My heart is breaking. I need some support - I don't know of anyone who has gone through this.
Thursday, August 3, 2017 Jazzy started acting odd. Out of the blue she started tucking her tail and whining randomly. When my fiance went to touch her, she would tense her stomach up and cry out in pain if he touched it. We thought she was constipated. I rushed home from work that same day and took her to our normal vet.
When we got to the vet, our Dr. said she wasn't constipated because she was still eating/drinking. He then start to move her head and feel her back and said it was some kind of stiff and sore back. He prescribed her Nouvox and Robaxin. After several doses of her medicine she became super wobbly on her hind legs (most of you describe it as the "drunk" walk) and we asked around and found out that her muscle relaxers (the Robaxin) could be causing it so we took her off of them. Over the course of the weekend, she got worse - dragging her feet behind her and only barely walking when she got excited.
Tuesday, August 8, 2017 I begged our vet to see us but the Dr. wasn't in so I contemplated taking Jazzy straight to the emergency vet hospital because she wasn't able to pee/poop. I called for a price quote from the emergency vet and they basically told me that we would get x-rays and those started at the cost of $1200. When I got home from work, Jazzy finally peed on her own! I wasn't too worried so I waited until the next morning (8/9/17) to take her to the vet because if she required x-rays out vet could do them for around $100. At this point, I had read enough stuff online to know to crate rest her immediately. I spent ALL of 8/8/17, in the evening, making sure Jazzy was geared up and ready to be on crate rest. We even started using slings and she was peeing and pooping on her own using the sling outside!!!
Flash forward to today (Wednesday 8/9/17) at 9am we got Jazzy girl to the vet and the Dr. told me to set her down on the floor. Immediately, he got all stern and quiet. He said , "that's not good. She can't stand up at all". From there, he pressed hard on her feet and she still has that deep tissue pain (I think that is what they call it?) and he said that was good but there is a disk pressing against her spinal cord and we were given two options: getting the surgery done that we cannot afford (and our families can't afford to help us and we are already overwhelmed by our bills right now) or pray that 8 weeks of crate rest will work. He said the disk can rupture at any moment and sever the spinal cord and she will never walk again. Then he said that if she were to need a wheelchair and for us to express her bladder - we could not simply come home from work and let her out to the bathroom...he said it would be an all day care that would be needed. I'm scared because I am a full time student and my fiance and I both have to work.
I am losing sleep, of course. The thought of my 3 year old, young Jazzy not walking or running again literally makes my heart hurt. The first two years of her life she was confined in a small area with a not so great owner that allowed her to lay in her own filth for days causing rashes on her. She has already been through #### and now this. The crazy thing is - she just woke up like this. She only jumps on/off our couch onto a carpeted floor and does the two back porch steps. That's it. Now I am blaming myself because she deserves better and she may never walk again all because we can't afford a surgery. It isn't fair to her.
We did research on organizations that may be able to help financially but they won't help because her life isn't in danger. No animal insurance covers pre-existing conditions. We literally cannot afford to owe anyone else. And a GoFundMe page wouldn't raise enough money in enough time.
We started crate rest August 8, 2017. She is now on Tramadol and Nouvox for two weeks but after that, the Dr. says they won't help anymore than what they already have.
Please help. Support and advice is much appreciated.
Jazzy is 13lbs.
Jazzy the Good Spirited Doxie
Re: Jazzy the Good Spirited Doxie
Hi EmilySarah,
I'm sorry to hear about Jazzy, but there is hope with the crate rest if you keep it really, really strict. No sleeping in bed with you, no lying on your lap or on the sofa to watch TV. It's hard to be that strict but it's necessary.
Many people cannot afford surgery. While we always wish we could have all options to choose from, surgery is not guaranteed to work, either. I know you said you cannot take on any more debt and I believe you. I will let you know about an option for a loan, although you have said it will not be an option for you. I just want you to know it exists in case maybe a family member might step in and help or something. It is called Care Credit. They give loans for emergency veterinary care, and the application process is a snap, you fill out an application in the vet waiting room, they call it in, and let you know right away if you are approved.
Aside from that, let's look at what some might consider the "worst case". It turns out the worst case is not nearly as bad as the vet apparently told you. If your dog loses bladder control, it's true you would not just come home and let her out in the yard. You would express her bladder. That takes about 5 minutes once you learn how to do it. So for example, you might express when you wake up, once at lunch if possible, once when you come home at 5 or 6, and again at bedtime. (Dogs can go 8 hours between expresses and still be healthy, you really only have to do it every 8 hours.) That took a total of 15-20 min out of your day, which is not much more than you might spend letting her in and out and in and out and standing and calling her, etc.
If she needs a wheelchair, there are some that are quite pricey, but there are also some that work and cost under $100. Dogs to Go used to go out of their way to be sure you got a wheelchair on terms you could manage. They probably still do, I would definitely contact them and ask. Here is their price list, as you can see for a 13 lb dog it is $80 + $16 shipping.
http://www.dogstogo.net/prices/
Please do not try your dog in any wheelchair until after the full term of crate rest is completed, which may be 8 weeks. They can work with you on Dodger's List to help you be strict and full-term on crate rest, it's important.
