The Results of Scout's Therapy by Neck Brace - His Recovery

It has been such a long time since my summer time posts.  I have to post twice to get all the new happenings in since then!
Scout's neck disks responded so wonderfully to the neck brace.  Unfortunately, Scout did not!  I had let his fur grow out over the summer and his fur long when the brace was fit by the vet.  After 8 wks in the brace, his fur had grown so much, Scout was actually being buried in his brace.  It got to where, I could not keep the brace down on his neck.  It would continually ride up, over his ears and keep them folded in.
I took him to the local vet to have his brace reset.  All the vet could do was tighten the brace, which is something I had to do almost on a daily basis.  If you have a Yorkie, you know how hard it si to keep a Yorkie inactive!  It is next to impossible.  Yorkies have a tendancy to have their own minds.  They are very independant, spoiled to have their way and some are like Scout....he will throw a fit so quick if you do not listen to what he is telling you.
He had enough of the brace.  It was hot in August, The heat was unbearable, the fur had grown, he was miserable.  To the point of not wanting to eat. He had an ear infection we could not clear up.  Both his ears were extremely dirty due to not being cleaned regularly.  I could not get to his ear canal because it was blocked off by the collar.
I finally made the decision to remove the collar.  I reasoned that if it did not work, we would have to go and have his neck reset and the collar put back on.  But it would be during the cooler months, and his fur would be cut beforehand.
The morning I removed his collar, there was the most wonderful celebration by a dog I have ever seen!  I told him it was coming off as I took the velcro and pulled.  He knew momma was not going to put it back on, it was staying off!  Hallalujah!  This dog almost  did cartwheels..if there is such a thing as doggie cartwheels!
He shook, he almost danced, he kissed, he ran, he was beside himself with such joy!  I really never have seen a dog celebrate before.  This was a first.  The only thing I regret, I did not get a video of the event.  No one can experience what I did that morning.
After removing the brace, Scout never received another dose of pain medication.  He never again needed it!  One of the things I saw him do when the brace was removed was use his back legs to scratch his neck.  This was a brilliant moment.  He actually could use his legs in determined movement.  He also did something he had never been able to do before.  He was able to clean himself after going potty.  Before then, I had to clean him myself.  Scout cannot lift his leg to go to pee.  He always had pee pee on his underside due to his stance and capability.  Now, no more pee pee underneath, he was able to direct himself somehow down towards the ground!
These things were amazing to me.  No pain, he could actually move his legs in a way he wanted them to go, and he could clean himself! Wow!  He was such a brand new dog.  He was thriving in all the encouragement. He seemed to burst at the seams with pride in his new abilities!
He has never looked back.. He continues to this day to build on his new found abilities.  He can now stretch full length on his own. He does this frequently too.  He has a walk I call his 'big legs'.  He knows exactly what that phrase means.  It means he is walking to the best of his ability and his momma sees he is doing it on his own.  He wants to be a 'big dog' like his older brother, Pumba.  Pumba is a 35lb. Boston Terrier who is a 'bully' type Boston.  He has large muscles on his chest.  I always tell Scout he is being a 'big dog' like Pumba. He knows what this means and he tries to emmulate Pumba as much as possible.
I am so incredibly proud of Scout and his accomplishments.  This little 8lb dog has worked so incredibly hard to gain his mobility and be as close to normal as he can be.  He does not see himself as handicapped in any way.  You can tell, if he wobbles or maybe trips over something, he gets embarrassed.  He wants the younger dogs to look up to him.
I cannot get over the fact that some people do not believe how smart dogs are..they deny dogs have sense, or feelings, or a soul, even!  I truly wish one of them could come and stay one day with Scout. He would make them believers.  He has taught me so many things, I can't even begin to list the lessons I've learned watching him.  They say dogs are grateful to us for taking htem in and giving them food, water and shelter.  In this instance, I am so eternally Grateful to Scout for him choosing us and allowing us to be a part of his life.

