Man, this is making me cry. Thank you Richard!
I suspected Jean started this. Yes the bills have been overwhelming, vets make more per hour than I do, and they always want to bring her back in. I can't afford the MRI that would give me a better picture of how long she has or how well she'll recover, but everything I can find on spinal issues such as these say that most dogs come back to full use of their hind legs, it just takes many months. Nerve damage from disk compression is the most probable cause, and nerve pathways regrow at 1mm/day. She needs rehab, which I'm trying to do on my own by walking her with a sling, and the cart from Eddie's Wheels will be a huge help as well as a much-needed break for my aching back. A woman I don't know is donating her old dog's wheels, because Annie's about the same size, and these are custom built to fit. A friend in Kansas found them, and is having them shipped here on Friday. Annie is a 75lb, 9 year old Anatolian, which is the longest-lived of the big breeds. She came from a serious abuse situation, and overcame a hellish existence before 1 year old, when she met me. She's been an astonishingly good dog. Calm, sweet, serious guardian dog with a deep love of little children, she's protected me from would-be home-invaders and delighted toddlers with her soft plush coat and very curly tail. She's in perfect health aside from her problems walking, and is expected to live another 6-10 years. I'm offering all this because I feel like I need to thank y'all, and the best way to do that is to share my best friend. Here's Annie on her 5th birthday: http://homepage.mac.com/mugzee/annie/rock.jpg -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "StrataList-OT" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/stratalist-ot?hl=en.
