Several weeks ago, Buck was moving a bit slow. The weather had been changing and I thought he must’ve had a bug of some kind. After a couple days, he still showed no signs of improvement, so I came home for lunch one day to give him an aspirin. When I went to slip it in his mouth, he let out a yelp. Off to the vet we went. I had no idea how the next couple of weeks would play out and bring me to my knees. You see, Buck isn’t a dog. He’s family. His initial diagnosis was pulled muscles, so Buck was put on prednisone and muscle relaxer and was getting massages morning to loosen his tight muscles. It seemed like this was dragging on with not much positive direction. It wasn’t until the second week that we would discover the extent of the injury. On one particular morning, Buck was really hurting, so back to the vet we went. X-rays showed that he had some problems with his neck and back—intervertebral disc disease, which meant disc bulging or rupturing. The intervertebral discs are the cushions that lie between the vertebrae. The nerves in his neck were getting pinched and caused his whole body to tighten up. Though he did have times where he was a little relaxed, there were a couple mornings in particular where he just howled in pain. And I did a little howling of my own. With his body tightened up, his back would get all hunched up and his muscles would get so tight. It was suggested that we go to a neurolgist to get an MRI and could possibly lead to surgery, but I wanted to explore alternative treatment. Surgery to me is just not an option. Between massages in the morning, drugs and continuing to step forward, we found some new friends along the way.
Buck is currently being treated at Carolina Animal Rehabilitation & Exercise center. Dr. Maria Glinski is working magic. He’s only had a couple treatments and already he looks 100% better. The treatment consists of laser therapy, chiropractic and acupuncture. I’m truly amazed at how much better he looks. I would be remiss if I didn’t send hugs and a shout out to Dr. Kim Hammond-Beyer for a couple special at home visits and adjustment. That Tuesday night, Buck started to turn a corner.
While Buck has turned a corner, there are several more treatments ahead, not to mention periodic follow-ups. The key thing is that he’s making progress and is a lot more comfortable. We’ll have to be cautious in the future, but he should be able to run and live a normal dog life.
The image below comes from one of our jaunts through Hitchcock Woods. Buck in his realm, off leash and running wild.
