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IVDD

***UPDATE 5/22****

All is well in Oscarland. Oscar started walking again just 2 days after his visit to Dr. Barns. This past Friday he went back for his followup visit and she was so excited about how much he has improved. Dr. Barns did some more VOM and will see him again in two weeks since he's doing so well after his first visit. Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa, cousins, aunts and uncles have all been praying for his quick healing and we couldn't be more excited about seeing our prayers answered. Oscar is our little walking miracle and is all Dachshund again, so our job is getting tougher. He is still on strict cage rest for a few months. But, the better he gets, the less and less he likes being confined to his kennel, but he's really taken a liking to his new KONG toy. Mommy stuffs it with kibble, liver treats and peanut butter and it keeps him occupied for hours.He has so much fun getting all the good stuff out he even prefers to eat his dinner out of the KONG. It's the best toy we've ever bought him!!

Update 5/12

Yesterday Oscar went back to the Vet because he could no longer walk on his back legs. Mommy was so stressed out and upset the whole day because he was in bad shape after the jump from the futon. The Vet took x-rays but couldn't say much. Since Oscar had deep pain sensation he wouldn't say for sure if he needed surgery and recommended we go see the Neurosurgeon for a consultation. He took him off Rimadyl and sent him home with tabs of Dexamethasone. They said if he appeared to being feeling better we could cancel the surgery consultation and just keep him crated and on the meds. Mommy and Daddy had a horrible night crying and worrying, feeling horribly guilty and helpless. We feel so bad for all our little guy is going through. But earlier in the day Mommy did lots of research on the internet and found a group that had a lot of information on Dachsies and Disc Disease. From her reading, she decided to contact a Holistic Vet and see if they could give us a second opinion. She read that lots of Dachsie's do well with accupunture and VOM. Mommy and Daddy decided they had to get a 2nd opinion and consider alternative methods because we just don't have the dollars for surgery. So today Oscar went to see Dr. Barns at The Animal Doctor Clinic in Kennedal, TX and got to meet some nice new people that took really good care of him. They loved on him and got to know him better, asked Mommy lots of questions and looked at his x-rays. They couldn't see much either but because he had deep pain sensation and no swelling, they decided to try some VOM and acupunture. He wasn't so sure about it at first and watched Dr. Barns very carefully to see what she would do next, but he did wonderfully and was even wagging his tail again after his therapy. The good doctor gave him some supplements to give him a good boost in nutrition and to help him heal faster and said he should remain on cage rest and his steroids, but to to come back next week to see how he's doing and get some more treatment! He liked his visit to the new Vet and Mommy felt reassured that there was some more hope for him. It's been a very difficult time for all of us but we just have to believe we will get through it!

Sad day

On May 1o, Mommy woke up in the middle of the night scared because Oscar was missing--he was not cuddled at her feet as usual. When she called for him he didn't come so she had a horrible feeling he had escaped again, but she looked down at Angel's kennel and found that he was quietly lying in the kennel by himself. Though she thought it was odd for him to be in the kennel all night, she was half asleep and didn't think much of it. But a few hours later she picked him out of the kennel and brought him to bed with her, he immediately tunneled down the covers to her feet but she noticed he was shaking a whole lot. She figured he was cold and brought him up to lay between Mommy and Daddy. But then we realized something just wasn't right. He wouldn't stop shaking and he was lethargic, quiet and unresponsive to our cuddling and loving. We tried to get a response from him by saying "doggies" and "squirrels", but no response. He wouldn't give kisses at all, which was even more out of character for him. We rolled him on his back and noticed he was keeping his hind legs tightened up, very tense and his tummy seemed really hard. We thought maybe he had an upset tummy and Daddy got on the internet to see if we could get any idea why he would be like this. He just lay there next to Mommy, with a sad look in his eyes that we just didn't understand. We noticed he didn't eat last nights dinner and now he wouldn't take any food or water from us. So when 8 am rolled around we called the vet to see if we could get him in because something was horribly wrong, this was not our Oscar. They had an opening at 10 a.m. so we bundled him up in his blankie and took him to University Animal Hospital. By this time he was starting to be a little more responsive, but something was still terribly wrong. The Dr. took his temperature, examined his eyes, teeth and gums and asked Mommy and Daddy all sorts of questions. Then he began to exam his back and when he applied pressure to his tail end, Oscar began to get upset and really tensed up. We knew that Dachshunds are notorious for the disc problems but at the time we just didn't think this was his problem, maybe we just didn't want to believe it. So the Dr. gave him an injection of dexamethasone and some Rimadyl to take for a week. He told us Oscar would need to be restricted from all activity for four weeks--which meant being kenneled at all times except to go potty. At the time Oscar was still able to walk normally but was in obvious pain. Mommy stayed home from work to keep him company and let him sleep on the futon most of the day. He didn't have much desire to do anything anyway and she knew he'd prefer laying down with her than being stuck in the kennel all day. One thing about Oscar is he hates his little kennel. He doesn't mind Angel's roomier kennel but he does not like his one bit! So all was good for Mr. Mayer until later that evening when Daddy came home. He was so happy to see his Daddy and he was wagging his tail and giving kisses again. The Dr. said he may start to act like he feels better but he is not and to restrict his activity. So we all went out for a little potty walk on the leash and brought him back in on to the futon for some loving from Mommy and Daddy before we put him back in the crate. He gladly took a treat and even ate some food. But while Mommy was up trying to make dinner for Angel and Daddy, she tossed Angel a treat and little Mayer, thinking (incorrectly) he was feeling better jumped off the futon to go for the treat and landed with a shrill YELP! Daddy picked him up right away and laid him back down. He was shaking again and had that sad look in his eyes. Mommy was crying and so mad at herself for throwing the treat. Today Oscar is going back in to the vet, because when he went out for his potty walk he could not stand on his rear legs and started to drag them. Mommy and Daddy are really sad for their little guy right now and feel so horrible that this has happened. We will keep his dogster page updated and ask for prayers for our little guy!