Meet Rubi, a young rescue dog from a reservation in southern Alberta. When her new ‘forever home’ adopted her she had already suffered from a fracture to her hock and had been shot in the rear. The bullet shattered a lower lumbar vertebra leaving some permanent nerve damage in her tail.
Her owner called me following a subsequent disc injury; Rubi was in considerable pain and was having episodes where her legs would extend straight, outside of her control. We started with gentle massage and traction to centralize the disc bulge and take extra compression off the spine. The vet recognized she was having seizures and proper medications were given to control these. I am VERY happy to report that, in combination, we were able to return Rubi to ‘her old self’. Her owner has even noticed that Rubi can now lift her tail to wag it! Something she as never able to do before.
We are continuing to work on strengthening her hind limbs to avoid any further complications, but thanks to the hard work of her owners and her strong spirit, Rubi is back!