NO LONGER IN STITCHES

Duke, that is. We took him to the vet yesterday to get his staples out, and he did great (much better than when I had my staples out after knee replacement surgery--it hurt!). The vet said his incision looked great. Now to slowly build up exercising his back legs. Oh, he can use them, but cannot hold his weight very long right now. He's improved so much that we don't want to overdo it and cause him to relapse. He'd jump out of that playpen right now if he could!

"Intervertebral disc disease (IVDD), a condition in which a disc develops a problem and the material inside escapes into the spinal column, ultimately causing pain, nerve damage, and even paralysis. The condition is seen more often in dogs than cats." --copied from Google

The surgery removed the top half of a vertebra that was pressing against his spine, causing the lack of use of his back legs. If we hadn't gotten him to the hospital in time, it would have been permanent. The surgeon removed the part of the vertebra causing the problem. I asked how would he heal without part of that vertebra, since it left a hole where the support for the spine was supposed to be. The vet told us that scar tissue would form, closing up the hole where that bone had been, and would be sufficiently strong to allow Duke to resume normal activities after he heals. We'll still have to be careful that he doesn't jump down from anything, causing pressure on the back, and then back to square one.

I do hold him on my lap now and then, because he's bored stiff just sitting in that pen. A friend gave him a nice chew toy, and he's chewed on it a little. What he'd REALLY like is to play fetch, but that's nixed right now.

Thank you for your continued prayers on his behalf. We're halfway to seeing the vets at UGA, who will assess his progress and give us his prognosis.

"Mama, why can't I jump down and play?

Duke's incision after the staples were removed

It's so hard to watch a pet not able to walk. Oh, Duke's doing better, but I feel so sorry for him having to stay in that playpen most of the time. We can't let him out to do whatever he wants, because it will do irreparable damage and he might never walk. He has those "doxie eyes," looking at us so pitifully when he wants to get out and run, play, fetch, etc. He's always been such a happy and carefree fur baby. My prayer is that he will be again when he's healed.

Dachshunds . . . you gotta love 'em . . . no matter what.