Kori Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 (edited) Hi all, I am in need of the name and phone number of a good dog chiro on the Central Coast NSW preferrably - Can I tell you the sad tale of my gorgeous shorty JRT - About a month ago she seemed to injure herself and had what appeared to be a bad back, or torn muscle or similar - given how active and fearless she always has been this wasn't a major surprise, she has always been very very full-on physically and will literally throw herself off beds/sofas/decks etc. Typical Jack Russell But she had never hurt herself in the process before. We took her to the Vet and he checked her right out, he thought she might have an abdominal issue or perhaps a slipped disc, as her whole body was so tense and stiff and it turns out she had luxated patella's in both hind legs, so he fixed that (apparently a very common JRT issue) and gave us some pain killers for her, and almost immediately he put them back in she seemed to bounce right back and after one day of total drugged out sleep she seemed to be 100% her normal self again, and has been very well running and bouncing around like her normal JRT crazy self ... until this week. On Thursday she was very sooky and started doing the hiding under furniture thing, not wanting to play or be active - but she did still go for a walk and seemed OK just perhaps a bit out of sorts. I took her for another little walk in the evening and she really wasn't into it at all, was very happy to turn around after a short distance and was walking very slowly home. On Friday morning we awoke to find she couldn't move her back legs at all, was totally paralysed and the legs had no control at all, they were just dragging along behind her :'( and she had lost bladder and bowel control, Absolutely the saddest thing I have seen. She didn't appear to be in any pain at all, just very confused and sad about her plight. We rushed her to the Vet, who did a thorough exam of her, advised that she has little to no sensation in her rear legs at all and then had to give us the bad news that he believes it to be one of three different very serious things. She has a severely slipped disc, most likely originally caused back a month ago, and some event has greatly worsened it. OR She has a Tumor or growth that has now pinched or impinged onto her spine causing paralysis. OR She has severed her spinal column. He could not feel any break or spot on her spine that might indicate any damage to the spine, nor is she sore or anxious at any point along her spine. His only suggestion was for her to have spinal surgery which he did not believe would be sucessful as she has so little sensation in her rear end. The cost to investigate further/exploritory surgery is well beyond what we can currently physically pay, it is just not do-able, and he gave us little to no hope of there being any kind of cure for her even with surgery as the window for it is very small (12 hours) and even then in such cases it often doesn't work and the animal has to be euthanized anyway. He did suggest the only thing we could try is absolute bed rest pain killers (although she doesn't appear to be in pain) and no movement for a little while and see if that in any way causes a miraculous recovery, but really it would be a miracle We are doing that now, it has been two days of her confined to a crate, but so far no change in her condition sadly. The Vet totally poo poo'd Dog Chiropractor as he thought it might be more dangerous than helpful and was disdainful of their lack of qualifications generally... but I found this site by searching for Dog Chiropractors and it seems some of you have had very positive outcomes, even with paralised dogs. One thing I have noticed is that her bum is now a completely different shape, she used to have quite a wide butt (in fact we used to joke about her large bum) but now it is significantly slimmer than the rest of her body, and she doesn't appear to be able to spread her legs ( you know how they do when they are on their backs and just totally chilling out) I am now thinking this might be a pelvic issue, or both hips are dislocated or similar, another thing is she can still wag her tail, and if I let her, she would scoot around like a mad thing dragging her legs behind her and trying to do exactly all the normal things she does. I also disagree with the vet, I think she does have SOME sensation in her back legs, pinching or scratching them causes her to look around at the leg in question. She also hasn't gone #2's for days, last time she did was in the Vet's surgery, and she has been eating fine, but it is not coming out the other end, and her wee STINKS very strong and very yellow colour and she has no control over doing it, typically it happens when I pick her up, wee fountain >_< At this stage having been told it is pretty hopeless I will try anything that doesn't cost a fortune (only because I don't have it and can't get it ) Thanks in advance. Edited August 29, 2011 by Kori Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aj2251 Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Sorry to read your sad story. Geoff Thompson at Wyoming Veterinary Hospital/Green Cross Vets is a Vet Chiro. 43241577 He is a lovely man, very caring and a wonderful Vet Chiro. I take my rottie with hip dysplasia to see him and I must say, as a human Chiro, watching him with her was inspiring I also know several people that have taken their dogs to him for Chiropractic and they are all extremely happy with him. Your dog's situation doesn't sound good, but let Geoff have a look and see what he says. When you call to make an appointment be sure to specifically ask for Geoff. Another option worth considering is acupuncture. A Vet at Point Clare does it, but I can't remember his name but the number is 4324 5488. He too was a lovely fellow and handled my rottie very well. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kori Posted August 29, 2011 Author Share Posted August 29, 2011 Wow, great info, thanks very much AJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazyWal Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Bill Wright at Point Clare Vet for acupuncture wonderful man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kori Posted August 30, 2011 Author Share Posted August 30, 2011 Bill Wright at Point Clare Vet for acupuncture wonderful man. Great! Thanks Stan's Mum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kori Posted September 4, 2011 Author Share Posted September 4, 2011 Sorry to read your sad story. Geoff Thompson at Wyoming Veterinary Hospital/Green Cross Vets is a Vet Chiro. 43241577 Good luck Just wanted to pop back and say a huge thanks for this! We saw him, and he is a lovely man, was very thorough with her, and whilst he didn't promise anything, or give us any false hope, we strongly believe she can make some kind of recovery now, he was brilliant with her and after the session she is now able to stand up and walk for very short amounts of time, so we live in hope that futher sessions and further time to heal might well lead to a recovery of sorts! Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazyWal Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Sorry to read your sad story. Geoff Thompson at Wyoming Veterinary Hospital/Green Cross Vets is a Vet Chiro. 43241577 Good luck Just wanted to pop back and say a huge thanks for this! We saw him, and he is a lovely man, was very thorough with her, and whilst he didn't promise anything, or give us any false hope, we strongly believe she can make some kind of recovery now, he was brilliant with her and after the session she is now able to stand up and walk for very short amounts of time, so we live in hope that futher sessions and further time to heal might well lead to a recovery of sorts! Thanks again That's great news hope she improves every day Kori. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kori Posted September 4, 2011 Author Share Posted September 4, 2011 Thanks Stan's Mum! We are so encouraged by how she has been over the last 4 or 5 days, she has worked out toileting, and is often trying to get back up on her feet, we abandoned the bed rest mid last week as she was just so miserable, and it turns out that the Vet/Chiro thinks she should be moving about anyway, so it was a good thing! I think she has a good chance of walking again, with more therapy and more time, she might always be shaky on her pins and no more mad JRT antics, but at least she is still with us, and still happy! We might give the acupuncture a go too, just tricky atm as I don't have a car and are up the other end of the Coast. I am just so happy to now have some hope for her future! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aj2251 Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Good to hear she is on the improve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kori Posted September 5, 2011 Author Share Posted September 5, 2011 Thank you thank you thank you so much AJ :D What a star Geoff is! You know what, I think it is a mini miracle, but my little girl has since yesterday been up and walking - ok very shakily and she often falls on her butt, but she is doing so well it is just amazing :D I am just so very very happy, and having to Thank you again for recommending Geoff, and of course thank him for his incredible abilities!! I am just hoping this rapid improvement continues! Wooo hooo *doing happy dance here* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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