I feel like de je vue

We live in Delaware and the temperatures have been well below average for weeks and we got 8-12 inches of snow on Sunday! The fortunate thing is D.U. has his wheels so I didn't have to worry about him too much. Although he cut is outside pad and he won't use his right leg hardly at all. So its been a pain trying to get him around. It has been pretty routine now with his handicap. I stopped taking him to Accupunture because I couldn't afford it anymore. I still take him swimming though. I basically keep a schedule of when he goes to the bathroom and know that every 6-9 hours he needs to go out. He is still incontinent. I was hoping that conventional medicine would have helped. I think it did a little but D.U.'s blatter muscle is too relaxed.. so if he has a full bladder he "leaks". I still have the original four belly bands that I wash daily and they look pretty rugged. It has inspired me to learn how to sew. My winter goal is to learn to make belly bands, and booties for his feet. The ice and snow are so bad on his feet. I have a neighbor come to the house once a day and take him out for a walk and to go to the bathroom. I pay her 5 dollars a day. Its worth it to know he gets regular excercise and he really looks for her! D.U. has a 50/50 chance each day of walking really good. If he lays on his legs too long it almost seems like they are asleep and it takes him all day to work them out to normal. Whatever that is! Somedays I get discouraged and wonder how long I must take care of him. Other days it just seems like its normal. I feel bad for him because it takes him so much effort to get up and walk. But usually he is very happy and has a great spirit. He gets more love than any dog I know. He has become a expert on begging. We created a monster.. but I just can't say no to him. To anyone who reads this if you have a dog that has FCE or had one please drop a line to me. Its comforting to talk to others that have similiar experiences. I would love to know if someone could give me advice on working the leg muscles to help him lift them from the side. He can move them forward but the inner thigh muscle is weak.

Survived seperation anxiety!

I have never been one to like getting ready for vacation. NEVER. When the kids were little and I had to pack for them whether they were coming with us or not it was sooo hectic and sooo much more to do than the norm. Making sure everything was just right before leaving. Well this time I believe was the worst. Even though the kids basically pack for themselves now I have to leave 6 pages of notes for one to read while we are gone on how to operate the house and to take care of DU. My heart ached worse and worse till I had to tear myself away and get in the car while DU looked at me like " where are you going and why are you leaving me behind?" It took 3 days to decompress. I am not exaggerating at all. But when I finally did I really didn't worry about him anymore. The kids knew what to do and seemed to be making out fine... unless they lied. The terrible thing to admit was that I didn't want to come home. I even let my mind wander what it would be like to not have a dog to "take care" of"? I feel guilty that I feel that way. As time drew nearer and miles came shorter to home, I grew anxious to see him again, but a nawing in my gut, that I was going back to take care of him again. Then I found myself grateful. Grateful that it was my dog and not one of my children, or husband or mother or father. I am not sure why God has given me this trial to bear. I am sure he has perfect reason and I need to stop asking him why? I continue to pray for a miracle. DU is still inconinent and still needs help getting up once in awhile. His tail is wagging more and more all the time. I noticed that when I came home. It almost seems as if he is using the tail to steer his hips like a sail stears a boat. God only knows what he has in store for the big fella and me.

Summer Time Senses!

It was about 8:00 pm, sun painted the sky orange and red. The irrigation was one and the sound of the spray hitting the cedar trees was spectacular. The water stirred up the smells of the field of corn and the wet grass. The breeze would blow my way and the mist would cool the air and my skin. Bullfrogs singing at the sound of rain! Mosquitos out looking for their next prey! Gotta take the good with the bad. I hope I never forget the wonderful senses of the country.

Stuck like glue

Is it healthy that DU is so reliant on me? He wants to be with me where ever I am. I feel sorry for him that he is soo needy. I can't go from one room to the next without him following me.

Progress Report

D.U. has had 5 acupuncture treatments. It takes us about hour for the treatment. D.U., I beleive he likes it! I can't believe he lays still for that long. Dr. Wade does electro acupunture and laser acupuncture each time. I pray that this last treatment really starts to make significant changes. I really can't continue to keep paying for these treatments. Dr. Wade assures that the Chinese medicine should be beginning to take hold. He is really bending his legs and striding alot more. Sitting down he really takes his time. I wonder if he is stiff or if he just doesn't want to fall. Chinese medicine is for his hind legs and incontinence. I think he is having less accidents. Some days I get sad... I really don't want to be caring for a handicapped dog for many years to come. Then I think about him and if he evers feel sad. I know he is mostly happy but very reliant on me. I hate that. He won't even go outside by himself. We take two walks a day in his wheels. He looks forward to it but then he wants to come out of them and lay in the yard while I weed the flower beds. We are usually on a schedule for the potty. Most nights he goes all night without an accident and his belly band is dry in the morning. I know he is getting better but it is so slow I don't see big changes over night. I never imagined tht I would be going through all of this for a dog. Love him.

