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My 2 year old dachshund/chihuahua mix has recently become paralyzed and I don't know how to handle it.
My dog is the light of my life. I came home one day and the back half of his body was paralyzed due to some mysterious back injury. He cannot control his bowels but he is adjusting to the situation. I'm 21 years old. I've never changed a diaper in my life and now I'm finding myself buying diapers and baby wipes. I've been giving him intense steroids, lots of rest and physical therapy. The doctor says there's still a chance he can regain the use of his legs but I feel like I'm drowning. I can't afford the surgery he needs to get his legs back. I don't know what to do for my little man. Any guidance at all would be helpful! I'm looking at wheelchairs and I'm trying to learn, but dealing with this situation is so much harder than I anticipated.
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Member 936451
on Jan 7th 2010
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This is really tough. I'm sorry you're going through this and that your baby is having to go through this, too.
Sadly, it's very common for doxies to have injuries to their backs since they are so long-bodied.
You got some good advice about going to the forums. Unfortunately, doxie back injuries are SO common that a lot of owners have dealt with them. Some of those injuries are disabling or permanent. We had a doxie when I was growing up and though he didn't become paralyzed, he did have some ongoing back issues that were debilitatingly painful for him. It's a very tough thing to go through and especially when you are young and dealing with it on your own.
In terms of the surgery, see if you can find anyone who can help in your local community or maybe get funding from a doxie club or rescue group.
If you need any support or just someone to vent your frustration and worry to, email me any time.
Good luck.
Jack answered on Jan 7th.
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I'm so sorry to hear this. I know that the Physical Therapy can help, as well as the other things you are doing with the aid of the vet, however they do tend to take time. I don't have any experience with this so I don't have any good advice for you but to offer my support and well-wishes to both you and your dog.
I would recommend posting this in the Health section of the Forums -- I'm assuming this is some kind of disc problem? If you post in Health more people will see this and maybe even some people who have gone through the same thing and managed to recover their dog's back leg use.
Kolbe
answered on 1/7/10.
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