my paralyzed doggie

sex panther

my ruby got hit by a car yesterday, She is a beautiful 5 year old **** tzu,

i wasn't home but my parents heard a thump and ran out and found her on the road, the poor man who hit her was in an awful state and said she just ran straight out in front of him. my parents took her straight to the vet and we were told this morning that her back was broken.

I went to see her today and she was delighted to see us and was whining and barking when she saw us trying to get up in the cage but her back legs wouldnt move.

Im not sure if she'll be able to come home yet but i suggested a doggie wheelchair(ive been googleing them) thing but as she will be incontinent my parents feel they wont be able to cope, I moved out last year but didnt want to take her from the country into the city and away from the 3 other dogs at home.

i have to meet the vet tomorrow to discuss the options properly but i dont want to put her down just because she is paralyzed, obviously if she is in pain i will have to.

has anyone any experience in this area? what would you do?

ghost_ie

Is there any hope that the paralysis is only temporary? If it's permanent I'd think of what quality of life she'll have even in a doggy wheelchair. I have a three-legged dog who enjoys nothing more than chasing balls and running with her sisters and friends and I know if anything happened to another leg and she was put in a doggy wheelchair she'd be unhappy not to be able to join in, for example, running into the river to cool down or to chase a ball or to jump up on my knee. The incontinence would be a problem too - not only for your parents but for her. She's been housetrained and would be upset if she did anything inside as she'd feel she'd done wrong.

I know it's hard to let her go, but if it's in her best interests I would do it. See what the vet says. Hopefully there may be some chance of the paralysis being temporary and she'll make a full recovery

Zapperzy

Its difficult really to say what is best for the dog without knowing her. Do you think she would have a quality of life in a wheelchair? Is she the type of dog that just gets on with life, a happy go lucky type of dog, if so then a wheelchair might suit her. There are little nappies that you can get for incontinent dogs.
This reminds me of a programme on tv a while back in march, it was about disabled pets. It followed 3 or 4 cats, dogs and their owners. It was interesting because in the beginning I was very judgemental, there was a little terrier that had some illness where she lost her balance and fell over every few steps, she had been like this for a few years and it meant she wasn't able to go for walks, obviously I thought it was very cruel to sustain her life like this, but they showed her being put on a wheelchair for the first time. Well it was like a different dog, she was flying around and paying no attention to her wheelchair, you could even see it in her eyes she was a different dog. The owners were in tears (as was myself :eek:), and it really made me think would I be able to put my own dog to sleep in that situation after seeing this little terrier transformed by a wheelchair. There was similar cases of incontinent cats and dogs with prosthetics. Very interesting stuff.

Heres the full version:
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/special-needs-pets/4od#3053289

morganafay

It's up to whatever you think is best for her. Discuss it with the vet and see if they think she could get some movement back. You could try a doggie wheelchair, you can also get doggy nappies. But either way there will be a lot of work cleaning her, and taking her out in the wheelchair, and giving her lots of because you'll have to work extra hard to make her life good.

If your parents can't cope then would you possibly be able to take her? It sounds like you'd be willing to put the effort in to help her, and if your parents didn't have the time to give her extra care then it mightn't really be fair on her.

I'd agree you should watch that show about disabled pets, to see the dogs on there and how they coped with it. And it makes you think about what is the right thing to do if you have a disabled pet.

And definitely discuss all the options with your vet, or if they aren't very helpful, maybe talk to a specialist.

Sittingpretty

sex panther wrote: »

my ruby got hit by a car yesterday, She is a beautiful 5 year old **** tzu,

i wasn't home but my parents heard a thump and ran out and found her on the road, the poor man who hit her was in an awful state and said she just ran straight out in front of him. my parents took her straight to the vet and we were told this morning that her back was broken.

I went to see her today and she was delighted to see us and was whining and barking when she saw us trying to get up in the cage but her back legs wouldnt move.

Im not sure if she'll be able to come home yet but i suggested a doggie wheelchair(ive been googleing them) thing but as she will be incontinent my parents feel they wont be able to cope, I moved out last year but didnt want to take her from the country into the city and away from the 3 other dogs at home.

i have to meet the vet tomorrow to discuss the options properly but i dont want to put her down just because she is paralyzed, obviously if she is in pain i will have to.

has anyone any experience in this area? what would you do?

How did she get out on the road?

Clare Bear

Sittingpretty wrote: »

How did she get out on the road?

What does it matter now? It's happened, no point in nit picking on how it happened.

OP sorry to hear that about your dog. Only the Vet will be able to advise you on this though. See what they say, if the dog will suffer then do the best thing for her. If not and you and your parents can handle a paralyzed dog who isn't in pain then it's a tough road but if that's your choice best of luck.

Sittingpretty

Clare Bear wrote: »

What does it matter now? It's happened, no point in nit picking on how it happened.