Here is a nice video that shows a doxie playing and being expressed. It helps you see how easy it is and how happy the dog is. Your dog will be the same sweet spirit you have always loved, and you are lucky your dog is small.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Saf_kZvwClE
I would probably want my dog on some kind of anti-inflammatory like prednisone during the crate rest. I don't think it's true that 2 weeks of medication is all that's going to do any good. If your vet seems to have a negative attitude, I would seek out another vet. Call around and see if any vets in the area have experience with this, or call a local dachshund breeder and see if they can recommend a vet. That way you can be sure of having a helpful vet before spending money on any more appointments. (Prednisone is not an expensive med, and she needs less because she is small.)
Hope this helps.
I'm sorry to hear about Jazzy, but there is hope with the crate rest if you keep it really, really strict. No sleeping in bed with you, no lying on your lap or on the sofa to watch TV. It's hard to be that strict but it's necessary.
Many people cannot afford surgery. While we always wish we could have all options to choose from, surgery is not guaranteed to work, either. I know you said you cannot take on any more debt and I believe you. I will let you know about an option for a loan, although you have said it will not be an option for you. I just want you to know it exists in case maybe a family member might step in and help or something. It is called Care Credit. They give loans for emergency veterinary care, and the application process is a snap, you fill out an application in the vet waiting room, they call it in, and let you know right away if you are approved.
Aside from that, let's look at what some might consider the "worst case". It turns out the worst case is not nearly as bad as the vet apparently told you. If your dog loses bladder control, it's true you would not just come home and let her out in the yard. You would express her bladder. That takes about 5 minutes once you learn how to do it. So for example, you might express when you wake up, once at lunch if possible, once when you come home at 5 or 6, and again at bedtime. (Dogs can go 8 hours between expresses and still be healthy, you really only have to do it every 8 hours.) That took a total of 15-20 min out of your day, which is not much more than you might spend letting her in and out and in and out and standing and calling her, etc.
If she needs a wheelchair, there are some that are quite pricey, but there are also some that work and cost under $100. Dogs to Go used to go out of their way to be sure you got a wheelchair on terms you could manage. They probably still do, I would definitely contact them and ask. Here is their price list, as you can see for a 13 lb dog it is $80 + $16 shipping.
http://www.dogstogo.net/prices/
Please do not try your dog in any wheelchair until after the full term of crate rest is completed, which may be 8 weeks. They can work with you on Dodger's List to help you be strict and full-term on crate rest, it's important.
Here is a nice video that shows a doxie playing and being expressed. It helps you see how easy it is and how happy the dog is. Your dog will be the same sweet spirit you have always loved, and you are lucky your dog is small.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Saf_kZvwClE
I would probably want my dog on some kind of anti-inflammatory like prednisone during the crate rest. I don't think it's true that 2 weeks of medication is all that's going to do any good. If your vet seems to have a negative attitude, I would seek out another vet. Call around and see if any vets in the area have experience with this, or call a local dachshund breeder and see if they can recommend a vet. That way you can be sure of having a helpful vet before spending money on any more appointments. (Prednisone is not an expensive med, and she needs less because she is small.)
Hope this helps.
Re: Jazzy the Good Spirited Doxie
Carol, Novox is generic for Rimadyl, so it's an NSAID. https://www.1800petmeds.com/Novox-prod10930.html Personally, I'd prefer pred, but that's probably just me.
I'd also suggest finding another vet. I'm not fond of gloom-and-doom vets, and not all vets are willing to do what it takes for handicappers. Critters are perfectly able to go about their lives, on feet or on wheels, and they don't usually do a woe-is-me thing. They simply find a way to do what they want to do.
As Carol says, surgery does NOT come with guarantees, either.
Expressing takes some learning, if you ask me. It's a lot like learning Braille because it, too, is completely tactual. You gotta learn how to play "Tiptoe Through the Guts" by feel, but it's NOT IMPOSSIBLE!! Frankly, many vets think it is, and they don't seem to remember that THEY weren't born knowing how to do it, either.
I, too, don't think that 2 weeks is long enough for an anti-inflammatory for spinal cord injury. My boys always took a lot longer than that for severe SCI, at least 4 weeks.
Re: Jazzy the Good Spirited Doxie
OK, that's an important point, because if the vet (or a new vet) wants to put the dog on prednisone after being on an NSAID, there will need to be a wash-out period, to get the previous med out of the system before starting the new med. I have heard one week, but I'm not a vet, your vet will know for sure.critters wrote: Carol, Novox is generic for Rimadyl, so it's an NSAID. https://www.1800petmeds.com/Novox-prod10930.html Personally, I'd prefer pred, but that's probably just me.
http://www.dailydogdiscoveries.com/tag/ ... -steroids/