it can happen in the blink of an eye....

[jessi76]

it happened today. the day I prayed would never come. Tucker got hit by a car.

he unhooked, YES, UNHOOKED, his lead, and bolted, right into the road. he was outside for less than 2 minutes.

he was rushed to the vet, and after many xrays, it was determined he had NO broken bones (phew!), no internal injuries (double phew!), but he seemed to have paralysis on his right side. his right front leg, and right hind leg... were stiff, and when the vet moved them, Tucker did not move them back.

after careful consideration, we (us and our vet) decided it best to continue cortisol (sp?) for swelling and inflamation, and hold him overnight for signs of improvement (or decline). My vet thought the shock and swelling may be the cause of the problem... after a few hours of treatment, the vet called to say Tucker has regained some mobility. He can stand, and walk... a bit crooked, but he does appear to be getting better. however, one eye is a bit off now.. and my vet is concerned about a possible head injury.

so Tucker will remain at the vet's overnight, and be re-evaluated in the morning.

moral of the story - B's can unhook leads, and bolt into the road in the blink of an eye.

looks like he'll be double hooked, and possibly hog-tied in the future (kidding on that last one!).

[abby_basenji]

that is so sad, i hope everything works out ok.

[Quercus]

Oh NO! Jessi! Thank goodness it wasn't worse....my thoughts and prayers are with you and Tucker...

[lvoss]

I am so sorry to hear about Tucker. I hope he makes a quick and full recovery. I am attaching pictures of the leash snaps we use. My husband started replacing all of our leash snaps with these after we had 3 of the standard ones fail in the span of 3 weeks when we got Rally 6 years ago. The are not easily unsnapped and have been very secure.

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[ChaseandZahrasmom]

Oh my, I am so sorry, you must be sick about this. I hope that he will get well soon!

[jessi76]

thanks for the well wishes!

and lvoss, THANK YOU for posting those pics! extremely helpful!

[Ambered]

jessi, i pray tucker has a 100% recovery. keep us posted. hugs

[barkless513]

Best wishes to Tucker, and to you! We will say a prayer for you. I will be waiting to know how it goes.

[seko]

All my thoughts to you and Tucker!

[Vanessa]

Oah Jessi,
My thoughts and prayers are with you...I hope that Tucker has a healthy and speedy recovery.
Please keep us posted on his progress.

[nala121498]

Oh my goodness! I will keep good thoughts for a full recovery. Please keep us posted on how he is today...
I know Nala was able to get off of her lead until we put her in a harness, but the lead that Ivoss showed is perfect.
((Hugs)) for you and Tucker.

[Basenji_Boy]

Oh I so hope Tucker is going to be ok......it's one of those things we all know can happen, but sometimes things are out of our control. thankfully It wasn't worse.

Please keep us posted on his condition.

[jenwilson]

I am so sorry to hear about Tucker. Please update us as soon as possible. We will pray for him.

[JazzysMom]

Your story gave me chills. It's my greatest fear with Jazzy. They are just so darned fast.
hoping to hear soon that Tucker is back to himself again.

[jys1011]

OMG Jessi!! I'm so sorry about Tucker! I pray for his recovery very soon. I feel so awful about what's happened & how frightening that he was able to unsnap himself from his lead.

Could you please share what type of lead he had...I'm terrified now.

Thanks!

[Lenora]

Jessi, my heart is up in my throat. How awful! I will be praying that Tucker will make a complete recovery and the paralysis will go away. Keep us updated. Lenora

[alkite]

Hugs and get well thoughts for Tucker. I'm so glad to hear it wasn't as severe as it could have been. Hang in there!

[barkless513]

I have been thinking of Tucker all day! Do you all worry as much as I do? Seeing his picture on the post makes me feel connected to this little guy. I have to know how he is doing. Good luck Tucker.

[seko]

Do you all worry as much as I do? Seeing his picture on the post makes me feel connected to this little guy.
Excactly how I felt when I read the message of Tuckers accident

[Shyla]

I'll be praying for Tucker.

