6 Months!

"Are you coming or what?"

Playing at La Barriere Park

It has been quite awhile since we've updated.


It's now 6 months since Romeo's surgery and, what can we say?  We're really happy and so is our little boy!


He goes to see Dr. Hamilton for acupuncture and physio about once every 2 months now and Romeo always impresses her.  His doggy yoga is a piece of cake to him.  He can easily do hemi-standing (front and back leg of the same side lifted at the same time) and standing with front right leg lifted at the same time as back left leg and vice versa.  He walks with a bit of a back leg shuffle, but I don't think anyone who doesn't know what happened could tell.  He lifts his back legs to step over things.  We tickle between his back toes to get him to lift his legs more and to kick them for full range of motion.


Aaaaaannnnd...Romeo can walk up steps!  Though, granted, he'll only climb the 3 steps to come into the house and that's it.  *lol*  That's fine by us.  Going down steps is no problem whatsoever.


Romeo has gotten much better at telling us when he has to go potty, but sometimes he changes what his cues are and an accident happens.  Oddly enough, he still pees and poops while walking.  I thought maybe that would go away after awhile.  Dr. Hamilton said a lot of dogs with back injuries or sore backs will walk while pooping.  You learn something new every day.


He plays tug-o'-war with Mia and pulls quite well using his back legs.  The other day, Romeo looked like he was really close to doing a downward facing dog stretch, but he only lifted his butt about an inch off the ground.  Still something though!  Maybe one day he'll finally get that good stretch again.


Hopefully in the next couple of days we'll have a little video up so you can see for yourself how Romeo is doing.  :)


Thank you all again for your help, well wishes, and asking how Romeo is doing.  We really appreciate it.

Romeo's "Birthday"!

Handsome boy!

Today is Romeo's "birthday"!  We're saying he turned 5 since we don't know, but 2 years ago today is when we adopted Romeo from the local pound (Winnipeg Animal Services).  

The day beforehand, I (Holly) was browsing WAS's recent dogs that were up for adoption.  I saw Romeo's picture (they were calling him Valentino) and immediately fell in love.  I mean, look at him.  I e-mailed the photo to Andrew right away and said we needed to rescue him ASAP.  So the next morning, I told work I'd be in a bit late, and we (me, Andrew, and Mia) all headed down to Logan Ave.  We saw him in his kennel, barking his face off, and I just loved him.  Andrew liked a Bug (beagle x pug), but nothing was going to deter me.  We had to adopt this dog.  

He came out of the kennel and was so gentle on the leash with me.  He and I clicked right away.  We then headed out to the play area outside so he and Mia could get to know one another.  Mia is not a dog that gets along with every dog she meets.  Unfortunately, her original owners did zero socialization/training with her in the crucial age they had her (puppy - 2 years) and we pay the price for that.  Anyway, Romeo smelled up Mia and vice versa and proceeded to try and out-pee one another in marking.  But the look on Romeo's face after a few moments - I don't think I'll ever forget it!  He perked up, ran around in circles, jumped over things, and started clipping her heels to say, "Come play with me!  I love you!"  They played and played and played until we were basically told "other people want to use this area now".  *lol*  This dog was meant to come home with us if not for me, then for Mia.  

We headed to the reception area to start filling out paperwork when one staff member said she thought Romeo was on hold for someone.  I almost started crying and said we came all the way here and the two of them (he and Mia) love one another and are getting along so well.  They checked and said the hold period was over so we were free to proceed with the adoption.  I was beyond giddy, as I'm sure you can imagine.  As I was filling out the papers, this woman and her 2 kids said, "Oh...we came to possibly adopt him."  She was obviously trying to make me feel bad because she patted her son's shoulder and he went to pet Romeo. I apologized and said, "She (Mia) is an only child and doesn't get along with dogs, but she does with him so...sorry."  Her response was, "Oh, that's okay.  We already have 2 other dogs that are in the van anyway and the 1 really wouldn't want another dog around."  I just shook my head because they were still going to look at getting another dog.  The WAS staff told us that he was found roaming around the North End with nothing but a red harness on (no ID, no tattoo, wasn't neutered).  They thought he had run away, but I'm positive someone just let him loose for whatever reason or if he did run away he must have had a damn good reason.  


One thing I would stress to anyone considering adopting from WAS is this:  Be prepared to pay for your own vet exam and bordetella (kennel cough) treatment and if you already have a dog or dogs, get them vaccinated against bordetella.  The dog you adopt from WAS will have bordetella, it's just a matter of how serious.  In Romeo's case, it was serious and WAS kept refusing to treat him even though we were entitled to 2 weeks of veterinary assistance, if needed, from them.  Mia caught it from him, but she had the vaccine so hers cleared up without much need of medication.  Once WAS finally relented and treated him, we discovered Romeo was deathly allergic to antibiotics so I stopped the medication immediately.  WAS wanted us to leave him at the pound to be looked at by their vet, but we refused (that's where he got sick in the first place and the stress would make it worse) and took him to our own vet instead.  I only offer this as friendly advice, not a warning, because we were naive that this would happen.  

