Monty joined our family on Monday, October 31, 2011. (Yes, 9 billion people have already mentioned that he is a Hallow-weenie, black and orange to boot. But I digress.)
My sister, Karen, and I have been fans of dachshunds since we were kids and have had the pleasure of loving several in our lives. First there was Queenie, then Alexander; about three years ago my niece's doxie, Bruiser, came to live with Karen. A year ago I came to live with Karen and I was added to Bruiser's Biggest Fan list.
Two years ago Bruiser suffered an injury to his back. He jumped up on the couch and caught his leg in an awkward position between the cushions and herniated three disks in his back and was paralyzed from the middle of his back down. His back legs were dangling useless, he was completely incontinent, and couldn't even wag his tail. My sister was heartbroken and on the verge of being hysterical. The vet told her that he would never walk or even stand on his own ever again. She was going to go out the very next day to get him a cart; I told her to wait. Spinal cord injuries in dogs are just as tricky as they are in humans, and sometimes only time will tell how much a patient will recover. When I was a teenager, Alexander actually broke his back; after surgery and physical therapy, he made a complete recovery. Karen did everything she could to help Bruiser out. She kept him still for the first few weeks - which is really hard to do! She bought him a stroller (we love it: http://www.discountramps.com/dog-stroller.htm) so that she could keep him with her in the house and also have him with her when she was out tending to her garden. She did massage and some of her own physical therapy, working his legs in a bicycle motion. She and my mom came up with a belly band that they made out of fleece and velcro to keep a newborn baby diaper on him to help with the urinary incontinence. Karen found some online, but they want $30 for a little piece of material! She and Mom would buy a couple of yards of fabric and make a belly band, matching doggie coat and a blanket for about $6. As for the poop...well, to be honest, we are still working with that. At first, he wouldn't even know that he was pooping (he'd even poop in his sleep!); know he knows that he's pooping and will run to one of us with a look on his face that says, "I'm pooping! Hey, I'M POOPING!!!" Nine times out of ten we get poopage outside, and we are very happy with that. And now, 16 months later, not only does Bruiser stand on his own, he walks and runs like the wind! He actually puts his two back feet together and uses them as one leg (picture a dolphin using his tail to propel himself forward). We are still very careful with his back as we do not want him to repeat his injury, or make it worse.
Anyway, I told you all of that in order to tell you about Monty. Sis found this ad on Petfinders.com:
MONTY
Dachshund: An adoptable dog in Edmonds, WA
Small • Adult • Male
***URGENT***URGENT****ADOPTER NEEDED ----- COURTESY POST***** Male, Dachshund ** 5 yrs, 14lbs ** House Trained (see notes in bio) ** Crate Trained ** Good with dogs,OK with cats (see below) ** Adoption Donation $95 More About Me: Meet Monty. Monty is an incredible boy with an amazing personality and love of life. He LOVES people and dogs and is a remarkable boy. Monty is "interested" in cats, but has not acted aggressively toward the two office cats who live here. And, of course, they can easily get away from him! His wheels don't scare the cats, but they give him a wide berth anyway. Poor Monty has been dumped by his owners through no fault of his own. His owners did not manage his back appropriately and he had a permanent spinal injury. Due to his injury, his owners will no longer keep him and took him to the vet to find a new home. The vet is only able to keep him for a short time and then he needs to find somewhere else to go. Monty has a cart he uses to get around and he is amazing in his cart. He can play ball, fetch, run and play without limitations. Monty is an amazing boy with a great attitude in demeanor. Monty is paralyzed and needs the cart to get around. He also has fecal incontinence due to his injury. He is able to hold is urine and will notify you when his bladder is full - his bladder needs to be expressed by pressing both sides of his body. Monty is desperately hoping that there is a loving and kind human out there that will take him in and give him the life that owners refused to grant him. Please help Monty find his new home. Check out his video and see him run like the wink in his cart! www.youtube.com/watch?v=psamfp4gGMQ History: Poor Monty has been dumped by his owners through no fault of his own. His owners did not manage his back appropriately and he had a permanent spinal injury. Due to his injury, his owners will no longer keep him and took him to the vet to find a new home. The vet is only able to keep him for a short time and then he needs to find somewhere else to go.
Sis is really lucky to have a very generous husband with a kind heart and a soft spot for the mistreated animals in the world. She asked if she could have Monty, and he said, "Why not?" Sis contacted the vet that had Monty and the adoption was arranged. Two weeks later we drove two hours to Issaquah and met Anita and her friend that was helping to transport 11 dogs to a youth camp there. She brought Monty with her and we met her there and picked him up. Here is a picture of Anita, my sister Karen, and Anita's friend with Monty:
We brought Bruiser with us so that they could meet on neutral ground. We were very proud of Bruiser - he was actually more interested in the other dogs still in their crates in the minivan than in Monty. After a nice, uneventful trip home, here he is on his new mommy's lap:
Monty came with his own little cart, called a Walkin' Wheels Mini. Here he is having dinner in it with Bruiser:
Monty is wearing a very stylish plaid belly band my mom made! The cart is nice, but we kind of hate it right now. We did not get any direction on how to get it attached to him, and we have only used it a couple of times. We were told that he was put in it for hours every day, and when we put him in it, he runs around in it a bit then wants OUT OF IT PLEASE!! So we let him scoot around on the floor, or we put him in the stroller, but we also love to sit and hold him on our laps and snuggle with him. He loves that.Here is Monty (on the left) with Bruiser, sharing a snuggle on Mommy's lap:
Well, that is the background for this new blog. Tune in for more pictures, more information, and more love from Monty!
No comments:
Post a Comment