Early last weekend, after a good long nap with her mom,
Dottie gave us both a vigorous tail wag when she woke up and saw us in the room
with her.
That’s enormous progress. “Nothing could replace that
tail-wag,” my wife said. It was heartening movement from a dog who lost use of
her hind legs about three weeks ago.
Thanks to a good friend whose hobby is dachshund
rehabilitation, we’ve started Dottie on daily bouts of physical therapy, moving
her crippled joints through their range of motion two to three times daily,
helping her preserve that muscle memory she’ll need if the nerves ever start to
fire again – and seeing that tail wag certainly is an indication that healing
continues.
She also wants to wrestle, though we’re being careful with
that so she doesn’t re-injure her back. Nevertheless, to see her roll over on
her back and bite playfully at our fingers is a good sight to see, brief as we
keep the encounters. She wants that normal life and is doing what she can to
get it.
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