Romeo bonded to me right away which reassured me that we were the right family to adopt him.  :)  We've had a crazy last few months with our little monsieur, but he's so worth all the love, attention, and support he gets.  

Alternative Health

Romeo, Mommy, and Mia

I (Holly) am a big believer in alternative healthcare options.  I would much rather see my naturopath over a regular doctor.  Chiropractic care saved my back in my teens.  Massage therapy is absolutely wonderful and last year I had my first Reiki session which I've found to be beneficial and insightful for my all around health.

You can imagine how happy I am to have alternative healthcare options available for Romeo.  It's kind of funny, the last time Romeo saw Dr. Sexsmith (his follow-up after coming home from Saskatoon), she asked if we were doing anything besides "alternative aftercare".  I replied that we were doing rehabilitation.  But, really, alternative healthcare has been so great for Romeo and he hasn't had to go back to Dr. Sexsmith.  *knock on wood*

Yesterday, Romeo had an appointment with "Aunty Linda" (Dr. Hamilton) for acupuncture and lasering.  She was very impressed and very happy with his progress.  She said his back leg muscles are toning up nicely.  She said he may permanently walk kind of funny, but that doesn't bother us (we think it's kind of cute).  Besides that, it's only been just over 2 months since his surgery and his back leg muscles aren't completely back up to what they used to be. 

After that, Romeo had a Reiki session with Shannyn at Be Still in Osborne Village.  Andrew, who has never had a Reiki session, got to take him to these appointments.  For those of you who don't know, Romeo had his first Reiki session with Shannyn last Saturday.  At the time, she said that he was all jumbled in his hind end and his left side hurt so he was trying to compensate with his right.  She worked on removing the negative energy build up and centering him.  She told me that Romeo knows he's very lucky to have had the opportunities he's had (like us adopting him, having his surgery).  As the days went on after that appointment, we noticed Romeo was getting braver with things like climbing stairs (he's climbed a few now), he even hopped up on the couch, and having more energy to go for longer walks (as in a lot more energy).  Anyway, at yesterday's Reiki session, Shannyn said Romeo was much more open and his hind end wasn't nearly as jumbled as it was before.  She said he's very happy and not in so much pain.  She also had a thought come through about a top hat so she asked Andrew about it.  He said he didn't know what it meant except that Romeo has a non-stuffy gorilla that we sometimes put on his head.  *lol*  The thoughts of pets!  Romeo will have another Reiki session with Shannyn in the near future.  Oh, and she primarily works on humans so check her out.  

2 months post-surgery

We're at 2 months post-op and I can honestly say we're very happy with Romeo's progress.  We weren't too sure about consistently walking him after surgery, but we're getting in a better habit now of taking Mia and him for walks around the neighbourhood.  It allows Romeo to get used to different textures to walk on (asphalt, loose gravel, sand, grass) and we've found some small hills which he does very well on, both climbing up and down.  He can also step up and over street curbs without trouble.  

As you can see in the video, he loves to play!  Sometimes I have to yell, "That is enough!" because he and Mia get too riled up.  Oh, and he has his spinning back though it's not 100% perfect, we'll take that over paralysis any day.  

Romeo is getting better at standing up on his back legs with his front legs on something higher.  He can stand on a step for some time and he'll jump up to put his front legs on you as a greeting.  Just a moment ago, he stood up and put his front feet on the computer chair here.  I haven't seen him do that since before all this happened so that's great.  

Though he still has the occasional accident in the house, Romeo is getting much better at holding it 'til we go outside and is getting better at letting us know when he has to go.  For example, the other day he squatted a bit in the kitchen as I (Holly) wasn't paying attention to him.  I scooped him up and took him outside and he was able to hold it for awhile, realizing we were outside and, yes, that's where he's supposed to do his business.  Yesterday, Andrew was at the computer and Mia was whining at him and looking towards the door.  He got up and found Romeo was standing by the door, waiting to go outside to pee so it was doggie teamwork between Mia and Romeo to be like, "Hey, he's got to go and he doesn't want to have an accident!"  One thing though is that Romeo either doesn't realize he's not done peeing or he doesn't care because he'll start walking away while still peeing.  *lol*  It's like pee graffiti on the ground.

Update

Just a quick blog update for ya, folks.


Romeo's balance on loose gravel and sand is continuing to improve.  He's also successfully walking backwards for quite a few steps and he often just does this on his own.  Still having trouble getting him to walk in small circles and figure-8s.  I've used treats to get him to do figure-8s, but he thinks we're playing and he starts getting silly instead.  :)  He's getting better at 3-legged doggie pilates so maybe in a few weeks we can get him to do 2-legged doggie pilates (ex. left front leg and back right leg up at the same time).  


