This very well could be the last post for this blog.  I think all of the readers here came from my blog, so you already know that Mugsy has crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. 

I thought perhaps some of you might be interested in what the Emergency Vet thought was the most likely cause for Mugsy’s steady and not slow enough decline.  She suggested it could have been a series of spinal cord strokes.  No one I’ve spoken with, including my chiropractor, had heard of such a thing. 

Here’s what the site linked above says in its overview:

Spinal Cord Stroke is a stroke either within the spinal cord or the arteries that supply it. It is caused by arteriosclerosis or a thickening or closing of the major arteries to the spinal cord. Frequently Spinal Cord Stroke is caused by a specific form of arteriosclerosis called atheromatosis, in which a deposit or accumulation of lipid-containing matter forms within the arteries. Symptoms, which generally appear within minutes or a few hours of the infarction, may include intermittent sharp or burning back pain, aching pain down through the legs, weakness in the legs, paralysis, loss of deep tendon reflexes, loss of pain and temperature sensation, and incontinence.

Mugsy moved through the symptoms rather quickly over maybe four months.  The pain was when he stopped jumping on and off of things he’d always jumped on and off of, and growled at Sissy and the Knight if he was bumped.  The aching might go back to early spring, when a visitor was around and Mugsy didn’t play fetch as long as he used to.  The weakness in the legs came about two months ago, with the rest of the symptoms rolling on along rather quickly.

Fits.  Just thought I’d share the information, so the rest of you can be on the lookout…

A Good Scoot Spoiled

While we’re eagerly awaiting wheels, Mugsy is scooting on.  Here, he is rather indignant that a scoot through the woods was interupted by his Dadaw.  (We’re supposed to be keeping him on “crate rest”, remember?  Ha!)  I did go sit on the front porch steps while he was out in the yard yesterday, and was able to keep him reasonably close while still letting him have his privacy and move around a bit.  He’s so happy scooting around that we just can’t totally restrict his movement, and the cage rest orders were when we still had hope that this was just a ruptured disk…

So, while we wait on wheels, we have tried a couple of other items to keep Mugsy comfortable.  My mother inlaw purchased a little padded sling for Mugsy’s hind end, so we could help him walk on his front legs, but it has some serious design issues. 

Before I go any further, all links are to the same site/store where the item was purchased.  We are not affiliated with or compensated by these companies, and unless at some point in the future it is duely noted, all items were purchased by someone close to Mugsy.  While we throw money around trying anything that might help, I figured perhaps some good can come of the “failures” via reviewing them here for you.

So, the lifter/sling…

photo courtesty of Drs. Foster and Smith website

Again, clearly that’s not Mugsy.  Unfortunately, Dadaw is never home when we try this gadget, so there are no photos.  MIL purchased the sling in green, in a size small.  There’s PLENTY of strap left over after adjusting it to fit, and if we were going to make this part of our routine, we’d have to trim the excess off and burn the edges of the webbing.  The padding is thick and quite nice, aside from the fact that it’s white.  Hello?  White, on the underbelly of a dog?  Mugsy’s very clean, but I’m still certain that regular use would require almost daily washing.

Back that up.  Regular use with a male dog would require owning at least a couple of these, because at least on my not quite small, not quite medium sized dog, the pad rather completely covers essential “need to go out parts” on the underside.  And this folks, is a large part of why this lift won’t get much use at our house.  The other reason is that it’s just not really that helpful.  Like a tot learning to walk, Mugsy would rather crawl, because he can go faster than he can dragging me behind him.  We are using it at least once daily though, because I have this odd notion that it will help him transition to the wheels with more ease.

One last comment.  It’s just not practical.  Mugsy is almost 13, and while his bladder’s not weak, being on steroids means that he’s gotta’ go, and gotta’ go NOW and often.  Even with it already sized to fit, it takes too long to strap, lift, walk, push aside…  You get the picture.  Nice concept, but for a male dog, not practical.

Well, there are three other products I wanted to mention, but given my normal, wordy style, I’ll stop here. 

Mugsy’s spirits remain very high.  He and Dadaw played fetch with a tennis ball outside last night.  Simply amazing.  I wish I had accepted my own back injuries with even half the positive attitude Mugsy has!

Photo taken by Annemarie over a year ago

Roll tortise, roll!

Therapy cage and more

If you’re not a regular reader of Mugsy’s owner’s blog you might not be aware that Mugsy already has an appointment for Monday, the 25th, with a human chiropractor who has some experience – and success – with dogs with spinal injuries.  There’s also a pet accupuncturist in town, but we have no personal references there, so it’s further down the list of things we’ll try.

A special thanks to Anita and Monica, who are the real women behind this site.  If you have suggestions, please contact us!

This is just a test, to mark the spot where more will follow soon!