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

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.

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