We're working on Romeo doing stairs.  He can go down steps no problem (we prevent him from doing that as much as possible unless we're doing exercises), but it's going up steps that's a challenge for him.  He can easily clear up and down a short step at the park on the loose gravel so that's good.  We'll work him back up to regular size steps, but for now this is where we're at.  


Hope you're all enjoying the sun and beautiful weather!

Update

Napping with Mia

Well, it's been about a week since the last update.  I've been meaning to upload and edit the video we took of Dr. Hamilton doing acupuncture on Romeo, but the lovely weather has been keeping me away from the computer.  ;)

Romeo is back to wanting to play with Mia all the time.  He chases her around the yard, herds her when I call for her to come to the house, and spins in circles.  Definitely have to get video of that.  It's so amazing to see/remember how he had completely no use of his legs at all.  Sure, he walks kind of funny now, but we'll take that over not walking at all.  

We've been taking the dogs to the park down the street as there is small loose gravel which is a challenge for Romeo to walk through to keep himself upright.  What we've been noticing is that he tries to put most of his weight just on his front legs, especially if he's tired of walking.  If he had his way, he'd probably just walk in a handstand position.  We've been putting his front legs on a step to shift all his weight onto his back legs.  That's difficult for him and he can't do it for long so that's something we're going to keep working on to build up more muscle.

As you may have read on our Facebook page, Romeo broke off one of his toenails on his back right leg from dragging his foot.  There was much blood and it looked like it hurt, but Romeo was his typical self:  Completely happy and walking around like nothing was going on.  We have taken a rest from walks so as to not damage his toenail(s).  We now have vet wrap though so I think we'll just wrap up his foot to protect it from any further damage.  

Update

I apologize for the lack of updating.  We, including Romeo, have been enjoying time out in the sun.  :)

Romeo had an acupuncture and physiotherapy session with Dr. Hamilton on Tuesday.  This was the first time I (Holly) got to be in one of the sessions.  It's pretty neat!  She did some physiotherapy with him and then did the acupuncture (traditional needles and laser acupuncture on his feet).  Romeo was very squirmy for it which is okay as it's better than what he was like before.  Dr. Hamilton said Romeo's leg and lower back muscles are redeveloping at a good pace and she's happy to see that.

Dr. Hamilton gave us more exercises to do and explained how we can try to get Romeo to do some of the exercises Dr. Su suggested, specifically figure-eights.  We do what I call doggie pilates with Romeo where he does 3-legged standing and eventually we'll get him to do 2-legged standing.  We're also to get him to walk backwards and introduce standing on stairs (meaning put his front feet up on a step with his back feet on the floor).  

On Monday night, Romeo used his back right leg to scratch at his ear for the first time which was super exciting to see.  Dr. Hamilton showed us how to tickle his ears to get him to reach and scratch so we're working on that, too.  

1 Month After Surgery

It's hard to believe, but a whole month has passed since Romeo's surgery.  The stress, the worry, and the amazement to see our baby boy walking again has been incredible.  As I said on Facebook, we can't say enough good things about the veterinarians, techs, and staff that have helped Romeo on his journey.  Dr. Su and Dr. Pinto at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon, SK, Dr. Hamilton at Natural Healing Veterinary Care here in Winnipeg, and Romeo's regular vet, Dr. Sexsmith, have been awesome and we highly recommend them all.  


And, of course, all of you.  Your love, support, kindness, and donations have helped immensely in getting us through this.  From friends, family, and total strangers, the outpouring of interest and love towards Romeo has been so amazing.  Thank you all so much from the bottom of our hearts.  :)


And now, time for something lighthearted:  A one month post-surgery video of Romeo and Mia!  Music by The Monkey Bunch (this is the perfect dogs playing song).

These Tiny Feet Were Made For Walking

This video was filmed on 6/20/2011.  You can see how much Romeo's walking has improved and it's getting better everyday.  He hardly knuckles his back feet anymore and when that does happen, he tries to right them.

Romeo had an acupuncture appointment with Dr. Hamilton today.  She was so impressed by his progress that she skipped electro-acupuncture and instead did regular acupuncture, lasering, and some lasering to his incision (there are a few stubborn scabs that are so tempting to pick off).  She gave us some new exercises to do to challenge him a bit more so that'll be good as we're pretty sure he's tired of us bouncing his back legs on the exercise ball.  Romeo sees her again at the beginning of July and then she said after that she should only need to see him about once a month or so, so that's great.  It's nice that the vets are pleasantly surprised by his progress.

