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.