When Odie ruptured his disk, we did not (still do not) have pet insurance. His surgery ran into the thousands. Lucky for him, we were able to afford the necessary care to ensure a successful recovery.

But for many dachshund owners, they cannot afford the cost of surgery which leads to putting down their favorite doxie or leaving him paralyzed for life.

Check with your Vet to see what plans are offered.

You want a pet health insurance plan that will meet your financial needs as well as be accepted by your local veterinarian.

NBC 30 Connecticut News reported an inspirational story about a Miniature Dachshund working with stroke victims in the Ormond Beach, FL area.

Hans, a 9-year old Miniature Dachshund suffered a spinal injury. Unlike Odie, who recovered from his spinal injury, Hans was left paralyzed and has his hind quarters mounted to a wheelchair.

This gives Hans the mobility to travel around the Ormond Beach rehabilitation center giving hope and inspiration to stroke victims.

If your Dachshund ever had a spinal injury, there’s always hope and inspiration in whatever the outcome. Have faith. Let Hans and Odie inspire your little Dashund.

See Also: stroke victims | miniature dachshund | stroke rehabilitation | inspirational story | wheelchair

Yesterday, we took our Miniature Daschund Odie to see his Surgeon, Dr. Ian G. Holsworth for his three-month and final after surgery checkup. Odie, like all dogs like to ride and he was very happy to get into the car, but as soon as we got onto the freeway, Odie knew that we weren’t going to the market.

Every time we go for a “long ride,” Odie associates this with going to the Hospital where he had a lot of pain and Mommy and Daddy left him there alone for a week. But this time it was a short trip to see how he’s doing.

When Odie ruptured his disk three months ago, he became paralyzed within a few days. Ultimately back surgery and a lot of prayers saved his life. I don’t know how many said a prayer for Odie but we are grateful for the prayers.

The first week after surgery, I could see that Odie was slowly recovering, gaining strength and re-learning the connections to his hindquarters. After three weeks, Odie was mobile and able to get around on his own. This was a “big step” for the little Dachshund since I was helping him balance and holding him up when he had to pee and poop.

Odie’s strength and coordination started returning to normal. By Odie’s first post-op checkup you could see how well he had recovered. We were especially proud of our Doxie when Dr. Holsworth gave him an excellent recovery for this stage.

Over the next two months, walks with Odie helped improve his stamina and coordination. He would miss a step once and a while, but you could see it in his gait that he was on his way to full recovery.

I knew that this final checkup, Odie would get an excellent recovery from Dr. Holsworth. My eyes started tearing up seeing Dr. Holsworth walking Odie back to us.

I’ve been so busy the past two months working with Odie that I forgot to post a picture of Pete’s Short Haired Miniture Dachshund. “Arfie” looks just like Odie when he was about the same age (~9 months old).

Arfie just got neutered last week and Pete has been trying to keep him inactive so Arfie can heal from the operation. But Pete tells me that Arfie is hopping and jumping just like he always does. But that’s what Miniature Dachshunds are like … always jumping off things about five times higher than they are.

Like I mentioned, I’ve been busy working with Odie to get his strength and balance back. Today he peed with one-leg-up instead of squatting like a b*tch. Two months ago he was paralyzed with a ruptured disk and now he can balance on three legs.

We still keep Odie penned up so he won’t hurt himself and to separate him from Molly. Our general rule is no “humping or jumping.” Both Odie and Molly are not too happy about that.

It has been just over two weeks since Odie ruptured his disk. With the long Labor Day Weekend we will get to spend more time with him. Molly is getting jealous when I go into the pen with Odie. The 4 foot by 4 foot pen is Molly’s area when we’re away at work and she want’s it back.

This is the last day Odie is on painkillers but he still cries out once and awhile. He mostly cries when he moves suddenly or if I pick him up the wrong way. I left a message for Dr. Holsworth for more pain killers just incase. Dr. Holsworth calls back and Odie is set for another week if needed.

I’ve been sleeping on the couch downstairs to keep Odie company at night and my back is killing me. Molly decided she’s going to keep both of us company so she has been sleeping at my feet. The couch is about 6 inches too short for me. Molly only makes it worse.

Odie is starting to walk a few steps in his pen and he’s gaining strength in his back and legs. He’s still very wobbly and needs some support from the belly and rear.

I am starting to get worried about Odie not pooping. It’s been over two days and he’s constipated. I don’t know if I’m not spending enough time with him outside or if he needs to walk a bit more to find the “right spot.” I abandoned the belly swing in favor of supporting him with my hands. He’s walking better without the sling and he finally poops.

Odie is learning how to walk and I am learning how to walk him. The belly swing is used to help relieve pressure on his spine and to give him extra balance. With male dogs you need to make sure that it doesn’t cover his wiener. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened and Odie peed all over the belly swing, himself, and me and just about everywhere else.

Odie is in the house! Welcome home! After one week of surgery, the surgeon, Dr. Holsworth, lets us take Odie home for rest and recuperation. Odie will need about 8 weeks of recuperation before he has completely recovered from surgery.