I don't want to come across as tooting our own horn here or anything, but this conversation has come up with a few people and I think it's worth mentioning.  I'd like to think that part of the reason Romeo's recuperation has come along so well is because we haven't overly babied him.  I think a lot of people in this situation would baby their dog, thinking it's the best thing to do, instead of helping the dog achieve some independence.  Let's face it:  Romeo's a cute small dog and at 18 lbs he's not difficult to hoist and carry around.   It would have been easy to be, "No, no, don't strain yourself.  Let me pick you up and carry you the 5 feet you want to go."  But does that really help him?  We didn't do that.  The first couple of days home post-surgery we did that to an extent, but most of the time it was helping him use his legs either with a sling or just carrying his back end a bit if he wasn't going far.  Within the first week home, we took the attitude of "if you want to go somewhere, you need to make an effort first; you have legs and we both know you can use them."  I think helping Romeo regain his independence has helped him immensely.  If someone was carrying you around everywhere, wouldn't you stop trying after awhile?  Same thing goes with animals.  The only times Romeo gets carried are up/down stairs, up/off bed, and kennel to outside to avoid a sudden pee accident.  My advice to people in a situation like this is to really know your dog.  If they can do certain things, then encourage it and get them to (safely) do it instead of helping them to a fault (i.e. overly babying them).  Obviously, every situation is  different and you shouldn't be borderline abusive about it.  We knew Romeo's limitations and we knew when he was simply being lazy.  

Update From Home

Napping with Mommy and Mia after a big day

Romeo had a check-up with his regular vet, Dr. Sexsmith, today.  She was very impressed with his progress.  The last time she saw him was the day after his paralysis kicked in.  So today, she walked in the room and said, "Oh good, he's able to stand."  Then he started to walk and she said, "OH!  And he can walk!  Yay for ambulating!"  *lol*  She checked his reflexes, his back end business, and a urinalysis and she said he's looking great.  There were some crystals in his urine, but it was very concentrated so that's not a surprise and she's not concerned.  His back legs still have aways to go to build that muscle back up.  We're going to talk to her in a few weeks about doing some more advance rehab exercises though, to be honest, he's able to partially do some she already suggested (like stepping over something like a broom handle).  

Romeo made some big progress this evening:  He was able to scratch his ear with his left leg!  :D  You try not scratching at something out of your reach for nearly a month and see how you'd feel once you were able to finally get at that itch.  And it wasn't a clumsy scratch either; he was giving himself a really thorough scratching so that was completely awesome.

We've noticed that he's trying to compensate for his right leg not being as coordinated/strong as his left leg.  For example, he'll balance himself more to the left or he'll hop his right leg to try and catch up with the left.  Animals are so much more resilient than people are.  I swear.  

Wags!

I made this video last night and posted it to the Facebook page, but I was too tired to post it on here.  Whoops.  Anyway, here's some footage from yesterday when Romeo started wagging his tail more.  :) 



Poke, Poke

Romeo and Mommy during a tub rehab session

Romeo had his first acupuncture treatment at Natural Healing Veterinary Care with Dr. Hamilton yesterday.  It was an hour long session so towards the end he was getting antsy and was trying to sneakily escape.  *lol*  Anyway, Dr. Hamilton said she was impressed with Romeo's progress thus far.  She had him on a mat with emits an electromagnetic field and she did some needle acupuncture (which he shook off), needle-less laser acupuncture, and some physiotherapy along with vibration massage.  She also used a laser on his incision to create more blood flow to the site to help with healing (more blood flow = more oxygen = faster healing). 

Dr. Hamilton gave us more exercises to do now that Romeo's legs are getting stronger.  Some of the exercises include gently but firmly pulling on his tail, using his tail to assist with his walking instead of using the sling(s) which can hinder some of his leg use, and leg stretches.  She also suggested we give him more massages, particularly his upper body and neck, to keep his muscles loose.  She pointed out his triceps are getting quite big/muscular because they're carrying most of the weight.  I couldn't help but think of Joe from "Family Guy", hahahaha!

Needless to say, Romeo was quite tuckered out for most of the day yesterday.  Dr. Hamilton said that's normally what happens, especially because the first appointment is a bit longer.  Romeo's going to see her again next week.  Dr. Hamilton suggested we video tape his progress.  Andrew said that was funny because we have been, he just forgot to take the camera along yesterday.  She said a lot of people wish they would have recorded things, but didn't.

Update Video

Big Update!

So, I (Holly) was in the house baking brownies.  Andrew ran in and told me to come outside quickly.  He had taken the dogs out for a potty break so I went to see what was going on.  Andrew told me to stay by the house and he took Romeo to the fence...and Romeo jogged to me like he used to!  :D  I almost cried!  He had his ears down and this really determined look on his face as he jogged up to me and gave me a big kiss.  This is so incredibly amazing!  Mia thought the old Romeo was back and was nipping at him to play with her so we had to get her to settle down.  Romeo did this not once, but thrice!  So, so awesome!  We can't be letting him run, but this seemed to be a pretty good pace.  

He's taking careful steps around the house and keeping himself upright while walking a little longer now so this is all great, great progress as you can imagine.  His rehab today consisted of being in the tub, standing/light bouncing on an exercise ball, and balance shifting on the ball.  I think Romeo deserves a nice leg massage later.  :)

Update From Home

Post-rehab session in the sun

Thank you for the tips on how to get Romeo to eat his kibble.  To our surprise, he started eating it up again without any further problems so that's great.