Getting into a routine

Since D.U. has been walking in his wheels, we have established a morning walk before I head off to work and an evening walk after dinner time. D.U. hates the heat so he has learned to stay close to the tree lines to keep himself cool. I love watching him play fetch with the tennis ball. He runs so fast after it sometime though and he crashes. He still doesn't realize that his wheels are wider than himself and runs up the sides of trees or anything else that he cuts close to. We walk around the perimeter of the property on the residence side of the farm. I don't like him over where the chicken houses are for many reasons. He loves to eat the nasty chicken manure.

Always something!

D.U. wiped out in his wheels again! This time he was running after the frisbee and went down to pick up the frisbee from a full run and did a complete summersalt! This time he didn't seemed to be too upset about it. We just picked him up with him inside the wheels. I guess we are going to have to be extra careful not to have him run soo fast! Go figure.

One week after D.U. received his wheels!

This morning at 6:30 a.m. D.U. faithfully (last week or so) got up and let me know it was time to get up and go out! He never quite has a dry pad but pretty darn close! He also pooped outside too. Anyone that reads this must think soo what! But he has usually pooped on his bed before I can get him up and out the front door with him. So it is a big deal. I made coffee, put it in a travel mug and brought his wheels out to go for a walk around the farm. I was afraid he wouldn't want to get near the wheels this morning because yesterday he wiped out in them! Yes, I couldn't believe it. He was chasing me and I ran out of room to run so I turned sharply and so did he! I freaked out and so did he. Looking back on the situation I should have just pushed him up instead of undoing his cart and sliding him out, but I guess you live and learn. He was shaking, I felt so bad. But he is a trooper he stood very still for me this morning while I put his feet in the harness. We were off and running. He is running pretty good with alternating feet except when he is "hauling it," he uses both legs at the same time. He is back to his old self loving the frisbee. He just can't leap in the air for it although he tries! It is wonderful to see him chasing me and catching up with me! A little scary too, because I see that he wants to be aggressive. He bit my butt one time catching up with me! I screamed and was crying and laughing all at the same time! It was a wonderful feeling to see him running so fast and being his old self for a brief moment! I can't tell the people who have donated the money for his wheels enough how much of blessing the wheels are to D.U. and me and my family. Walking this morning around the farm was not hard! We walked with ease and played along the way. I am hoping that the regular excercise daily will stimulate the nerves and incourage them to repair themselves so that D.U. will be able to be even more independant. His hurdles right now are, being able to poop with control and stand/squat to do it, urine scald on his legs, and his darn itchy head! We see a new vet June 7th and I am super excited! I hope this vet will work with me once he gets a handle on his condition so that if D.U. has a side affect with the FCE I wont have to go into the vet every single time there is a problem. If I was younger I think I would go back to Vet school and make a difference in the lives of people who have animals. In the way of educating people to help their animals so that they don't have to pay an arm and a leg every time the animal has a problem, and not make people feel bad when they want to try to care for the animal at home because of money. I think I would make house calls and call on my patients to see how they are doing. I don't believe I would want to get so big that I wouldn't remember the animals that I treated and my office staff would be aquainted with the patients and their owners as well. These hospitals are out of touch with their patience. I could see if we lived in a city but we live in small royal area. Maybe I am nieve and vets can't make a living on operating in such a way. Or maybe greed has taken hold of them too. If anyone reading this has suggestions about the itchy head let me know. I really think its nerves causing him to be itchy, can't be for sure. He is treated for fleas and his ears are clean.

One more day till D.U.'s wheels come!

I am super excited for D.U. and us. I can't wait to see if he will just take off in them or not! I am hoping that this will help him not to fall down so much and his knob on his right butt bone will go down some. I think this will help with him peeing all over him self too. He pees on his own but he can't stay still long enough to pee so he zig zags and he gets it all over him. Anyone have any infomation on if their dogs head and upper body gets itchy. I am wondering if he feels itchy because nerves are trying to tell his body what to do. He is brushed every day and he has Front-line on for flees, i really thing its the nervous system. Any thought.

