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Walk Wolfie Walk!
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This is Wolfgang (Wolfie), a 5-month-old German Shepherd.
Wolfie reportedly got loose from his owner's yard and was tragically struck by a car, probably on Feb. 7. His predicament went unknown to his owner until a few days later when a neighbor reached out. He was walking with a limp until Feb. 9 when he could no longer walk at all. The owner took him to the vet on Feb. 10. He was diagnosed with hip dysplasia and sent home with Rimadyl and Gabapentin.
Owner's main concern was that he would not be euthanized, so on the 15th he was surrendered to the only no-kill shelter in the area, and taken into the director’s own home that same evening. He was in a lot of pain and screaming whenever he had to move, eight days after the accident.
The following morning he was taken to another vet where he was diagnosed with two fractured vertebrae in addition to an unspecified hip issue. The recommendation was the same however: surgery when he's older, and the same meds he had already been prescribed.
Wolfgang was placed with an experienced foster family that night, so he could be cared for and watched over around the clock. He was given constant care and affection, and it quickly became apparent that he needed more urgent intervention than just an eventual hip replacement. We immediately started making inquiries outside of the area. More thorough imaging was necessary.
We elected to take him on a 4-hour drive and brought him to a 24/7 facility in Denver so that he could be properly monitored, medicated, and assessed over the weekend while waiting for an orthopedic/neurology consultation. In addition to the extreme pain, he was dehydrated and had had severe diarrhea for over 36 hours.
Wolfie was admitted on Saturday, February 19th and was closely monitored. The diarrhea was suspected to have been caused by the severe pain and stress in combination with the meds he was on, so those were discontinued for the time being. Since the extent of the spinal damage was unknown, and the pain excruciating, he was heavily medicated immediately.
Sunday morning, he was refusing to eat, still dehydrated and on a catheter.
Over the weekend he was given an appetite stimulant and an antidiarrheal. He also got Trazodone for anxiety, and Methadone, Ketamine, and Lidocaine for pain. New X Rays revealed a fractured L6 that is not healing correctly. There is also a narrowing between L2 - L5 and subluxation of the sacroiliac joint on the left. We do not know if there is compression of the spinal cord.
UPDATE: Monday
Still in a lot of pain and cannot stand. He is getting an MRI and being evaluated for blood clots and disc herniations.
UPDATE: Tuesday
Wolfie is doing better. The catheter has been removed, he is now urinating on his own, and bowel movements are normal. He is being encouraged to stand but “flails” at the sight of the leash and it simply cannot be used. He’s been hanging out with the nurses instead of in a kennel and when they turn their backs he keeps trying to stand up. When they look at him he freezes.
UPDATE: Wednesday
Still on the same meds and has been able to walk around a bit, but still screams when he moves the wrong way. He is eating well and is in good spirits.
Prognosis And Treatment Plan
The L6 fracture is not healing perfectly, but has not moved much and is considered “older”. Scar tissue is forming, so medical treatment is preferable to surgery. The spinal cord is mildly compressed, but he has neuro function in legs and tail, so long term rest and medication (followed by therapy) are what is warranted.
He is still on the same three painkillers, plus antidiarrheal and anti-anxiety, but has been switched from IV to oral meds. In addition, he is back on Rimadyl because he really needs the anti-inflammatory effect. He is being monitored to make sure he can tolerate it before he goes home.
Wolfie’s prognosis is good, and he will be released this week with the meds he’s currently on and he will need to stay on them for an extended period. His doctor states that "he will require extensive nursing care at home".
4-6 weeks of strict crate rest will be followed by 3-4 months of therapy. Around the end of June, he should have healed enough to be re-evaluated to check his progress and to determine if his hip will need surgery.
To get further evaluations started immediately, the shelter has had to pay $6,000 up front to cover the weekend stay and the MRI. As of Tuesday, the bill was at $7,300.
Wolfie's condition is treatable, but he needs your help! We are hoping to raise $10,000 for Wolfie to get him onto the path of recovery. All funds will go towards Wolfie’s care, and any extra will go towards future specialist and surgical bills.
We will be posting daily updates from the clinic and then after he gets back home. The road is a long one, but he will not go it alone. He deserves to live his best life. Don't you agree?
No Kill Colorado is an ALL-volunteer non-profit with no paid employees. Funds will go into a ledger for Wolfie's care only and are not used in the general fund. Donations are typically 100% tax deductible. Our EIN is 46-2180014
As proponents of No Kill, we feel it is important to highlight an example of a treatable pet. Wolfie most definitely can be rehabilitated but may not ever have gotten that chance in a regressive shelter system. What he needed was a No Kill advocate. He got it.
