A few had asked what the wheels involved so here's a shot of Nutmeg with her physical therapist, Sarah, who has been working with her this past year at Integrative Pet Care in the city. No photographic merit -- just a record of this week's Nutmeg milestone.
These are a brand called "Eddie's Wheels." They are all terrain and can provide various levels of support. Right now, her back right leg is essentially not functioning, so we have to rig a stirrup to keep her leg off the ground. Her other three legs are okay. Even with the support, it takes a fair amount of front body strength to control and maintain forward momentum. The jury's out on whether she'll be able to build up to using it comfortably. Her bigger issue is her breed is very lay back (some might say lazy) and on the scale of laziness, she is off the charts. So under the best of circumstances, she's never been fond of going for long walks or playing in a dog park. She'd rather sit and watch others move about.
@pflaume@olivetreeann Hi Lisa and Ann -- here's a shot from earlier this week that shows the doggy wheels best. It takes two of us to work with her so unlikely I'll have a shot of her at home with it anytime soon.
That is amazing! Thank you for sharing. I really couldn't imagine what her "wheels" looked like. How wonderful that you are providing Nutmeg with this kind of care. She is a lucky dog! I hope she adjusts to her new form of mobility soon. Best wishes to all!
This is a great capture showing the process. Nutmeg seems to be handling it OK. Several years ago we lost a mastiff to osteosarcoma. He was unfortunately not a candidate for amputation, because he also had a degenerative spinal disease. However, we had joined a support group online for people with bone cancer dogs, and there were several that had lost either a front or back leg, and were using various types of wheels to get around. Remarkable really - they all seemed to adjust so well. Nutmeg is blessed to have you in her corner!
Biotics and contraptions like this never cease to amaze me. I think it takes a great deal of creativity to figure out how to overcome those physical obstacles in a way that improves life. So how did Nutmeg come to need her wheels? I hope she'll come to like them after the initial learning curve is over.
Nobody likes change, and dogs are no different. Right now, she may be thinking of this as some new type of torture device, but I believe that she'll come around and be zipping around in no time!
@vankrey@pflaume@jaynspain@jnadonza@dreamatrix@laughinglarkphotography@trudio@archaeofrog Thanks so much for your kind thoughts and wishes! @jankoos Jan, thanks for sharing your experience and encouragement from what you saw with the others in your group. @olivetreeann Ann, Nutmeg has neuropathy which is like a canine form of MS. So, the neurons aren't working and the left hind leg is the most affected at this point. it's a degenerative disease so it's probably her last summer. We tried surgery for another problem last May and since then, she hasn't been able to stand up on her own due to some complications. The hardest end-of-life experience I've ever had with a pet. Yet, she's cognitive really with it and not in any pain, so we're doing all we can for her. @timandelke Elke -- we hope you're right on target!
That's an amazing contraption . . . and I surely hope she takes to it to some degree. BI is not straight and flat so it will be a bit harder, I imagine. I can almost see Nutmeg's smile through all this, and definitely, her alert and gentle look in her eyes.
May 14th, 2013
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Good luck to you all