On Thursday, Romeo had a case of lazy legs compared to the day before and we figured out why:  He had finished his pain medication.  He's back to moving his legs a bit more now, but he groans a lot.  We need to chug past this stage because we don't want him hooked on pain medication, obviously.  He took a break from rehab sessions yesterday so we'll do some light ones today.

Romeo's still trying to walk, but his right leg isn't progressing as quickly as his left.  He'll walk/hop a bit and then his right leg will either give out or trip his left one.  Hopefully it starts strengthening up.  He wagged his tail a lot, the most we've seen yet, yesterday evening and today so that's awesome.  He and Mia try to play together, but we have to remind them (or, more specifically, remind Mia) to be gentle.  Oh, and Romeo's getting far too brave for his own good.  He tries to jump on/off things and, in fact, has been successful in jumping off the bed twice now while one of us has been asleep.  He definitely can't be doing things like that so we'll have to watch him like a hawk.

He had a couple of accidents in the house yesterday which is surprising because he'd been doing so well.  We'll have to keep watching him carefully and trying to get him into a better routine.  

Romeo has his first acupuncture appointment since coming home on Tuesday so we're optimist that will go well.  

Update From Home

So that video is of today's progress:  Romeo has started flop-walking (as I've dubbed it).  Flop-walking = Romeo stands himself up, takes a few steps, and falls over.  And repeat.  It's progress, that's for darn sure.  :)

He started flop-walking out of excitement when I got home.  I took him out in the yard to go potty and thought he should spend some time outside since the weather was nice so I started gardening.  You can't keep Romeo in one place if he doesn't want to be there.  So, he got bored and started dragging/flop-walking around, barking at people passing by, etc.  We came in for a bath and to do some aquacising for his legs.  He rights his back toes in the water, but outside the water he still usually knuckles them (instead of putting his feet pads flat on the floor).  It's very odd.  Anyway, he did very well in the tub and, as you can see, did a good length flop-walk.  I'll give him a much needed leg massage later.

Romeo has his first acupuncture appointment next week and a check-up with his regular vet, Dr. Sexsmith.

One problem we have, and this has been an issue pre-all this, is Romeo is very, very finicky about eating kibble.  Now that he's had over 2 weeks of canned food, you can imagine how much harder it is now.  We switched him to a kibble that we thought he might prefer, but he doesn't seem interested in it.  We soak the kibble for awhile to make it softer, but that doesn't always get him to finish his whole meal (or eat any of it, for that matter).  Any suggestions on how to encourage kibble eating would be greatly appreciated! 

Step 3: Home

So, we took a road trip just shy of 19 hours (including breaks) to drive to Saskatoon and back home with Romeo.  :)  I accidentally turned off the camera before Romeo broke out into an "I'm so excited to see you guys I can't even bark or make a normal noise so I'm going to do crazy whining while kissing you instead!"  We cannot say enough good things about the staff at Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon.  Dr. Su was very thorough with us during discharge going over his medication, exercises, limitations, etc and gave us a very thorough write-up of everything we discussed.  She even showed us what she had removed from Romeo's spine (it's crazy how stuff that small causes so  much damage).  They gave us everything we would need so we wouldn't have to come back to Winnipeg looking for them, specifically slings to support his back end, a leash, and medication.  Dr. Pinto, Romeo's rehabilitation doctor, made a disc of videos for us showing how to do each exercise.  Wonderful, wonderful staff.

Romeo and Mia were very good for the super long car rides.  We'll upload a video to show Romeo using his back legs when we stopped outside Regina for a potty break.  

Romeo's getting stronger in his back legs.  Sometimes he just drags them when we're using the sling but most of the time he at least moves them a bit, if not exactly how they should be.  His left leg is coming in stronger than his right, which I find interesting since the left one was the first to stop working.  When Andrew came home earlier, Romeo was scooting around excitedly and actually stood up a couple of times on his own without assistance.  Amazing!  He also wagged his tail a couple of times.  

We have to watch for signs of when he's ready to go outside.  For example, he was eating his breakfast and he suddenly stopped, looked at me, and a pee dribble happened so he ran towards the door.  I took him outside and he positioned himself to do both deeds.  

We gave him a haircut today so his shaved back and front leg aren't super obvious like they were.  Right now, he's just napping on the floor next to me.  We're going to get a wobbly disc and a rubber bath mat to use during rehab sessions.  

Thank you all for your love and support!  :)  Paws crossed!

Update From Saskatoon

Cuddling with Poe

Dr. Su said Romeo is a little stronger today.  :)  From now on it will likely be small progress at a time, as I'm sure you can imagine.  As much as we want him to be up and walking again straightaway, that's not realistic (I have to remind myself of that).  Romeo is basically peeing on his own now without having to have his bladder expressed.  He's taken outside and supported with a sling and he goes on his own, which is very good as this is a big concern for dogs who suffer leg paralysis.  

Dr. Pinto had Romeo on the water treadmill again today for his rehabilitation session.  She said he moved his back legs without assistance for a few steps before he needed help (i.e. started dragging his feet).  It's still progress so that's great!  

