A Year of Rehab

That was over a year ago now. At that time, Avalanche was diagnosed with a ruptured blood vessel in the spinal cord area which exploded with such force it damaged the nerve fibers in his spinal cord. After emergency exploratory neurosurgery in which they decompressed his spinal cord and cleaned up the damaged nerves, he remained paralyzed from the waist down. While he remained in critical care, he underwent twice daily hyperbaric oxygen therapy. After seven days they still could not find any neurological signs in his back feet and we prepared ourselves to care for a 75 pound paralyzed dog. This included ordering a K-9 Cart or doggie wheelchair for him. Although he couldn't use it immediately, it was our savior. His life was complete once he could go out for walks and smell his world and pee all over his world. We had to do twice daily physical therapy including EMS and muscle and joint manipulation. It was something else to care for a loving beautiful animal that had to rethink his role in the world and we as a family had to rethink our priorities. Family vacations were gone, who could we leave him with? Leaving home for more than a few hours was also no longer an option, since with his paralysis came no bladder or bowel control. It was a tough few months, but he started taking those tiny baby steps showing improvement. It started with a simple curl of a toe and a flick of a tail and today, a year later, he can walk! His right side is still impaired, but we practice walking every day and he continues to get stronger. His spirit is what has always impressed most people and he honestly doesn't realize his impairments in the way a person would. It is really amazing to see how he has adapted to his new life and how well he has learned to communicate his needs and wants.

Avalanche At The Laguna Niguel Dog Park Prior To His Spinal Cord Injury

In the beginning

On November 4th, 2005 Avalanche had his regular Friday at the dog park with his doggie siblings, Deon and Daphney - two dobermans. As he ran into the dog park he made it about 60 feet and fell down screaming in pain. As I ran to him, I noticed that his two back legs were crossed. When I got to him, he was totally freaked out and there was no muscle tone in his back end. A dog park friend was there and helped me get my car, and get Avalanche transferred into the back of the car to rush him to the vets.