Sunshiny News On Sunshine!

Hi Kah Yein,

We took Sunshine to see the vet on Mon for a review and also to Dr Susanna’s for acupuncture. As with previous experience, Sunshine was all excited and rather restless in the car so we had planned that my husband take a day off work to help with taking her out.

I’m sorry I totally forgot to take any photos at these two venues as I was in such a detailed discussion and info session with the vet that I forgot all else. Then at Dr Susanna’s, because we also brought our cat and dog for acupuncture plus Sunshine, that kept us so occupied, again I totally forgot to take any photos.

Anyway, the vet says Sunshine is looking well. We discussed her digestion issue and he suggested doing an elimination diet to see if she is reacting negatively to any particular meat etc. With her sometimes�excessive drinking and peeing, I’m to monitor in more detail and also try to bring in a urine sample for testing. The vet did not feel there was any need for a blood screen.

I asked if we could take an xray to see how her bones were healing and if we could see if the spine was more stable even though I� knew it was probably premature as signs of bone healing would be more conclusive after 10-12 weeks but because Sunshine has been really restless if there’s any chance of increasing her activity level, both she and I would welcome it. It may also help to reduce her barking episodes which sometimes wears us thin. With the xray I was hoping for a better assesment of whether I can take her to the next level and actually start training her for strength and to use her hind legs correctly. The vet did not think an xray was necessary as he said the xray may show us evidence of bone healing but it would not tell us the tensile strength of the bone which may be mislead one into thinking that the bone is actually strong enough already.

As such we agreed that Sunshine’s activity level should be restricted until at least Week10. We are now into Week8. Not long to go but I’ll wait til Week12 to start her on her function and mobility rehab which will include training for strength for�her hind legs and�proprioception training. She has proprioception deficit in both hind legs as seen in her knuckling. This is caused by the injury�to her spinal cord.

�”Proprioceptive deficits are abnormal body positions or movements due to a lack of normal perception. Loss of proprioception causes abnormal placement reactions in the limbs (legs), abnormal limb position at rest (legs crossed or paws turned under), and abnormal wearing of the toes.

Loss of proprioception is a nonspecific indication of neurologic disease.

Sunshine is currently able to move around very quickly! She is using her right hind leg although�she�alternates using her foot correctly and then knuckling. Her left hind leg is weaker and mostly knuckles when she walks but I’m still hopeful that she is healing. Sunshine has now been moved into our living room as it is more “central” in the house. Also she is now in a crate as she was escaping from the playpen and I worried that it would cause injury. When she is out of the crate�for me to do the�cleaning, she is tethered to the crate to prevent her from running off which she always tries to do! She is certainly ready for a better life!

When she barks and calls for me when she wants to pee or poo, I take her out to the garden and she can independently pee and poo and then happily trots back to the house to get back into the crate. As such she gets a little walk around in the garden 3-4 times a day and that seems to have been the main reason why she was barking a lot to ask to go out of her living space for toileting. Kim also started with this routine for Sunshine when she was staying with Kim as Sunshine is a really clean dog that does not want her�living space dirtied.

Sunshine is�really communicative and can�”Sit” when I open the crate so that she does not fall out when she’s rushing and excited, “Lie down” and “Wait” for her treat and not touch it until told it’s “ok”.

That’s the latest news of Sunshine.

Cheers!

Since Sunshine’s case was one of “no rescuer”, we have been sponsoring all her medical bills, supplements (Stemcell Tech, Chinese medicine, etc.) and other needs (toiletries, etc).

The tender and committed loving-care given by my friend (who is fostering and looking after Sunshine now) is something money cannot buy and we will never be able to repay her. We can only thank her with all our heart.

To all who have sent Christmas “angpows” and donations for Sunshine, we thank you very much too. And also not forgetting, those who have prayed for Sunshine and sent her positive vibrations, thank you!

As you can see from the photos, Sunshine is mobile now. She was expected to be paralysed for life when she was first rescued. Her X-Ray showed a complete transaction of her back bone and spinal column and there was no deep pain sensation. Her case was passed off as being almost hopeless at the time of rescue. Knowing that we will not give the order for euthanasia, our vet recommended non-mainstream treatment and that was what we opted for.

Look at Sunshine now.

Thank you, everyone, for your support and for standing by Sunshine when she needed it most. She still needs our support now. Please continue to send her positive vibrations for better recovery and wellbeing every day. The worst is not over yet. Sunshine can still recover more and attain better health.

Source: http://myanimalcare.org/2012/01/11/sunshiny-news-on-sunshine/

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