Related articles

• Neck Pain Symptoms and Arthritis (everydayhealth.com)
• FOHA - Friends of Homeless Animals, INC of RI Fundraiser for Scout (friendsofscout.blogspot.com)
• Reflections on Scout (friendsofscout.blogspot.com)

Scout Diagnosis and Treatment

Scout did attend his neurology appointment in Scarborough, ME.  We learned so much that day, some good, some not too good.
We were prepared to do X-rays, that would examine the size of his heart.  We had to have this because the vet had read his previous x-rays and in her opinion was not satisfied with the way his heart looked on the films.  His heart appeared to be larger than normal, however with the way he was photographed, she mentioned it could be the way he was laying on the table.  It was hard to tell from the films taken at the first vet visit.
To be able to safely put him under anesthesia we needed to know exactly what was going on with Scout's heart. So that sunny day in July, Scout had a blood panel taken, x-rays of his chest and when the vet was satisfied he could be sedated, he was off for a MRI.  We were to leave Scout for approx. 3 hours while Dr Eifler examined the results.
I received a call from the vet while out.  She explained she had found some very rare abnormalities in the MRI.  She really needed to do a CAT scan to get to the bottom of what was going on with the disks in Scout's neck.  Our vet bills at this time had been calculated to 1900.00!  Through the Friends of Homeless Animals, INC of RI who was the rescue that I foster with, they had received approx. 1900.00 in donations for Scout!  What a wonderful thing for Scout.  We were able to get his testing completed.  Now a curve ball. I discussed the cost of the CAT scan with Dr Eifler, sure I would have to bring Scout back at a later date to continue the testing.  I would have to be allowed to raise more money or find grants, sponsorships, etc.
Dr Eifler gave me the amount which was WAY over the budget I had for Scout.
I had to tell her I could not do this at this time, we would have to bring him back.  That was a bad thing because he was already under with anethesia and bringing him back a second time meant another round of anethesia and more expenses!  Dr Eifler is one of the most caring vets I have met.  She explained she had to have the test to make a thorough exam and be certain of what she was seeing on MRI.  She offered to take payments and lowered the cost of the CAT scan to almost in half!  Not only did she help with the CAT scan expenses, she gave us discounts on almost all the exams Scout had that day.  We left her office owing 900.00 in additional bills...I had no idea how we would pay.  We do not use credit cards and I had no income to earmark for Scout.  I had to put this into the hands of  a Higher Authority to help me through this day.

after months of worry...the results!

This is the email I sent out to everyone who was concerned and worried for Scout:

Atlanto-axial subluxation, and for Scout it occurs at a very hard place to diagnose, or even see.  It is the first and second vertebrae of his cervical spine.  The subluxation is when the two vertebrae do not  'fit' together and are constantly slipping out of place.  #2, comes and goes into place and pinches the spinal column this causes him to have nerve problems with all four legs. Not to mention a lot of pain!  I know I've seen when this has actually pinched very badly on him.  He goes into a state of almost like shock.  It only lasts for a few moments, but I would have to say, this is probably when he feels the most pain.

This condition can be helped with the use of splints on his neck.  The hope is, the neck stays stable and creates scar tissue in that area to help hold the vertebrae in place.  He will have to wear a brace for 8 wks.  It is not like I can take it off either to give relief a little time..another vet must place the brace or it will harm him.The brace is a 'no-bite' collar that is velcroed around his neck, holding his head high and neck straight.  It has a strap that goes around under his front leg and snaps to hold the collar in place.  There is danger of choking, over heating, getting mis-placed on his neck.  So he must have complete NO activity for 8wks.  He should not walk around, play, or run.  In fact, they suggest putting him in a crate for 8wks, only 5mins at a time out for potty breaks.  

 We also have to go to hand feeding and a syringe for water again!  We did this when he first came because he couldn't hold his head up that long.  

He also is being given more meds to help the pain.  He takes tramadol everyday, he's getting that plus Prednisone and Gabapetin for nerve pain.  So it will be a long 8 wks for Scout, I am sure.  He threw his tantrum this morning as every good Diva should.  He wanted it off and he tried his best until Momma made him stop!This is Scout's best hope for a brighter tomorrow.  Surgery as explained to me is very risky at best.  The pins needed to hold the vertebrae in place go so close to the spinal column that he could even die from the surgery.

Not a good diagnosis, but one we had to live with.  He was not a good candidate for surgery and had to rely on the brace to cause the scar tissue to form and 'hold' his disks in place.  This will last until such time as he has a fall in a bad way, the tissue will give loose.  We can only pray for Scout and hope he has many, many tomorrows...