The life of a locomotor disabled dog

Many of us have pets and many wish to have a soul to brighten up their home. We like dogs and cats when they are playful, healthy, balanced. But how will we proceed if at some point things take an unpleasant turn? An accident, an illness that will require a lot of our patience, tolerance, time dedicated to our four-legged friend. How many of us would choose to entrust him to a shelter or, even worse, to euthanize him and how many would go forward by hiring our four-legged friend as a family member to support and look after when the situation requires it?

A few years ago, when I moved to Brasov, I met Suzana and Cora. Suzana, a cheerful and fickle little girl, Cora an adorable puppy, full of life who moved around with the help of the stroller because her two hind legs had been amputated. There is an indescribable chemistry between the two, you would have thought they could tell from their eyes. I thought there is no better example of love, commitment and altruism. This is why I decided to talk to Suzana and tell us about the two of them. Susanna and Cora.

A: Who is Cora? How, when and where did you first meet?

S: I adopted her from the shelter of millions of friends. On December 1st 11 years ago, it was the day the gates opened at their house and we (we were a couple at that time) died after just 3 months a puppy. And I said VISIT the asylum. I found it. She was very shy and just spayed, I asked to hold her for a while and she peed directly on me. Mrs. Brindusa, administrator there, laughed, saying that she had already chosen me. And I said ok, come with us. We didn’t go prepared, we just went for a walk, we didn’t even have a leash. This one was about 5 months old and weighed 3kg, so it was put in the jacket, but the best part is that we donated 3 lei to “live on” because they didn’t have a card reader… and the china shop kept 3 lei.

A: How old was Cora when she started having health problems?

S: It was a small terminator, I tied it to the sink cover with a Russian chain because it had already chewed everything on the leash, wires around the house, the table, the bed and about 2 phones, one of which was new and had a subscription. In the first winter I noticed that after running away with joy, she was limping. So I kept taking her to the doctor, but other than the anti-inflammatory, she got nothing.

The 2nd year, during a game that was fatal to her, she jumped and played with another more energetic puppy, for the moment she had nothing but on the 2nd day I noticed that in the morning she didn’t get up to wake me up, so I took her to work to keep her under observation and before my eyes she was completely paralyzed.

We walked around the veterinary offices in Brasov until one of the doctors sent us to Sf Gheorghe, to Dr. Kondor Attila. There we had an x-ray and he told us that he has beaks on his spine, genetic, which pressed on the nerve when he jumped. I had a few injections in my spine for about 2 weeks and it recovered completely in about a month, but I knew there was a risk of the problem returning at any time. Unfortunately the joy didn’t last long because she doesn’t understand that a man shouldn’t get out of bed, so on my birthday in November he walked and already in February he fell again. Longer treatment followed, I went to SF. Gheorghe for 2 days for physiotherapy and spinal injections, but this time there was no improvement. None of the doctors in Brasov nor even Dr. Kondor gave us high hopes, they all suggested euthanasia, saying that the life expectancy for paralyzed dogs is 1-2 years at most.

A: How did you manage to meet the expenses? Have you ever thought about giving up Cora? Give it to a shelter?

S: I never had a problem giving up as long as he played and ate, so I enlisted the help of Animal Need Us both to cover the vet bills (I went for about 3 months, every other day and one day off and I paid 100 lei/day, plus gas and medicines at home, diapers… the costs were already well beyond my means) and for a cart to move further with.
I made the cart to order in Bucharest, it cost 1000 lei for its size 11 years ago. It is very resistant and only after about 7 years did it become necessary to replace the wheels and support harnesses. I went everywhere with him, sea and mountains, I jumped the sidewalks, I walked on the sea sand and on the cobbled street.

A: Considering Cora’s situation, I suspect she requires different care than a perfectly healthy dog. How is it going

S: Once the pain stabilized, Cora was a perfectly normal dog, even easier to look after than one that wakes you up at 7 in the morning. I, being a big lazy dog, liked the diapers and the fact that I emptied her bladder at home in the toilet.

