Sadie is suddenly paralyzed

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OntarioSheltie

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Tonight she was running at the park with Ginny and two of her other doggie friends, when suddenly she started rolling and yelping loudly. Her back end seemed limp and the more she tried to get up the more she cried.

I ran over as fast as I could and made her lie down and calm down, and when I finally got her up her back end wouldn't support her weight at all, her toes stayed pointed and rolled under her instead of her feet going down and allowing her to stand. She was also holding her front legs very stiffly, I thought from pain.

We rushed her over to the emergency clinic as fast as she could.

It took approx. a half an hour between it happening and getting to the emergency vets and by the time she got there she seemed to regain some of her balance but was still unable to stand.

The vet said she believes its one of two things:

A blood clot that's formed on her spine and is putting pressure on her spinal cord, causing paralysis. She said that if it is a blood clot that she believes its in Sadie's neck, since she's holding her neck and front legs so stiffly and her back end isn't working. The vet said that if it is a blood clot that it will eventually get better on its own, but there's a chance that she'll never be the same. She may walk wobbly for the rest of her life, but won't be in pain.

This just breaks my heart! Sadie isn't even 3 and is so athletic. I won't love her any less if she's disabled but can imagine it will really frustrate her to not be able to run, jump and fetch a ball the way she used to.

The other thing that could have happened is that one of the vertebrae in her back has calcified and slipped, putting pressure on her spinal cord. If this is the case she will need a VERY expensive surgery that we may not be able to afford.

The vet said that she believes its more than likely the blood clot, but the only way to tell is through an MRI or CT scan, which costs in the neighborhood of $1200, which we just do not have.

The vet said that this has likely been a pre-existing condition that she's developed and it just happened to show itself tonight. She said that Sadie might have been feeling a few symptoms like tingling.

Sadie is home now and heavily sedated with pain medication until tomorrow, when I'll take her to see our regular vet.

Please pray with me that she gets well, that its nothing serious and that this is something we can manage. We're completely devastated...

What else can possibly go wrong!
 
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Oh Melissa! Sadie and you are definitely in my prayers. I hope that the vet's blood clot theory proves to be correct. Hugs to you both.
 
This is so incredibly upsetting! Poor Sadie. I can't imagine how stress you and Sadie are right now. I pray for good news and that Sadie will recover and that she will be running around in no time. I'm so sad to hear this. I will pray for Sadie.
 
This happened to Chandler a little over a month and 1/2 ago. My vet referred to it as a spinal stroke. A small piece of the vertebrae gets into the blood stream and causes a blockage or clot. where the dog is paralyzed depends on where this occurs along the spine. I had taken him for a walk heard his nails scraping and kept checking and saw nothing wrong. We came in he laid down and when he tried to get back up to get some water his legs just bucked underneath him and went limp. I took him immediately to the vet they prescribed prednisone and the next day I went to the neurologist who confirmed my Dr's diagnosis. he has regained the use of his legs now but they are still very weak. He is a little wobbly and his toes still knuckle under at times. He gets tired very easily and when drinking water he lays down. He also has lost his appetite which we have been trying to find a solution to. I hope this helps. I may not have all the facts of a spinal stroke exactly correct but I have explained it to the best of my knowledge. If you google spinal stroke in dogs you'll find alot of info. That's what I did to better understand what was happening to him. I am sorry you are going through this now I know how scary it is. I'll keep you in my thoughts and pray for a speedy recovery. If you need my support I am here for you.
 
dawns2shelties said:
This happened to Chandler a little over a month and 1/2 ago. My vet referred to it as a spinal stroke. A small piece of the vertebrae gets into the blood stream and causes a blockage or clot. where the dog is paralyzed depends on where this occurs along the spine. I had taken him for a walk heard his nails scraping and kept checking and saw nothing wrong. We came in he laid down and when he tried to get back up to get some water his legs just bucked underneath him and went limp. I took him immediately to the vet they prescribed prednisone and the next day I went to the neurologist who confirmed my Dr's diagnosis. he has regained the use of his legs now but they are still very weak. He is a little wobbly and his toes still knuckle under at times. He gets tired very easily and when drinking water he lays down. He also has lost his appetite which we have been trying to find a solution to. I hope this helps. I may not have all the facts of a spinal stroke exactly correct but I have explained it to the best of my knowledge. If you google spinal stroke in dogs you'll find alot of info. That's what I did to better understand what was happening to him. I am sorry you are going through this now I know how scary it is. I'll keep you in my thoughts and pray for a speedy recovery. If you need my support I am here for you.
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Thanks for the info, yes, the vet did call it a spinal stroke. Its good to know I'm not the only one going through this.
 
Lets also prayer that Sadie's young age will be an advantage for her recovery.Chandler is now 9 yrs. 3 months and he is coming through this ok for a cute little senior gentleman.
 
Oh Melissa, this is terrible. I'm so sorry to hear about Sadie. She was the one attacked by the dumb Doodle a couple days ago. I can't remember if it was her or Ginny. I wonder if something was injuried then. A disk or something.

The spinal stroke are this

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/fibrocartilaginous-embolic-myelopathy-fce/page1.aspx

We do see them in Shelties.

Sending big prayers that medication will help her and she will make a full recovery.
 
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