Molly will have to give up her 4×4-exercise pen for Odie. I sure hope she doesn’t have any accidents, but she’s been really good during the day especially since I’ve been coming home for lunch to let her out. The next 8 weeks Odie is in the jailhouse.

Chloe, Molly and even the cat (Inkspot) are happy to see Odie again. They kiss him through the bars of his cell. Inkspot is really happy since he misses Odie chasing him every night. I’m sure Inkspot will visit Odie tonight and will try to goat him on to chase him.

We need to keep Odie sedated and on pain killers so he doesn’t get too excited. He’s still in pain and cries out if we pick him up the wrong way.

Odie’s first pee is very sad for me. It’s the first time I get to see how he walks or actually doesn’t walk. He still doesn’t know where his feet are in space. This implies that the signals are not getting from his brain to his feet and back again. I thought he was in better shape.

Only six days after Odie’s surgery on his ruptured disk and he’s like day and night. Last Monday night Odie was paralyzed with a ruptured disk and now he’s trying to walk again. A few steps at a time are all we are asking. Good Boy!

You can tell by the expression on his face that he’s doing better and really wants to come home. Hopefully we can take him home tomorrow.

See Ruptured Disk Day 8

The doctor calls to tell us Odie is doing great. More of the same news we heard last night so nothing new. He thinks we can take him home in two or three days.

See: Ruptured Disk Day 7

Odie is recovering nicely from his ruptured disk injury. We went to the hospital to visit him and I was expecting him still caged with a catheter. He was able to pee and poop on his own so they brought him out to an examination/visitor’s room for us to see him. He was very excited us and of course wanted very badly to hop up in our laps. He still can’t walk but he is able to place some weight on his hind legs.

It’s very hard to visit him since I want to keep him as calm as possible for a speedy recovery. Each visit he gets very excited and wants to jump. I’m not sure this is a good idea only four days after surgery.

See: Ruptured Disk Day 6

Odie is taken off the Big-M (Morphine) and placed on oral painkillers and sedatives. I visit him during the lunch hour and he’s doing great. His tail is wagging very fast! I put my head into his crate and received lots of puppy kisses. He’s very excitable and although I wanted to visit with him longer but I keep it to a few minutes to keep him calm.

We get two calls from Dr. Jenkins today. First in the morning to give us status that he is doing great. Second in the evening telling us that he moved. She was really excited about it and tests to see if he could walk. Odie takes baby steps! His paws are still curled under but she says that’s expected.

Dr. Jenkins calls to tell us that Odie is resting very well. They will do a “deep-pain” test tomorrow to see if he still has feeling in hindquarters. They said manipulation around the spinal column sometimes causes pressure on the nerves so they run the test a day after surgery.

We visit him around 8:00 PM to see how he’s doing. He’s sitting up, recognizes us and his tail is wagging. This is a good sign. The Doctor said the tail is the last to go and the first to come back. I pray this is the first to come back. I tell him that he’s a good boy and love him a lot. We go home after a 5-minute visit.

See: Ruptured Disk Day 3

Off to the Vet today for observation. Odie is still in pain this morning but is able to get around the house. He has a 9:00 AM appointment. We leave around 8:30 by the time we get to the Vet around 8:45 he cannot walk. His back legs are very wobbly. Dr. Thomas places him on an anti-inflammatory to reduce swelling around spine. X-ray’s show a ruptured disk near the 13th lumbar. Dr. Thomas recommends surgery.

We pick up Odie at 4:00 PM to take him over to Veterinary Medical and Surgical Group. We get there about 5:00 PM (takes about 1 hour to drive 20 miles). Fill out forms, wait, wait, waiting is long and very hard.

Dr. Jenkins examines Odie and gives her prognosis: ruptured disk. Odie will need surgery or will be paralyzed. The surgeon is just getting out of surgery and we have to wait for his confirmation. Surgeon confirms results but doesn’t know if one or more ruptured disks are injured. Wants authorization for surgery. Of course, we love Odie too much to put him down.

Surgeon says they’ll wait to see if the anti-inflammatory is reducing the swelling. We go home around 9:00 PM. They call us around 10:00 PM saying Odie is not getting better and they’re going to run a CT (Computed Tomography) to see which disk(s) are injured. We get a call around 12:00 AM to tell us that the 13th disk ruptured on the right side and 50% of the spinal canal is swollen. They’re going to operate within a few hours since they have full surgery staff available and don’t want to call the surgeon back at 3:30 AM when the next staff comes in. Call about 1:00 AM – they’re starting surgery. I fall asleep from exhaustion and get a call around 3:00 AM from the surgeon to tell us everything went great.

See: Ruptured Disk Day 2

Odie seems much better after a good night’s rest. He’s still in pain but mobile. Trying to keep him settled down is nearly impossible with Molly around.

See: Ruptured Disk Day 1

My poor little Odie hurt his back. We were in the backyard tossing the ball back and forth and he stopped playing. I think he twisted his back or something. He’s walking but you can tell he’s in pain. In hindsight, I should have kept him in a crate so he could settle down and heal.