We're very much looking forward to seeing Romeo tomorrow.  It'll be so good to hug and kiss him again and Mia's going to be soooooo happy!

Big Update From Saskatoon!

Romeo sitting on Mia's head

Big update from Dr. Su today...


ROMEO'S MOVING HIS LEGS!!!


You can guess that I started crying when she told me that.  Dr. Su said she was examining Romeo this morning and he was a bit fidgety.  She put him on the floor to scoot a little and he ended up trying to push with his hind end!  He then had a rehabilitation session with Dr. Pinto who said he's a "totally different dog".  She put him on the water treadmill and he was moving his legs away!  


We are so, so, so incredibly happy to hear this news!  We should consider looking at getting a kiddie pool deep enough for Romeo so we can try doing some water therapy at home with him.  


We can't say this often enough, but thank you all again for your continued love, support, and donations to help Romeo.  It means so much to us, more than we can ever express.  Paws crossed, maybe Romeo will be able to make an appearance at the Winnipeg Humane Society's Paws In Motion this year.

Update From Saskatoon

Hot dog!

Dr. Su just called with some great news: Romeo wagged his tail a couple of times today! Also, he postured to pee outside and in fact was able to pee a little on his own! A student had taken him outside and was supporting Romeo with a sling. The student rushed in, excited to tell Dr. Su that Romeo postured and then peed a little. This is excellent progress and it sounds like everyone there did some celebrating over the wagging and posturing/peeing.  :D  We're obviously very excited about this, too.

Romeo had an acupuncture session today and he just loves it (he falls right asleep).  

Only a couple more days 'til we see our little guy.  We feel so bad because Mia's been moping around the house.  I bet she's going to go crazy with excitement when she sees Romeo again. 

Daily Update From Saskatoon

I just spoke to Dr. Su about an hour ago.  Romeo is still doing very well.  He sings to her every morning and "tells her stories" from his kennel.  :)  He still needs assistance urinating by getting his bladder expressed and then he finishes by himself.  Today he ate downstairs in the rehab area.  I asked if it's quieter down there and she said yes.  I said that makes sense because Romeo doesn't like distractions when he's eating.  When he's done rehab and exercises, he just sleeps in his kennel.

Romeo had a rehabilitation session with Dr. Pinto today.  Dr. Su didn't know if he used the land treadmill with assistance for his back legs or water treadmill (a treadmill in an enclosure filled with water so the hind end floats and the front end walks on the treadmill).  Either way, the good news is Dr. Pinto thinks she saw some movement in his leg today!  Paws crossed because that's amazing news!

Dr. Su said the techs had him out quite a bit today because they just love him.  Andrew and I are so happy to know he's recuperating in an environment where he's getting attention and made to feel loved.  That means so, so much to us.

Mia's lonely without him and either just lies around or tries to play with Poe.  It was her birthday yesterday so we got her a hoof stuffed with god knows what - hahaha!  Still, she'll be so happy to see him again as will we all.

Update From Saskatoon

We just heard from Dr. Su with an update.  She said Romeo is doing very well.  He's eating more food which is good.  Both she and the rehab doctor are very happy with Romeo's progress thus far which is great to hear.  He had his first acupuncture treatment today and he fell asleep.  *lol*  I was worried the acupuncture would make him anxious so I'm happy to hear otherwise.  Romeo also had a short rehab session and continued leg exercises.  It's too early yet for him to be walking but the fact both doctors are optimistic makes us very happy.

Dr. Su also said that all the girls there love him.  I said I'm not surprised since he's such a good boy and a very beautiful dog.  His name is Romeo, after all, so of course all the girls love him.  ;)

Romeo will likely be going for weekly acupuncture treatments when he gets back to Winnipeg as his post-operative care plus we'll have rehabilitation exercises to do with him.  We'll likely be taking him to see Dr. Hamilton if she'll take him as a patient.

Thank you all again so much for you continued love, support, and donations.  It's so greatly appreciated, we can't say that often enough.  xoxoxo

Little Video

It's not great quality since it was filmed mostly one-handed by myself with one of those little handheld cameras (Kodak Play Sport, to be exact, so at least it's high def), but you get the idea.  This is a short video clipping together Romeo heading to Saskatoon, right before the surgery, and the day after.  Music:  "I Just Want You" performed by Hellsongs.



We're all missing Romeo here.  Mia seems a little lost and is on her best behaviour.

Thank you to everyone who has given donations.  We picked up a few donations from people today and it's so incredibly generous and appreciated.  You can give donations via PayPal using the e-mail address saveromeoslegs@gmail.com or you can e-mail us at that address if you want to give a donation and don't have a PayPal account (we can arrange to pick up if you're in Winnipeg or come up with other plans if you're outside Winnipeg).

Update From Saskatoon

"Gimme that carrot!"