OP sorry to hear that about your dog. Only the Vet will be able to advise you on this though. See what they say, if the dog will suffer then do the best thing for her. If not and you and your parents can handle a paralyzed dog who isn't in pain then it's a tough road but if that's your choice best of luck.

Sorry post police :rolleyes: I wasn't nit picking actually, I was going to suggest ensuring the other posters three dogs be kept in in case they go the same way the other one got out.

Morning to you too, Jesus Christ some of the attitudes on this board are apalling.

Clare Bear

Sittingpretty wrote: »

Morning to you too, Jesus Christ some of the attitudes on this board are apalling.

That's exactly why I said what I did because someone always comes on here nit picking about things like that and it's infuriating. Fair enough if you didn't mean it that way, I apologise.

Sittingpretty

Clare Bear wrote: »

That's exactly why I said what I did because someone always comes on here nit picking about things like that and it's infuriating. Fair enough if you didn't mean it that way, I apologise.

Okey dokey, apology accepted

Wisco

Your vet will be able to give you a pretty good idea of prognosis- most cases with a broken back there's not much hope of recovery, but it depends on whether things are displaced or not. While the doggy wheelchair bit is a great idea, the incontinence issue would be a bigger one for me. You'd need some sort of doggy nappy to prevent things like urine scald, which can be quite nasty for both you and the poor pup. Even with nappies, you're really looking at a LOT of nursing care, which is fine if you or your parents are able to do it, but it's a huge commitment. The main thing to think about, as so many other posters have said, is quality of life for your dog.

sex panther

thanks for all of your replies,

(in regards to how she got out, we live in the country down a quiet road on 3 acres of land and the dogs have free run of the place we couldnt possibly fence the whole place in, only a handful of cars pass every day)

the xray showed she has 2 crushed vertabre along with a broken pelvis along with a broken front leg and that is just what we know of, my vet says she cant know more because she needs a ct scan which is only available in dublin.

I tried to be optimistic but today all she did was cry in pain she couldnt get comfortable. The vet told me she had her on the highest amount of drugs she could, it was so horrible seeing her like that,

she was far worse than i had first thought and my vet had said the outcome was bleak as she was deteriating so from talking with the vet and my parents ive decided to put her down.

She was such a lovely dog and followed me everywhere and slept on the end of my bed and when i wasnt there she slept on my sisters bed. I hope we gave her a good life and ill miss her so much.

morganafay

That's so sad but I'm sure you did the right thing for her. It sounds like she had a great life.

Zapperzy

sex panther wrote: »

(in regards to how she got out, we live in the country down a quiet road on 3 acres of land and the dogs have free run of the place we couldnt possibly fence the whole place in, only a handful of cars pass every day)

Unfortunately as you've found out all it takes is one car. Could you build a run for the other dog's to stay in?

Really sorry to hear you've decided to put her down, I think your making the right decision however if she is in pain, you've done all you can for her.

belongtojazz

I was so upset reading this post. You have my sympathies xx

youllneverknow

sorry to hear that. i have a shii tzu myself couldnt picture any thing happening to her. if she was hit by a car i would smack who ever hit her.
my auntys dog lost movement it its front legs like they where limp they gave her some sort of harness so she could support the dog and steroids to help him
heal.
:(i dont like animals been hurt it make me sad

Junco Partner

sorry to hear about your dog its never nice to lose one

ghost_ie

Really sorry to hear Ruby has gone

The Big Red Button

youllneverknow wrote: »

sorry to hear that. i have a shii tzu myself couldnt picture any thing happening to her. if she was hit by a car i would smack who ever hit her.
my auntys dog lost movement it its front legs like they where limp they gave her some sort of harness so she could support the dog and steroids to help him
heal.
i dont like animals been hurt it make me sad

Maybe just do your part to keep your dog in a safe place, away from cars? And thus you will prevent your dog from "been" hurt. In the majority of cases, it's not the driver's fault and they most certainly do not deserved to be "smacked".

OP, I'm really sorry for your loss, but I think you're doing the right thing by not prolonging the poor animal's pain.

Profiler

sex panther wrote: »

thanks for all of your replies,
she was far worse than i had first thought and my vet had said the outcome was bleak as she was deteriating so from talking with the vet and my parents ive decided to put her down.

I'm very sorry to hear that, but from what you have said and as difficult a decision it is to make, it is for the best.

sex panther wrote: »

She was such a lovely dog and followed me everywhere and slept on the end of my bed and when i wasnt there she slept on my sisters bed. I hope we gave her a good life and ill miss her so much.

Of course you gave her a good life, she clearly loved you and your sister. Why else would she sleep at the end of your beds? Seems to me she obviously loved both of your company.

From what you have said it seems to me she was just doing what happy dogs do, being playful and out enjoying what sounds like an ideal doggy territory you and the family gave her.