Buddy on wheels
A story that goes beyond puppy love
By Terri Beck
Buddy is our 11-year old Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. During last year's May long weekend, he was chasing sticks and swimming. By Tuesday his hind end was paralyzed.
A ruptured disk was putting pressure on his spinal cord. After an emergency trip to Vancouver for an ultrasound and MRI, my husband Steve and I discovered that Buddy also had one indicator of a spinal cord disease which could kill him shortly after surgery, if it developed. While the odds were low, the surgeon felt that if the spinal cord disease did not develop after surgery, Buddy would have a good chance of living pain free and a 30 percent chance of walking again. We opted for the surgery and came home to wait for the surgeon's report.
Fast forward a couple of months of emotionally and physically demanding rehabilitation therapy (demanding on us) Buddy was mostly happy just to hang out once the initial healing was under way.
By August of last year, Buddy still did not have the use of his hind end, so we purchased a special set of wheels that help him get around. We soon started venturing out on longer walks again and this gave all of us a greater sense of freedom. We use a harness to lift his hind end to move him around the house and he can "scoot" himself around with his front end when we're not there. Buddy does not have complete control of his bladder and bowels so he is in diapers when indoors. Once the initial healing was underway (it took approximately six weeks) we tried to keep life as normal as possible. We went camping, starting with one night in the tent and although it was mass pandemonium to get Buddy out in time for his morning constitutional, we had some good laughs over it. We were all very happy to be in the tent again. Then we took Buddy out in the canoe for a weekend of camping on the beach and it was so fun to watch him race around the beach in his wheels! Much to our delight, we discovered that the wheels float which means that Buddy can still swim (something that is very important to a water dog). Buddy can still retrieve sticks in the water--his main obsession in life. He is also once again chasing sticks and balls on land, so he's a happy "puppy" once again. Buddy still comes most everywhere with us--we just have to pack a diaper bag now.
This has been one adventure we wouldn't have missed for the world. Every time we give Buddy a big squeeze, we are thankful that we made the decision to give him the chance to continue living to the max. It's been a great ride, not without its ups and downs, but we have learned a lot both from Buddy and from all of the medical people and friends who have helped us. We worked with a vet on Vancouver Island for homeopathy, acupuncture and rehab exercises as well as our local vet, acupuncturist and laser therapist in the hope that Buddy would one day walk on his own again. There is still a "way outside" chance that Buddy could walk again, but as of January, we have stopped all extra treatment as we are all in a good place and Buddy is a happy, healthy, mobile dog who is no longer in pain. His condition is now a little more labour intensive for us, but we have all adjusted quite well.
People ask me, "Will he be OK?" I respond "He is OK--he just can't walk on his own." The wheels are not the end of the line, they are just the beginning of another chapter.
If you are interested in hearing more about our adventure or Buddy's wheels, feel free to email us at casabeck@uniserve.com and we will be happy to share more of our experience with you.
