Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus….
Every day, Karma Dogs faces a variety of situations. Some happy, some sad, some really, really complicated. We hope that our programs help different people in different ways. We hope that by having positive experiences with dogs, kids and adults will remember that and think of dogs differently in the future. It is one of the things that we at Karma Dogs are trying to change, one person at a time. We know there are tons of wonderful dog owners and every now and then, we meet someone who blows our mind. It doesn’t happen often, but it did earlier this week.
A colleague contacted me on Monday asking for help for her daschund. Her dog had suffered from a serious, degenerative spinal condition. He had dealt with a bout of paralysis last year and was forced to use a cart to support his back legs. While surgery is available, it is expensive and there is no promise of success. The family decided to use the cart and hope his back legs would heal and over time, he did very well. He was in the cart for several months and his spine healed and he was back to normal. The family was delighted.
However, over the weekend, he re-injured his spine. He was paralyzed from the mid-section down and lost control of his bladder. He could not move on his own and was in terrible pain. It seemed like euthanasia was a very strong possibility and would be the kind thing to do. Until a co-worker of mine mentioned a woman she had heard of in Baltimore County who has a soft spot in her heart for daschunds. These particular dogs are prone to spinal injuries and she had perfected the way to care for them.
On the first floor of her home, she has installed a highly polished marble floor, which is impermeable to stains. Injured dogs can slide around on the floor, their hindquarters in a soft bag. The dogs are able to move around easily- even play together. Many of the dogs have no control over their bladders and need to be expressed regularly. The owner of the home has arranged for round the clock care of these dogs and even built a special area that is led up by a ramp where the dogs can be expressed (cause their bladders to empty) manually. The dogs are spared no medical expense and treated to all of the treats, toys and care a dog could wish for.
The injured pooch went for an MRI yesterday and it was determined that he needs surgery. It is scheduled for sometime in the very near future. He is likely to go on to lead a happy life, wheelchair bound or not, with all of his new doggie friends, who are just like him.
What are the chances a person would revamp their home so it was paralyzed dog friendly? Then offer to take in and care for injured dogs? Hire a staff to see to the care of the dogs and spare no expense? It’s not very likely and I don’t even know her name to thank her properly. But from the bottom of my heart, I thank you. If more people were as thoughtful with their time and income as you, the world would be such a better place.
