Help Thor Walk Again: Support His Recovery

Thor

I got Thor 8 years ago at 20 years old. I was in a very chaotic time period in my life that changed me forever and Thor from the beginning was my very best friend. When I was close to no one, I had Thor. Due to a series of events I ended up being homeless in LA for a year. Thor protected me when I was at my lowest. I would sleep outside with him and he kept people away from bothering me. He would wake me up if someone was close by.

Thor was still there through my own recovery. Still my very best friend and ultimate source of comfort. In April 2020 my dad passed away from a sudden heart attack and Thor was there for me through that. Then a year later my mom developed cancer and by October 2022 she was gone. Thor has outlived both my parents and several friends. I cannot imagine a life without him and I would go to the end of this earth for him. My son. He has been with me my entire 20s and through every major event in my adult life. And I could go into more specific stories. Thor has truly been an Angel in my life and has touched many other lives along the way.

On February 9th something tragic happened. Thor was dragging his back legs like he was unable to move them. We rushed him to the Santa Cruz Pacific Vet since there are no local 24 hr emerge vets in San Benito County, which is absolute bullshit. When we arrived we were taken back and told that he most likely had Intervertebral Disc Disease. At the time he still had some feeling left and I felt blessed to hear that if operated on within 24 hrs of the initial incident he had an 85% chance of recovering and regaining use of his legs. They said he would need a CT scan or MRI before they can operate. Informed me that either could be done but they only have a CT scanner on site. I said okay the. We will do that. The plan was they would hospitalize him, perform the CT first thing in the morning then call me after 10 to confirm if he would be going into surgery. I paid for it all up front.

I anxiously waited then shortly after 10 when I received the phone call a woman informed me that he would need to be transferred to Cambell for an MRI. I asked the woman to tell me why the night before I was told I could do either the CT OR the MRI. Has something changed? She informs me no nothing has changed but an MRI is better and Cambell has a Neuropathy specialist. I DO NOT understand WHY I wasn’t told to take him to Cambell the night before which is what I would’ve done if I was advised to!!

Without much time to process I end up saying okay. Then drive from Hollister back to Santa Cruz, wait 30 minutes for them to give him to me, drive 40 minutes to Cambell, wait an hour and a half to be seen!!! Then the specialist confirms yes she believes it is IVDD. But at this point in time now he has lost all feeling and the odds go down to 50% likeliness of recovering and regaining use of his legs. And it is $15,000. After having time to process I realize that there was no reason they could not of performed the CT. It would’ve shown IVDD. MRIs just show a higher quality image. They should have performed the CT like I was advised to do OR I should’ve been advised the night before when we arrived that I needed to take him to Cambell for an MRI.

After so much crying I ended up taking him home thinking I had no choice but to do the unthinkable.

But speaking to a family member who has a dog of similar size that also lost permanent use of his back legs from the same condition and some additional research, I have discovered that people do manage to care for dogs in this situation and they still can live happy lives.

Thor is still equally enthusiastic about meals and treats, drinking lots of water, and surprisingly has already seemed to be doing a little better each day. He sits himself up on his own, will scootch himself to the new position he wants to be in, then stands on his front legs for a while or lays down. He still perks up and responds when speaking to him and has even reached for his toy twice now.

The possibilities of outcome are this.

* There’s a possibility he may regain feeling back although not necessarily a high likeliness. After some research I have found there definitely are some dogs that have this outcome. Some treatments that can help bring feeling back are the following. - Cold Laser Therapy, Red Light Therapy, Anti Inflammatory medication, Acupuncture, Targeted Pulsed Electromagnetic Field (tPEMF) therapy for inflammation/pain/anxiety, a variety of supplements, hit and cold treatments, along with lots of massaging and stimulation. I am still researching additional treatments.

* Feeling in his legs does not return. Dogs in this condition lose weight in their legs and they use their front legs to pull themselves around. I would express his bladder and bowels 2-3 times a day. They can use a wheelchair to get additional activity. Which I intend to use if necessary

So far I have already spent $1,000 - $2,000 from vet visits, physical therapy tools, pee pads, other various store bought pet care items, a sling, and the income loss from the time off taken from work that I will need to continue to do for the next few weeks. While attempting rehabilitation.

Thor has shown me he is willing to fight and I feel hope in my heart so I’m asking for financial help to please assist during this very stressful time period. Every day he is a little stronger and I won’t give up on him. Please help us.