A New Brunswick woman’s four-legged friend has a new lease on life thanks to some delicate surgery and a specially designed canine wheelchair.
Remi’s owner Kelly Boldon quickly noticed the German shepherd pup wasn’t like his littermates. He had trouble getting around, and was prone to falling over when he tried.
A CT scan and X-ray revealed a defect in his spin that caused him to drag his hind legs.
Remy would need complex surgery in order to walk like other dogs, but Boldon wasn’t willing to wait for him to go under the knife. She set to work with a therapy regiment to build his strength.
“We did a lot of massage therapy, swimming therapy. We had him in a brace that I could (use) to help hold up his hind end so he can still walk,” she told CTV News Atlantic.
Orthopedic Veterinary Surgeon Dr. Caroline Runyon then performed the painstaking operation that involved removing the sides of Remi’s vertebrae to alleviate pressure and give his spinal cord more room.
“I had to be very careful because the vertebrae had healed back in an abnormal way and I wasn't really sure which direction the spinal cord was going,” said Dr. Runyon. “We had to go millimetre by millimetre to make sure we didn't do any damage.”
Now seven months old, Remi is wheeling along the road to recovery with the help of a specially designed wheelchair and is expected to regain full use of his rear legs.
“He's made tremendous advances in just one month, so I'm hoping that he keeps going,” said Dr. Runyon.
Boldon said she didn’t think twice about helping Remi get his proper footing despite the steep therapy and surgery bills.
“I love him and there's just nothing I wouldn't do for him,” she said. “There are a lot of dog people that feel the same way about their animals. They become a part of the family and if it's within your power to do it, you'll do it.”
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Jonathan MacInnis.