None of the doctors I went to knew how to empty the bladder, I learned from YouTube, no one showed us, because they probably only knew it theoretically. He remembered to ask me how he was doing with urination and if I told him he saw it, he would approve and that was it. I told you I love diapers, right? They also give a little money, but nothing that can’t be verified. The problem of urinary infections is the main cause of paralyzed dogs dying and for which no doctor has given us any chance. That’s why you have to filter the information and search yourself, doctors here don’t have enough information and don’t have cases to learn from, why do people give up on paralyzed dogs.

Paralyzed legs can have 2 modes: flaccid mode – when they can go backwards, that is, they turn backwards from the normal position, and straight mode – when they become stiff without being able to bend, under the belly. Noticing that he was struggling to walk around the house with his legs without a cart, I asked if they could be amputated. Dr. Kondor looked at me horrified and told me that it is not a skirt-shortening operation, that it is complex and is not done as I would like. Exactly 2 years after the paralysis, I entered the house in the evening at 11pm, I came from a friend’s house and I couldn’t find the phone to call her not to go out, because she had taken me home in the car. The whole house was just blood and someone was jumping on me with 2 legs out of joy that I had arrived, and cartilage, veins… something were hanging from behind. He had eaten a leg. At that moment we hardly found a vet to sew her up, a vet who was also stuck. I then shortened both legs and since then I have only carried out deworming and minimal maintenance on the puppy. Apart from the high costs of treatment from the beginning, when we tried to save the walk, it in no way exceeds the maintenance of a paralyzed dog, that of a normal one. Once purchased, the trolley will last you a lifetime, the cost is amortized, 2 wheels every 6-7 years are not a fortune. And they can be taken from the children’s cart.

Not all dogs are unable to defecate on their own, it depends on which area of ​​the spine is affected, with us it was the same, others have incontinence, others defecate on their own, but it’s like having a baby.

R: Has the lack of legs affected in any way your socialization with people around you or with other dogs?

S: Cora is very sociable and has remained unchanged even if she is in the cart, no dog has attacked her in many years, in fact they are afraid of Robodog because at first they don’t understand what it is with wheels. On the street it’s like dating a star, everyone turns behind us. When I went to the seaside by train, he would constantly eat from the whole carriage, they only stopped feeding him when I told them he would get out everything he put in. On the beach and in the hotel there are us and the one with the monkey, all the children and adults come to her. We often receive different attention from the house we go to, at the table, at the restaurant, in the parking lot… we win them over with looks. He’s a very clingy puppy and doesn’t inspire pity, on the contrary, he’s strong. She has learned on her own to communicate verbally and make herself understood, even if she can no longer kick the door with her paw, or no longer runs in circles, no longer jumps like a normal puppy, but has different expressions for what she wants, she speaks to overwhelm you. But it’s also because she had someone who listened to her. I didn’t take her to any training, I always tried to understand what she wanted. And you don’t want to know how much I write to her and she still puts up with me

A: Do you spend holidays together?

S: The team goes everywhere together, on holiday (Costinesti, Dambovicioara, Bran, Moieciu, Sibiu, Greece). I don’t regret at all what I missed over time, because I couldn’t go with her. For example, the most exotic destinations where it is more difficult to find accommodation with dogs or you need a plane and Cora exceeds the kg accepted in the cabin. But in the end we still make a Bora Bora if we put the effort into it, even if the experience with the plane in the hold will be more intense, at least we live intensely next to a coconut tree.

I don’t regret the decision I made for a moment, she taught me what true joy means and I learn every day to be better, because in the beginning I’m a real shrew

So we are 11 years old, 9 of which are on wheels, and I think the worst thing is that he can’t play as much as he would like with other dogs, otherwise I don’t feel the slightest difference compared to a normal dog.

Suzana taught us a lesson, a valuable one. A lesson on giving, love, altruism and commitment. A lesson we must learn from that a pet is not a toy that we keep only until it works perfectly. A pet is a family member we stay with, no matter what. We will definitely receive the reward.

For those who unfortunately experience similar situations and need advice or encouragement, you can find Suzana by email: suzanateleanu@yahoo.com or on your Facebook account: suzana. teleanu.