Dottie Follow-Up

Dottie is still ready to play -- but gently.

It’s more than two weeks now since our dachshund Dottie lost the use of her hind legs.

She’s still with us, in much better fettle than she was at the outset. She’s not in any pain, which is a big relief, and our vet believes the disk rupture in her spine is healing well. She cannot walk, but she does have some feeling back in her hind legs – she doesn’t like her toes pinched, she can stand on her legs with a little assistance, and she can twitch her tail. She’s also able to go to the bathroom on her own, though we have to help hold her up as she does so.

Things could be better. But they could still be a lot worse.

I don’t think she’ll ever walk again. But her primary mental challenge right now appears to be boredom – and distress when she wets or poops on her pad before we can get her outside. She doesn’t like making a mess, that’s for sure; it concerns her that she can’t move to take care of business on her own. But she’s happy to play with toys, chew on her rawhide, and occasionally get a visit from her sister Daisy, who still can’t figure out why Dottie can’t play much any more but is growing to accept it.

If there were a button I could push to make everything better, I would. That button would also include explaining to Daisy just what the heck is going on with her play buddy and why she can't play any more. But there isn’t. So we move forward.

She’s getting better at letting us know when she needs something, and we’re getting better at interpreting her barks and growls. About three-quarters of the time, she’ll tell us when she needs to use the bathroom, and we can get her outside to do her business before she has an accident. She also lets us know when she’s thirsty and when she wants to play.

Once I get our taxes done, we’re going to get her a wheelchair, so she can roam around at will in the back yard. I think she’ll do pretty good with a chair, as many other weenie dogs seem to do:

More updates to follow.