & Laila

[Mark]

Sadly Rugby has passed away and many answering this thread have not noticed the bad news in the other related thread at <a href="http://dachsie.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=000079" target="_blank">http://dachsie.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=000079</a>

We're sorry Fran . . . we *know* how painful it was to let him go to the Bridge.

Remember the good times.