Front Page of The Journal did a story of D.U.! Great article

Journal, The (Harrington, DE)

May 12, 2010


Water aids dog's recovery
Gwen Guerke; The Journal

HARRINGTON - Twice a week, D.U., a massive 115-pound yellow Labrador retriever plunges into the pool at Harrington Raceway.
What's so remarkable about this swimming dog is the aquatic retrieving game he plays with his owner, Tammie Deputy of Greenwood, is very therapeutic.

D.U. was stricken with Fibro cartilaginous embolism, or FCE, on Oct. 6, 2009, and the rare condition left his hindquarters paralyzed.

Some of the pulpy substance of one or more of DU's discs has penetrated the blood vessels surrounding the spine, blocking blood supply to the spine and causing the paralysis.

Mrs. Deputy, a paraprofessional teacher who works with autistic children in the Cape Henlopen School District, recalls noticing that DU, who is just 3 1/2 years old, at first seemed to have a problem with his right leg, something her family thought might be a minor injury or simply stiffness.

"Within 24 hours, he was paralyzed. It happened that quickly," she said.

A visit to a veterinarian offered little hope.

"The prognosis was grim," she said, remembering that the vet told her that he would need to be put down if there was no improvement within 24 hours if he didn't respond to the medication.

"We had to hire somebody to dig the hole for him. We couldn't do it," she said.

"Our first ray of hope was that the vet tech said to take him home and give him the meds and spend some time with him. It was really a rough couple of weeks."

Because of the paralysis, D.U. became incontinent. His bedding needed frequent washings to keep him clean. He had to be turned to avoid bed sores. He developed pneumonia.

In addition, he had to be carried outside through all the snow and rain of the past winter.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Deputy went online to learn more about FCE, and there she discovered blogs, online discussions with others dealing with the same situation.

"That gave me hope. He was making progress but it was so slow," she said.

She also found supplies for handicapped dogs and even started her own blog.

Much like a disabled person, D.U. needs constant attention and he goes to a chiropractor for regular acupuncture treatments.

Mrs. Deputy learned about the equine exercise pool inside the Jack Walls barn at Harrington Raceway.

"When I heard it was $5 or $6 for a half hour, I just cried. There's no place around here, no therapy for dogs," she said.

"When he first came here, D.U. was afraid of the water. I had to wade in to push him in. He wore a man's life jacket and had the lead."

Times have changed, and now D.U. is eager to swim.

"It's been seven months now. He's on a schedule. I need to find an orthopedic vet, one who knows enough about his condition. Some days he looks good. I have faith in him and in a higher being," she said.

It was at the pool that Mrs. Deputy became acquainted with Karen Craft, Harrington Raceway's facilities manager.

Ms. Craft, also an active Kent County SPCA board member, is all too familiar with the issues associated with dog therapy. Her dog, Toby, also a yellow Lab, had successful flexor tendon surgery at the University of Pennsylvania's small animal clinic.

Toby's rehab also included pool swimming.

Dr. Annie Renzetti, Delaware Harness Racing Commission veterinarian, said aquatic therapy "is huge. It's the best therapy because of the weightlessness and the resistance of the water. It also provides cardiovascular training and saves wear and tear on joints."

Ms. Craft, like Mrs. Deputy, also noticed D.U.'s progress, but realized D.U. could regain more mobility if he had a cart, or wheels, attached to his hindquarters.

Mrs. Deputy started making dog biscuits to sell as a way to raise money for the cart which is custom made to meet each dog's need.

However Ms. Craft, deciding the D.U.'s need was more urgent, solicited eight or nine friends and co-workers to raise the $600 need to buy it.

Mrs. Deputy's taken the measurements and sent them to Eddie's Wheels, so the cart is expected to arrive next week.

D.U. is a family dog. Mrs. Deputy and her husband have three children, ages 20, 14 and 10 and a working chicken farm.

Mrs. Deputy is attending school to become an occupational therapist, and because of her experience with D.U.'s condition she's investigating the possibility of using those skills on dogs.

"If I listened to the vet, I would have buried him. What a blessing it was to find this place, and it's affordable. And the gift of the wheels, it's very heart-warming. Hopefully, I will be able to return the favor some day."

News Editor Gwen Guerke can be reached at tell2gwen@aol.com or 422-1200.




