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.

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.

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).

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