Husky Rehab Update and Down With Irresponsible Backyard Breeders

Wolf home from his hospital stay.

It's been a little while since we've posted here and we really miss our Bloggerville family and friends and hope to catch up with everyone's blogs soon. As many of you know, we've been rehabbing Gibson from his fall on Christmas Eve...he is now in a brace and harness sling to aid in supporting him so he can walk. He has a long road ahead of him, but he is now helping to pull himself up, and on his Birthday he even gave me the greatest gift when he managed to wobbily stand up on all fours on his own! I'm taking this as a positive sign that going Conservative Care Management/Treatment once again with this leg is the way to go. It will be a long, slow road as he only just blew out his CCL on the right leg last December (and it is quite common to blow both within a year or so of each other and he tore his left one almost a year to the month this December). He also suffers from weak hind end issues caused by his Epi-meds, and he is a big boy weighing in a 95 lbs (trimmer than his previous 116 pounds). He had the will and determination and so do I. While he will be in the WoundWear A-traC Stability brace and harness for about 12 weeks, total rehab could take up to six months. Slow and easy....

The pack family missing Wolf when he was in hospital.

When you think it's quiet...suddenly something shatters the stillness...as everyone knows, on Halloween Wolf had cruciate imbrication surgery (like his sis Chloe did last year on both legs) for a blown CCL that happened while he was running in the yard with his sister Bandit. Wolf had been doing very well on his rehabilitation and healing when suddenly this past week he woke me up screaming...a horrible sound...early in the morning. Now since Wolf is on strict resting instructions from his surgeon that entails him sleeping on one bed by my side during the day and another next to my bed at night with short leash walks in between, I could not figure out what had happened to him in the course of sleeping to cause him so much pain and distress. His pupils were dilated, he was panting, his heart racing, and he was drooling. He would take a step or two and drop right down on his rump. His entire back end was shivering. My first thought was possible anal gland issues. A trip to the hospital where he was still unable to walk without screaming, resulted in his being carried in, admitted, hooked up to an IV for fluids, and medicated. They ran bloodwork and X-rays, with everything coming back normal, which was wonderful. They had suspected a dislocated disc...while the tests came back saying there was no disc damage and no masses (for which we were really relieved), it did not tell us what was wrong. Wolf was released the next day with a prescription for medication, strict rest,, and a follow-up with our ortho surgeon to check on his recently repaired leg. Long story short, his CCL repair is fine and Wolf's diagnosis was a pinched nerve or slipped disc. With meds, rest, short intermittent walks, and massages, he is now comfortable and back to walking on his own again.

The boys getting back up on their feet (to some degree).

So many of you have sent prayers, healing energies, love, and support. It means so much, and I know my boys feel it. A friend sent me a note that really resonated in light of this winter's toll on my boys. She said that I should remember that I am in a tunnel and at the end of the tunnel is light...and that really allowed me to put things into perspective. I took a walk in the newly fallen snow and had a chat with God for strength to help my boys during some very challenging times (a blizzard, an ice storm, my battle with RA)...and then something miraculous happened...I started to breathe again. I take my time with each boy and we have lots of chats about getting better. I see it in their eyes they understand. They fight with me as I can feel their strength as I support them. And as each minutes clicks by a day, I feel more positive and that we are one more day closer to healing.

"No matter what you're going through, there's a light at the end of the tunnel and it may seem hard to get to it but you can do it and just keep working towards it and you'll find the positive side of things." ~Demi Lovato

With the cases of high percentage of health issues in my four Huskies, again, I must jump on my soap box and revisit "bad genetics." And again, I must stand up and say, no more non-reputable backyard breeding, please! While I love my babies and would never ever change a thing about having them in my family, my heart breaks for them when they hurt and for the numbers of other dogs in the same situation. Gibson is an epileptic since age 3 with ataxia issues and over the past year has torn both of his CCLs, Bandit is deaf, Chloe blew out her CCLs in both legs and is subject to interdigital cysts, Wolf had a huge papilloma removed only to discover a huge deformed growth inside his leg when he was just 3, blown CCL, and now a neurological (disc or pinched nerve) issue. Chloe and Wolf's surgeon said their knees were such a mess, they had to have been deformed from birth. After doing some investigating, I discovered, Gibson's mother had seizures, but they kept breeding, until she was finally put down (how many litters later?) when she had more seizures. Four out of five of mine come from the same bloodline. Thankfully, those people are closed down for good now. I would not trade my beautiful babies for the world...but how fair it is to the dogs and future generations of dogs for people like this to keep breeding when they are not true "breeders" and having these dogs grow up and go through the pain of injuries and illnesses as a result of poor, irresponsible breeding that results in birth defects and diseases or worse? How many must have been dropped off at shelters or euthanized? It's the dogs who pay the price for poor breeding. I am glad Gibson, Wolf, Chloe, and Bandit found their way to us because we will make sure they get the best care, love, and life possible. It's not always easy, but we will work hard and give them nothing less than the best care and all our love. I can't say the same for all those other dogs from the bloodline who are out there some where. Thank you for your continued support, prayers, and healing vibes. And one day, I pray, there will be an end to to all irresponsible breeding so the dogs do not have to pay the price in pain.