I just got off the phone with Dr. Su.  She said Romeo's doing really well.  He ate the canned food I left for him, Nature's Variety Homestyle Chicken Stew.  While he's still not able to stand without assistance, he has more muscle tone in his legs today meaning they aren't floppy anymore.  He needs his bladder expressed, but just to give him a head start and he finishes on his own.  They'll be doing leg exercises with him 3 times a day and he starts physio/acupuncture rehab tomorrow.  Dr. Su said she's very happy with his progress thus far.  I told her we all miss him and Mia seems lost with him (she kept checking the carrier and smelling for him).  Dr. Su said he's being very good for them, but he really doesn't want to be there.  *lol*  As nice as a facility it is and as nice as the staff is, I can't blame him!  She said when she puts him down and goes to get or do something else, he tries to head for his kennel.  Awww, our poor baby.   <3 They're going to call us everyday to let us know how he's doing.  

Step 2

After a blip with Air Canada (don't get me started), Romeo and I (Holly) arrived in Saskatoon last night and we went straight to the Vet College at 11:00 p.m.  The vet checked him out and said he had a good chance of success for the surgery.  They kept him overnight to put an IV line in and hydrate him.

The vet called me this morning to say Romeo was doing well (albeit stressed) and I went to see him.  The plan of action was to put him under anesthetic and do a myelogram (injecting dye into the spine and x-raying) then go straight into surgery.  After the myelogram was completed, I spoke to the vet, Dr. Su, who showed me the x-rays.  There were a number of calcium/mineral deposits but she said most of the time they leave them in if they aren't causing problems.  The one that was causing the problems was pushing on the left side of Romeo's spinal cord which makes sense because his back left leg was the first to go (i.e. buckle under him).  After our discussion, she went straight into surgery which took a few hours. 

Dr. Su called me mid-afternoon to let me know how the surgery went.  They ended up removing more calcification than initially planned because she wasn't comfortable leaving it in.  I should have written everything down that she said, but you know how medical mumbo jumbo sounds to us laymen.  She said his spinal cord was a bit inflamed but that's not surprising given the circumstances.  She's going to test Romeo's paws in the morning to make sure he still has pain reaction and then I'll be going to see him.  She has warned us that while the chances of him walking again are 80-95%, it could be that he'll walk funny perhaps just for a couple of months, perhaps permanently.  We just have to wait and see.

The plan is for Romeo to stay a week in Saskatoon for recuperation.  They'll do physiotherapy and acupuncture as part of his rehabilitation.  It'll be hard to be away from him for so long, but we know it's for the best.  He's been such a good boy through all this (from travel to vet visits and everything else) so we'll be so happy when he's up again. 

Thank you all again so much for your love, support, and donations.  Some people have asked and yes, we are still accepting donations to help with the cost of surgery and for post-op care as he may need physiotherapy and acupuncture treatments for sometime afterward. 

Step 1

Romeo & Mommy by Brad Mazur

We are bank approved!  Now we just wait for our vet to talk to the College about when they can accept us.  Hopefully, we can go today and be there this afternoon.


EDIT:  Talked to the vet this morning and she called the vet in Saskatoon so they're expecting us.  Now we're just trying to coordinate a flight.  Paws crossed!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the donations, well wishes, and offers to help with travel and accommodations!  It has been truly amazing and many tears have been shed over people's kindness.  Donations are still being accepted and are greatly appreciated.  Donations can be made through PayPal using the e-mail address saveromeoslegs@gmail.com or if you live in Winnipeg please send us an e-mail and we can arrange for a pick up.  Some people have asked about e-mail bank transfers and we can certainly arrange that, too.

Thank you again and we'll update once we know when we're heading out to Saskatoon.

Question About Donations

We have been asked what would happen to donations if they exceed Romeo's treatment so we thought we should post our plan of action.

Any donations beyond what Romeo requires will be donated to Funds For Furry Friends and Winnipeg Humane Society.  Donations can be made through PayPal using the e-mail address saveromeoslegs@gmail.com or if you live in Winnipeg please e-mail us and we will make arrangements for pick up.  Thank you for your generosity!  :)

Update

Romeo & Mia

First of all, thank you so much for everyone's generosity from donations to offers for travel and accommodations.  I would never wish this on my worst enemy so it's nice to know people do care.

We are still in the process of negotiating with our bank.  You can imagine how stressful that is on top of everything else.  We were hoping to be heading out to Saskatoon by tomorrow at the latest. 

Romeo seems to still be in good spirits.  He's such a little trooper and so good at letting us care for him.  You can tell he wants to play with Mia and it's breaking his heart not to be able to.  We have new pain medication to give him which is better than the Tramadol (which is bitter tasting and really stressed him out).  We can tell he's trying to use his back legs, but they're just not cooperating with him.

If you're able to, please add to the donations we've been receiving through PayPal using the e-mail address saveromeoslegs@gmail.com.  If you happen to live in Winnipeg but don't have a PayPal account, you can also e-mail us at that same e-mail address and we can arrange to pick up any donations.  