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Copyright 2010 The Journal, All Rights Reserved.

12:00 Am

I went to bed at 8:30 pm exausted, couldn't hold my eyes open exausted. Then my lovely big boy faithfully comes in my room looking to go out! God love him but I don't want to get up. So I get him to the door down all three steps and come back in to go to the bathroom myself and grab a couple of treats, shoes and a jacket. Out the backdoor I go to wait for him to come to me from around front. I begin my sit command and reward with a treat expecting him to poop and... no try again until all my broken pieces of dog treats are gone.... and nooo. Frustrated by the fact that I am tired and now I am wondering if he pooped already around front, I walk in the dark looking for evidence.... in the dark .. nooooo. Frustrated did I say... I brought him back in put his belly band back on dried his legs off and up on the couch he wanted.... Drink of water for me and a minute to make sure he doesn't relieve himself on his fresh pad on the couch, I thought a detail of my life would be worth noting. LOL... Night I hope for the night...

Times of discouragement

I realized that this coming month D.U. will have had FCE for 6 months. I know I shouldn't listen to what the doctors and people say, but the statistic show that recovery is only going to get as good as it will in 6 months. Even though last week D.U. was walking and sitting and getting up better than he ever has. Then to make things worse D.U. is favoring his right leg. I think its because the outside of his right foot is used for getting up and its really bruised. The upside is I have been getting D.U. to sit properly and get up from a seated position instead of sliding his behind to the right and getting up on his right foot. Of course I have to use the big guns, (treats). The amazing part is while teaching him to do this he poops! So I started timing my lessons about the time he would poop! Now if I could figure out how to keep him from having to pooop at 4 in the morning! I really want to get him wheels and I am frustrated that we don't have the money to just get him the darn things. So I have an idea. Make gourmet dog treats and sell them to make the money. I figure 300 dog treats at 2.00 to 2.50 should do it. If I would be successful, any extra money I would make I would donate it to Eddies Wheels for someone like me that wish they had the money to help their dog. I have to believe that this last six months something good is gonna come out of it. I look at him and feel guilty that I may have failed him by not doing everything possible for him. I will never get another animal but if I were I would by health insurance for them. Not having the money to help a family member really bothers me.

First day of Spring!

March 20th great day! D.U. was outside most of the day. He is staying up alot longer and his feet aren't getting cut up as much as they were. He is wagging his tail everyday. Still incontinent really wish this would correct its self. He is going down the back step (2 steps) most of the time by himself and sometimes he can come up them by himself. He is sometimes able to get up on the sofa. Still seeing a chiropractor and getting acupuncture. He is swimming two times a week at the Harrington Fairgrounds in the horse pool! Last week he swam without a lifejacket! He absolutely loves to go in the car and swim at the pool now! He loves to get in the car for anything. He has learned to jump out of the car. Still working on getting him in the car. I had a ramp made but its to cumbersome to put together for the car. I really wish we could get him a set of wheels. I think it would speed up the healing process. Tomorrow will be the first day he is left at home all day by himself. Jay starts his new job tomorrow so things are going to change for everyone. I know it will be an ajustment and will be hard at first but I think we all will adjust including D.U.

Snow Snow Go Away Come Back Another Decade!

Its been 10 days since the snow storms began and we are still dealing with slippery ice and melting snow. I think we will have snow hanging around till March. There is 6 inches in the forecast for Monday night into Tuesday. We are suppose to head back to school on Tuesday. Not sure what to think of that. The snow has been good for D.U. in the sense that his feet have really healed up. But he falls down alot from the ice. I am so frustrated with the whole mess. His boots should be in tomorrow however I don't think they are going to do much good on the ice. He's sleeping on the sofa all the time now. He actually got up there all on his own yesterday. He hasn't slept on his mattress in days. Maybe we will be able to put it away soon. Getting a little nervous about leaving him alone again. When we all go back to school and work leaving him alone for extended period of time will be worrisome. If he could hold his bowel movements till we got home that would be an answer to prayer. I would like to know if I got him wheels could even my 10 year old put him in his cart? On top of all of this uncertainty I am facing the fact that my beagle is not long for this world. There is something really wrong with her and I am sure its "time". I am never getting another animal again. I mean it this time.

Seems to be moving well these days!

