Dante is the best dog in the world. Dante came from the North Shore Animal League and he was rescued in June of 2005. My ex brought him home one day and though I was hesitant at first, I fell in love with him almost immediately. Today, we share the dog because neither one of us could bare losing him. He is part dachshund and part mini pincher. He really is a great dog- very gentle and kind and very loyal. He is a small dog with a huge personality. However, about 2 weeks ago, Dante was hurt. For those of you who have been "in the loop," you've been asking me how he has been doing and I am sorry that I haven't been keeping everyone up to date. So, here goes a blog that will keep everyone up to date automatically. Let me start from the beginning...
Dante has always been a very active and healthy dog. He enjoys mostly playing with big dogs and would seem absolutely fearless (most of the time). He'd jump on the bed and off the bed, on the couch and off the couch and he'd even jump up and down if I came home from work or if he knew he was getting a treat. As cute as I thought this was, this contributed to a condition that is common in dachshunds. About 2 weeks ago, I noticed that he stopped eating and seemed somewhat lethargic. I assumed he was sick and I kept an eye on him. The next day he seemed fine. The following night, I came home late and realized that Dante suddenly could not use his back legs. He became paralyzed. Totally distraught, I rushed him to the animal hospital first thing in the morning. It was quite clear that Dante had a ruptured disc in his back that was bruising his spinal cord. Immediate surgery was suggested because the sooner they could operate, the better chance Dante would be able to walk again. And so with very little doubt, Dante was then transported to an emergency animal hospital where there was a surgeon awaiting his arrival. They operated almost immediately. The operation was a success in that they were able to stop the bruising and fix the damaged part of the spinal cord. However, we now have to wait for him to heal to see if Dante's back legs will come to life again.
Dante is now recovering and making slow progress. His back legs still don't work but the doctor said that if his recovery continues as it has been, he may be taking some very wobbly steps in about 4 weeks. His spirits seem better too. We have to keep him from walking and must be very gentle with him as his spine heels. We are still very hopeful for him and I think he will walk again.
I do want to thank everyone for their concern. This was pretty rough for me. I never thought I'd get so attached to a dog but everyone has been very kind and compassionate. I'll update this blog as things develop. Thanks again!