Goronwy
04-17-2009, 05:11 AM
Hi everyone. This is my first time on here and I suppose I am looking for some reasurance and some support. We have a 6 year old Doberman (Zebedee) and we are falling apart after what happened to him. The pain and hurt we are feeling is so bad it actually physically hurts. This was one strapping 44 kilo dog that had a personality that would melt your heart. The term gentle giant is used so often but in his case it's so true. Then about ten days ago he had a little trouble getting up on his back legs but he could walk OK and we thought he had e.g. pulled a muscle or something. He went to bed that night OK but the next morning he had gone downhill and couldn't stand at all and if we attempted to move him he screamed with the pain. The vet came out and he was taken to the surgery where he was put on intravenus pain relief. By the Firday he had really reached his nadir and was / is toatlly paralysed in the back legs. The vat suggested a procedure whereby a dye is injected into the spine and then a scan done to ascertain the extent of the damage but (and heres the but) we live in Ireland and such advanced services are not that available where we live and the only vet with the facilities and expertise is on Holiday until next Monday and out of the country so we had no option but to wait. He is home now on pain relief but he is basically able to just lie on the bed we've made him with an incontinent pad under him. He eats and drinks OK and his bowl movements are fine but we feel the waste is exiting under back preessure and not by muscle actions. We move him occasionally to prevent pressure sores etc and we have to put a towel under his waist to lift his back end and then he can hold his weight on his front legs for a very short period whilst we change his position. When we lift him his legs just hang with no movement whatsoever. He does not respond to any stimulus to the back legs. We are taking him for the scan as soon as the vet is able to do it which will hopefully be Monday and according to our vet surgery is inevitable. We are not rolling in money so God knows how we are going to afford the vets bills which will top 3,000.00 euros but we will make any sacrfice we can to make him better. I am just wondering if anyone has experienced their dog in such a bad state and if they pulled through. The thought of losing him is destroying us at the moment but at least he's getting plenty of love and masses of attention.
Goronwy
Goronwy