Update

We took Romeo to see his regular vet, Dr. Sexsmith, today.  She did a thorough exam and the good news is Romeo continues to have feeling in his legs and tail (though delayed and spasmatic reactions at times) as well as having bowel movements and being able to urinate without having to be stimulated.

Dr. Sexsmith agreed with the vet who saw Romeo on Sunday in that Romeo's best option is surgery.  Basically, it breaks down like this:

1.  Surgery in Saskatoon (Western College of Veterinary Medicine) to remove the calcification.  The cost is $3,000 - $5,000 for the surgery alone.  That doesn't include any potential complications or aftercare (such as medication, physiotherapy, acupuncture).  90 - 95% chance he'll walk again.

2.  Medical management.  Romeo doesn't have the surgery, but is under constant care (being turned over every hour or 2 to prevent bedsores, being cleaned constantly, expressing his bladder or bowels a few times a day if he won't on his own, etc) and strict bed rest or being cradled.  Eventually, chiropractor or physiotherapy or acupuncture if there's any signs of improvement.  60 - 65% chance he'll walk again though the problem could happen all over again.  Cost wise, it's not a large upfront fee, but with the constant vet checks, medication, etc it could end up being comparable and he may walk or he may lose all feeling in his legs.

As you can imagine, this is a lot for us to digest and a decision has to be made soon otherwise there could be more damage done (such as losing feeling in his legs).  The fact he still has feeling in his legs and that he's so easygoing with a wonderful temperment means Romeo's a good candidate for either option.  Obviously, we want to try and make it work by having the surgery done.  We have met with our bank today and hopefully we'll know soon what can be done.

Either option is costly.  This is why we are asking for donations.  Please consider providing a donation through PayPal to the e-mail address saveromeoslegs@gmail.com.  Any donation at all is greatly appreciated.  Andrew and I are so happy that people have given donations.  This means the world to us, as you can imagine.  If you've ever met Romeo, you know he's one of the least deserving animals in this world for this to happen to (though, really, no animal deserves this).

We have created a Facebook page to help spread the call for help.  Check it out at Save Romeo's Legs.  "Like" it and please pass it around.

Help Romeo

Let me tell you about our special boy, Romeo.

In 2009, his previous parents tossed him out on the streets without any identification in North End Winnipeg and he was taken to the pound.  I found him there and wanted to adopt him immediately.  Andrew and I took our first dog, Mia, along to meet him.  Romeo loved Mia as soon as he saw her.  He ran around and leaped over everything, he was so excited to have a new family who loved him.  It's a scene I'll never forget.  

Everyone who meets Romeo loves him right away.  He's a very good boy and he loves everybody.  He loves to run around in circles, chase Poe the cat, and dance and hop.

On May 20, 2011, he was playing with Mia and he suffered a back injury, initially thinking a sprain.  The vet said he needed rest and some medication.  Sadly, by May 22, 2011, he lost the use of his back legs.  An x-ray revealed calcification between two of Romeo's vertebrae.  The doctor says Romeo's a good candidate for surgery because he still has feeling in his back legs and tail, but he would have to go to Saskatoon ASAP for surgery which is very expensive.  If he can’t have surgery for whatever reason, he may need to get a doggie cart to pull his legs around for the rest of his life.  

Won’t you please help Romeo to dance again?  He wants to run with his sister, Mia.  He wants to hop up on the bed to cuddle his Mommy and Daddy.  He can't "sing" (howl) anymore, which is something he loves to do. 

Please donate today at PayPal.  Every bit counts.  The e-mail address to help fund Romeo's vet care is saveromeoslegs@gmail.com.  Thank you.

Romeo now:



Now let me tell you about us.

Andrew (aka Daddy) and I (Holly, aka Mommy) have been together for over 8 years.  During that time, we have had pet rats, rescued a wild bird and nursed it back to health, and then came Poe the cat.  In 2008, we adopted our first dog, Mia, from Funds For Furry Friends.  Less than a year later, I thought Mia needed a friend other than Poe (who wasn’t feeling friendly to Mia) so I found Romeo at Winnipeg Animal Services.  The two dogs have been inseparable best friends, always worried where the other is if he or she is not around.  Romeo particularly likes to know where everyone is in the house and what state of mind they’re in.

The pets Andrew and I have are our children and we treat them as such.  We love them as much as any parent would love their child.  We want nothing but the best for them.  

It’s not easy for us to turn to the public to ask for help in taking care of one of our fur-babies.  This is an extraordinary situation for an extraordinary dog.  Romeo’s injury was completely unexpected, but we still want to help him.  

Time is of the essence to help Romeo.  If he can’t have surgery in Saskatoon, he may have to spend the rest of his life in a doggie cart.  

Please help by donating.  Any donation towards helping for Romeo’s care is deeply appreciated.  Donations can be made via PayPal by sending donations to the e-mail address saveromeoslegs@gmail.com.   We will post updates on Romeo’s recuperation, whichever method ends up happening.  Thank you.