Erin's Hardy 8/9 Surgery

Hi.  I am Erin and my little guy is Hardy (that's us in the photo, which was taken during his recovery from surgery).  He's a four year old, 15lb, blue-eyed (and blind) double dapple who I am grateful to have been able to adopt from the local SPCA when he was 8 months old. 

On August 9, he went in for emergency IVDD surgery at UC Davis.  For the two days prior, he had seemed not quite himself - not energetic, and not interested in food (!!!), and I thought maybe he had an upset tummy, so I treated him for that at home.  But on that Friday when I came home from work, I saw some weakness in his back end and immediately knew that it was an emergency.  I took him to the after-hours local emergency vet, who put us right back in my car and sent us to UCD, telling me they'd call and make sure that UCD neurology would be ready to take him as soon as we got there.  And they were.  Within in hour, they had done their neurological exam (he had lost almost all of his pain perception in his back legs and his feet were dragging) and took him back for a myelogram and surgery. 

They confirmed one ruptured disc and two nearby discs that showed calcification at the area of his spine where the ribcage ends, so they did a hemilaminectomy of the ruptured disc and fenestration of the calcified discs.  He stayed there in doggy-ICU for four days (and there was a vet student on the neurology rotation who was a big Dachshund lover and called me multiple times a day to give me updates, telling me about climbing into his cage with him so he could cuddle with her) and then they released him to me for what ended up being 5 weeks of crate rest. 

I set him up in a small "pack-and-play" playpen, with a bed on one half and a piddle pad on the other, and he spent the next five weeks in it, coming out only to go potty on a leash, sit in the grass with me for a few minutes, or snuggle with me on the couch in the evening.  Poor guy - he thought he was better long before he was allowed any freedom.

I am so incredibly happy to report that he's recovering well.  Although my house has only two steps to the entry, we built him a ramp that we covered with astroturf for traction, and he learned to use that within a day.  He has never been allowed to jump on furniture, so I haven't had to un-train him from doing that, but it has served as a critical reminder that these wonderful dogs are predisposed to this issue and that it is vitally important it is to take care of their backs - no jumping on furniture or climbing stairs! 

Hardy still has some wobble on his back legs, but at seven weeks post-op, I feel confident that he will continue to recover his mobility as we gently increase his exercise.  And even if he doesn't, he's mobile now and we are able to go on walks again - we are up to three blocks. 

I want to say thank you to Dodgerslist for providing information during those long hours when Hardy was in surgery and I was trying to learn as much as I could about what to expect during recovery.  The surgery was expensive (I gave up having my backyard landscaped and then some in order to pay for it), but every morning that I wake up and see my blue-eyed boy peering out from under his blanket I am absolutely certain it was worth it.  He's my family.