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| Home "Yanna" Yanna’s Story That doxie bath day was starting out just like any other in the Duncan family. Rimini was going first. She’d try to steal all the warm towels from the dryer so it was just best to get her in one right off the start. Yanna would be second. As a rescue from a small-scale puppy mill, any attention with kisses involved was fine with her, even if she had to have a bath to get it. And then, lastly, would be Mia’s turn. She’s the head of the pack, and she thinks Mom’s doing the right thing-saving the best dog for last. Everything was going smoothly. Rimini was snuggled in a warm towel covered by a blanket, and I picked up Yanna to take her to the shower. It was February, and the bathroom was a little cold . I had placed a little radiant heater on the floor a safe distance away to warm up the air. But I was careful to always turn if off while actually giving the baths. So when I put Yanna in the bottom of the shower and noticed her shivering a little, I just thought she was cold. I turned on the water and started running nice, warm water over her. Her shivering seemed to diminish, so I said to myself, “Everything’s OK – let’s get this bath done.” While I’m sudsing her, I notice she’s shivering again; but , then the water was turned off. By now, some alarm in the back of my mind is starting to go off, and I really want to get Yanna’s bath over. So, I quickly rinse, apply cream rinse, and wash that off. Get the towel ready. She takes the one little hop out of the shower and falls over on her left side - shaking all over – eyes wide open staring at me. My brain is suddenly filled with nothing more than emotional adrenalin. Conscious thought was difficult. You’d think with over 20 years in the Air Force and having confronted a lot more stressful situations, I ‘d be able to think clearly. Not true. I had to tell myself to review the options just like on a checklist. So, quickly three things came to mind: stroke, seizure, or back. None of the options were good. Thankfully that military experience was paying off and my brain was beginning to function. My brain said: “Go to the vet, NOW!” I wrapped her up in a towel. Ripped off my soaking wet clothes and grabbed the first thing my hands landed on. Called the vet and said we were on the way. We’d be there in about 45 minutes barring any traffic problems. Yanked some of those warm towels out of the dryer on the way out the door, and put those in the car for her to lie on. It was hard to concentrate on driving the speed limit, but I knew getting into an accident wouldn’t get Yanna medical attention . Thankfully, we arrived and I started to breath. Dr. Kim Simpson went through all the steps: checked her back, tested neurological functions, drew blood for a complete blood serum, and took back x-rays. By then, Yanna was no longer shivering and I thought maybe it wasn’t really anything serious. (We see my brain wasn’t functioning all THAT well!!)) After what seemed like forever, Dr.Simpson returned to say she was confident Yanna’s problem was her back. She had brought tons of pill bottles: Previcox, Robaxin, and TraMadol. And yes, I was given the warning sheet about the side effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) like Previcox. She talked to me about crate rest. I was not in favor of crate rest because we had tried to crate train Yanna when we adopted her, and she had become self-destructive. So, we agreed to try to restrict her activity. A few days passed, and Yanna was feeling well and moving well. We thought we’d dodged a bullet; and how wrong we were. A week later to the day after I’d rushed her to the vet, she stood up and started shaking all over on all fours spread out. I quickly grabbed her so she wouldn’t fall. I passed her to Steve for him to carefully hold while I called the vet. Then I got on the computer, googled dachshund back problems , and found Dodgerslist. Finding Dodgerslist and having wonderful vet careput Yanna onto the right road for recovery. I posted and was told right away about the very same things I pass on to many of you: crate rest, Pepcid AC, only out of crate for bathroom breaks, etc. We all know the story. I was also hard-headed about the crate-rest issue and Pepcid AC. But, thankfully, Sherry and Paula finally laid it out bluntly in terms my military-trained mind could understand. "Do crate rest or she could be paralyzed for life!” Ok, even I could understand that. I called my husband and told him he had to stop by PetsMart on the way home and buy a crate. He wanted to know what we were going to do if she became self-destructive, and I told him the vet had already agreed to give us a sedative. We could start out trying Benadryl based on recommendations from Dodgerslist and approved by the vet. We’d just knock her out if we had to. That would be better than Yanna being paralyzed for the rest of her life. Yanna’s real recovery started that night. She was such a champ. Much to our surprise, she never barked to get out and never attempted to get self-destructive. Maybe after these seven and half years of our love and care, she had learned to trust us and was giving us her unconditional trust in return? Along with our vet, we decided to give Yanna Adequan shots and use LED light therapy on her back to stimulate blood flow and, hopefully, speed up the healing process. And today, you’d never know she’s had an Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD) episode. We did experience a bump in the road as she had a deep, inner- ear infection about a month into crate rest. Good vet care, once again, gave her the appropriate treatment, and we were able to overcome this problem too. Needless to say, had it not been for Dodgerslist and the wonderful vet care provided by Harwood Oaks Animal Clinic (doctors and their wonderful staff), Yanna wouldn’t be completely recovered, walking, and running as if the whole IVDD episode had never occurred. We all learned so much about IVDD , treatment options, and medications and their side effects. Things, as pet parents, we all need to know. So, when less than two weeks later (after Yanna had been eased out of crate rest), Steve came rushing into the house carrying Mia, saying she was shivering and in pain, I could think clearly and stay calm. This time, I was confident and knew what we needed to do. The crate was all ready to go.
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