Support Bindi's Journey to Regain Mobility

On Sunday, April 27th, our usual morning routine of being woken with kisses from our beagle Bindi turned into a nightmare when she lost her footing on our bed and fell off backwards and landed on her back, letting out a small yelp. Immediately we expected the worse. Putting the light on, we saw Bindi was on her side and not moving. We immediately left for a 24-hour emergency veterinary hospital 40 miles away. They took an X-ray of Bindi's neck, but it was inconclusive. They recommended we transfer her to the University of Wisconsin Veterinary Hospital several miles away. Bindi is only three years old, and despite the enormous cost we were informed we were facing in moving forward, we believed she deserved a chance at life and decided to go ahead with transferring her to the UW Vet Hospital. Following an MRI at the hospital, it was determined that Bindi had herniated a cervical disc when she fell, expelling the liquid center of the disc with such force that it impacted her spinal column. The attending veterinarian said that it is believed Bindi's body will absorb the fluid from the disc, and once the pressure is removed from her spinal column we will see to what degree of movement she will regain. She spent four nights in the hospital before we were able to bring her home.

Bindi's recovery is expected to be long, require daily intensive physical therapy with us and additional appointments at UW Vet Hospital, and the extent of her recovery is uncertain. She has regained a noticeable degree of control in one hind leg, and has moved her other hind leg and one front leg a tiny bit on her own. She has yet to move her other front leg, but we are optimistic. According to vet hospital, there is no indication of permanent damage to her spinal cord, but only time will tell.

Bindi's heartbreaking accident is only one of several setbacks, both heath-related and financial, that have befallen us in the last 16 months. But this is not about us. In moving forward with her hospitalization and treatment, we have just wanted to give Bindi the best chance at being a happy little beagle again for many years to come. We welcome support from those that agree Bindi has deserved, and continues to deserve, this chance.