Please help Wolfie walk again! #WALKWOLFIEWALK
This is Wolfgang (Wolfie), a 5-month-old German Shepherd.
Wolfie reportedly got loose from his owner's yard and was tragically struck by a car, probably on Feb. 7. His predicament went unknown to his owner until a few days later when a neighbor reached out. He was walking with a limp until Feb. 9 when he could no longer walk at all. The owner took him to the vet on Feb. 10. He was diagnosed with hip dysplasia and sent home with Rimadyl and Gabapentin.
Owner's main concern was that he would not be euthanized, so on the 15th he was surrendered to the only no-kill shelter in the area, and taken into the director’s own home that same evening. He was in a lot of pain and screaming whenever he had to move, eight days after the accident.
The following morning he was taken to another vet where he was diagnosed with two fractured vertebrae in addition to an unspecified hip issue. The recommendation was the same however: surgery when he's older, and the same meds he had already been prescribed.
Wolfgang was placed with an experienced foster family that night, so he could be cared for and watched over around the clock. He was given constant care and affection, and it quickly became apparent that he needed more urgent intervention than just an eventual hip replacement. We immediately started making inquiries outside of the area. More thorough imaging was necessary.
We elected to take him on a 4-hour drive and brought him to a 24/7 facility in Denver so that he could be properly monitored, medicated, and assessed over the weekend while waiting for an orthopedic/neurology consultation. In addition to the extreme pain, he was dehydrated and had had severe diarrhea for over 36 hours.
Wolfie was admitted on Saturday, February 19th and was closely monitored. The diarrhea was suspected to have been caused by the severe pain and stress in combination with the meds he was on, so those were discontinued for the time being. Since the extent of the spinal damage was unknown, and the pain excruciating, he was heavily medicated immediately.
Sunday morning, he was refusing to eat, still dehydrated and on a catheter.
Over the weekend he was given an appetite stimulant and an antidiarrheal. He also got Trazodone for anxiety, and Methadone, Ketamine, and Lidocaine for pain. New X Rays revealed a fractured L6 that is not healing correctly. There is also a narrowing between L2 - L5 and subluxation of the sacroiliac joint on the left. We do not know if there is compression of the spinal cord.
UPDATE: Monday
Still in a lot of pain and cannot stand. He is getting an MRI and being evaluated for blood clots and disc herniations.
UPDATE: Tuesday
Wolfie is doing better. The catheter has been removed, he is now urinating on his own, and bowel movements are normal. He is being encouraged to stand but “flails” at the sight of the leash and it simply cannot be used. He’s been hanging out with the nurses instead of in a kennel and when they turn their backs he keeps trying to stand up. When they look at him he freezes.
UPDATE: Wednesday
Still on the same meds and has been able to walk around a bit, but still screams when he moves the wrong way. He is eating well and is in good spirits.
Prognosis And Treatment Plan
The L6 fracture is not healing perfectly, but has not moved much and is considered “older”. Scar tissue is forming, so medical treatment is preferable to surgery. The spinal cord is mildly compressed, but he has neuro function in legs and tail, so long term rest and medication (followed by therapy) are what is warranted.
He is still on the same three painkillers, plus antidiarrheal and anti-anxiety, but has been switched from IV to oral meds. In addition, he is back on Rimadyl because he really needs the anti-inflammatory effect. He is being monitored to make sure he can tolerate it before he goes home.
Wolfie’s prognosis is good, and he will be released this week with the meds he’s currently on and he will need to stay on them for an extended period. His doctor states that "he will require extensive nursing care at home".
4-6 weeks of strict crate rest will be followed by 3-4 months of therapy. Around the end of June, he should have healed enough to be re-evaluated to check his progress and to determine if his hip will need surgery.
To get further evaluations started immediately, the shelter has had to pay $6,000 up front to cover the weekend stay and the MRI. As of Tuesday, the bill was at $7,300.
Wolfie's condition is treatable, but he needs your help! We are hoping to raise $10,000 for Wolfie to get him onto the path of recovery. All funds will go towards Wolfie’s care, and any extra will go towards future specialist and surgical bills.
We will be posting daily updates from the clinic and then after he gets back home. The road is a long one, but he will not go it alone. He deserves to live his best life. Don't you agree?
No Kill Colorado is an ALL-volunteer non-profit with no paid employees. Funds will go into a ledger for Wolfie's care only and are not used in the general fund. Donations are typically 100% tax deductible. Our EIN is 46-2180014
As proponents of No Kill, we feel it is important to highlight an example of a treatable pet. Wolfie most definitely can be rehabilitated but may not ever have gotten that chance in a regressive shelter system. What he needed was a No Kill advocate. He got it.
Please help Wolfie walk again! #WALKWOLFIEWALK
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