The Trufflemobile

Truffles, our Chocolate Lab, has not had a very good couple of months. She’s been slowing down for a while, and showing some weakness in her back end that we assumed was due to age. Last July we took her down to Bow-wow beach for what was probably the last time. By the end of July, she was unable to walk for extended periods. By the beginning of August, we took her in to a neurologist for an X-Ray and an MRI. By the end of August, she was unable to stand or sit on her own. The most likely culprit at this point is degenerative myelopathy, though if so it isn’t a typical case.  So, at this point we have no definitive diagnosis. (We know it isn’t cancer, or a slipped disk.) I’ve had to carry her outside to go to the bathroom for the past month and a half.

Still, immobile as she is, she still looks up at us with the same goofy grin, and still has her tail waging for us all the time. So we’re not giving up on her yet. We can’t afford official hydrotherapy, but there’s a doggy “spa” just down the street that has a pool and a very nice staff person with experience in special needs dogs, which costs much less than having the vet do it.  So we have Truffles swimming again twice a week hopfully going to three), albeit with human assistance and a life-jacket.

And this past weekend we saw a guy who has made it his hobby building wheelchairs for dogs. Every job he does is custom work, which is good because Truffles needed some custom assistance. Unlike hip dysplasia, the strength is gone in her front so badly that she can’t support her weight, even if her back end’s supported.

With her new cart though, she actually managed to push herself along a few feet on the first try. Best case scenario, we’ll get enough muscle back on her so she can move around a bit on her own. But failing that, at least she’s happy to be out and about for even a little while.