With all of us home and snowed in for a week now, has given D.U. time for his paws to heal. It seems that he is using his back legs more alternating them instead of hopping. He came and woke me up this morning so I jumped out of bed and proceeded to the front of the house to let him out and he got all the way to the door before he started relieving himself! I was happy that he made all that effort to try to make it out the door! I am super excited to get his new shoes. I really hope they fit well and give him the traction he need to get across the hardwood and tile floors. I need to do some research on what kind of exercises I can get him to do to strengthen his legs to squat and hold so he can poop with out losing control of his legs. No water therapy this week due to being snowed in. He seemed awnry today and very willing to follow us through out the house. Hopefully the ramp will be ready before Monday. Not sure what this means but if I tickle D.U.'s sides when he is standing he will draw his hind leg all the way up like it tickles. That must be a good sign that he is able to use those muscles differently now.

Health Concerns AC-Q Tablets

Health Concerns AC-Q Tablets

Anyone know if this would be good for a FCE patient? I would like to try it but am concerned if it would harm him.

The Life of a FCE caregiver: Wanted! Dog Ramp!

The Life of a FCE caregiver: Wanted! Dog Ramp!: "www.handicappedpets.com"

Wanted! Dog Ramp!

Du is getting in the car every week now for swimming or acupuncture.... I really needed to find a ramp for my car. One too many times I have broken DU fall getting out of the back of my SUV. Not to mention its stressful for me to organize someone else to go with me to his appointments. So I put out on Facebook that I was looking for a dog ramp. Low and behold.... my aunt saw the post and talked to my unlce and he has agreed to make me one! (he is a welder)! Here I thought I was going to have to go to the ends of the earth for one and it was right under my nose! Thank you Lord! I have been also really considering the wheels, even though DU is wobbling around, I ready how important recovery is for their spine to stay aligned, and wobbling around he is definitely not aligned... it would also help him with deficating outside, since his back leg muscle are too week to get him to squat to go. He ends up dropping his legs and just going and then he gets up. Soo sad to see.. Maybe it will give him his dignity back. Website I got so much information from was http://www.k9-carts.com. I can rent the wheels and or rent to buy if I end up paying so much to keep the wheels. Next week DU will have been strickened with FCE 4 month ago... I really pray that these things I am doing for him will improve him!

Thankful for nice days!

Temp is about 48 degrees and the sun is shining. Du likes to wander around a little bit more on his own when its nice outside. He doesn't like to be outside by himself too long though. He seems to be up and moving more even though his right leg isn't working soo good these past few days. He follows me around like a lost "pupp" which is nice to see him up but he looses his balance and falls. Lately his ears seem to need scratching and he can't scratch them. I feel sorry for him when he squishes his face up~then I will scratch his face and ears to get his itchees away!

Swim DU Swim!

This is DU's second day of swimming! He wasn't as tired this time! I wonder if one day he will really enjoy swimming!

Wag the tail!

I never thought that I would ever be so excited to see a dogs tail wag on purpose! Du has been wagging his tail for the last two days regularly. He also let me know that he had to go out and he pooped again outside thank you very much DU! Water therapy today... let you know how it goes later.

Water Therapy!

Thursday Du went to his first water therapy session at the State Fair Grounds where the horses train! Talk about an answer to prayer! They charge $6 1/2 hr and they are 10 minutes from our farm. I couldn't be more thankful. Du did well especially since he doesn't like water. Go figure a pure breed American Yellow Lab. doesn't like water! I am hoping in time he finds it to be fun. We put a life vest on him put two lead ropes on is straps and encouraged him in the water enough till he was not able to touch and then he swam! He used his back legs. I felt like a cheerleader cheering him on! He did four laps and collapsed at the shallow end of the pool. I thought for sure he would sleep when he got home! He was all over the place! The next day I thought for sure he would be sore but it was the third day he seemed to be weak. He walked up the two back steps with little help from me yesterday and he came all the way to my room this morning to let me know he had to go out. He went out and immediately layed down to poop! The little things in life I tell ya!!!

Couch Business!!!

I kinda figured since DU couldn't get up on the furniture anymore, we would at least be one step closer to no pets on the furniture again. Think again.... He started staring at the sofa a couple of days ago, and one time he managed to get his front feet up on the cushion! Well sooo much for being stricked about the furniture! How could I tell him "no"? As I write this I am looking across the living room to him curled up on the sofa moaning every once in awhile! He is sooo darn cute! Somethings just don't seem to be so important after all. Seeing him happy is all that matters to me!

http://www.ruffwear.com

Check these out. DU can't possible tear these up!