|
Jumping off furinture a no-no
I just wanted to post a quick story of what happened to us a year ago. We had a ten pound chihuahua named Prissy for 13 or 14 years. Her blood work was perfect--that of a puppy and the vet said she's never seen a dog that age with such awesome blood work. "Well, you've been doing something right!" the vet said.
The problem was her spine; the cushions between the discs were breaking down severely. This was caused by Prissy jumping down from the couch, the bed, the chairs. Each time she landed, it put pressure on her spine. The vet explained it to imagine yourself jumping down from your house roof over & over & over & over several times a day.
Time, drugs, and a thousand dollars later, we made the decision not to keep our first dog as a married couple in pain any longer.
We lost our dog because we simply didn't know any better. We'd been warned about chocolate, garlic, onions, popcorn but no magazine I had ever read mentioned the pressure to the spine when jumping down.
We now have very wide steps (big enough for all 4 feet at once) and ramps at the end of every piece of furniture for our elderly Lucy and new addition, Zoe.
I am begging small dog owners to spread the word about this to their friends. If we had known years ago, our dog with the perfect blood would still be alive.
(I tired to put in a picture of Prissy but I don't think it worked--sorry!)
|
Linear Mode