[jessi76]

thank you all for the well wishes and support, it really helps!

we saw our boy today - the good news is he can stand, albeit not very well. we think his brain got jostled around in his skull upon impact, causing swelling, bruising, and damage. his left eye is bigger than his right eye. so if the left side is damaged, that would explain the problems with his right legs. they sort of fold over at the wrist (front), and his toes flip, so it's pad up pointed toward the back on his rear hind leg. he can walk, but 1/2 the time he catches the paw correctly, other half he doesn't. he wobbles, and even falls down. but he can move them, so they are not paralysed.

he's still at the vets, on agressive cortisol treatments. they are keeping him another night, and day, and he may be able to continue treatment at home tomorrow night, but we're playing it by ear right now. if he has any set backs, he may stay there for a bit. but as of now, it's slowly getting more positive. we really need all the swelling to be gone, and some healing to take place before we can make any assumptions.

he does know us, he scrambled to get to me, gave kisses, wiggled his bum (then fell down). he ate a whole bowl of food, drank water, and went outside to relieve himself. he's alert.. however, his beautiful prick ears are not a pair anymore. the right one is flopped. he has major bruising and a cut there too.

it's slow going at this point. thanks again for the thoughts and prayers!

ETA: it was a regular clip, like you see on the thousands of leashes in the stores. slide the metal part down, it opens up. it was a medium grade, for a 60lb dog.

[red and white furever]

Oh jessi and Tucker! I'm glad to hear things are looking a little more positive today. How scary that must have been for you! Sending loads of healing vibes and hugs your pack's way!

[Duke]

Jessi - Healing prayers and vibes for Tucker's full recovery. Keep us posted on his progress. It is a hard and sad lesson about leashes. I am sorry for what you are going through.

[tlbuddy]

Oh No! I can imagine what you are going through. Please keep us posted on Tuckers recovery. I have the same type of lead on Cali and she has gotten loose and darted off a couple of times. This is so scary and I am definitely going to change her lead. It is good to hear that his condition has improved.

[jessi76]

he's home now, came home yesterday.

quick update: he's on 5mg prednisone to ween off over the next 2 wks. his front leg has improved slightly, his rear leg is still knuckling.. he can't lift the leg from the hip/thigh to get the paw to hit the ground right. so his toes fold over, and drag a bit. he does have feeling though - he DOES respond when we touch it. he can move the leg, but walking is proving difficult now. we hope in time he regains use. the fact that he can feel and move it is promising.

he's eating/drinking/eliminating. we got a lift & aid sling to help him move around. his right ear is slowing going back - upright. still swelling in the head/brain, but getting better slowly.

he's happy to be home, he's on his bed, by a warm wood stove, soaking up the love. he's being spoiled (as usual).

[abby_basenji]

I think from what your telling that he will be just fine once the swelling goes down, it will just take time.

[Lenora]

Jessi, I'm so happy Tucker's better. He's still in my prayers. Keep on spoiling your boy. Lenora

[yonae12]

I'm glad he is ok!

My dog did the bolt quite a few times in her younger years but she always had the devil's luck to not get hit.

I hope he gets better really quickly!

[seko]

Good news! :)
I image being hit by a car get you all stiff and limping for quite a while.
Give Tucker a big hug!

[ChaseandZahrasmom]

Jessi,

Any update on Tucker? Hope he is getting better.

[Bandit]

Jessi.... glad to hear Tucker is home where he should be...... love and hugs to him from Bandit

[nala121498]

Please let us know how he is doing...I'm sending as many healing ((hugs)) to him as possible!

[jys1011]

Jessi sending lots of good wishes & prayers for you & tucker. I do hope he recovers soon. Hang in there.

[jessi76]

sorry I've been away for a bit - had some family issues going on, and been tending to our Tucker...

he's doing GREAT! in fact, I think he's made REMARKABLE progress in just a little over a week. he can walk and run pretty good outside (better traction). he can jump up on the couch, on the bed, etc... he can jump on me when I come home, he's showing interest in playing again, he can stretch...

the only real issue seems to be some lingering neck pain, some scrapes in between his toes on his right hind paw, and a little wobbly still on slippery surfaces (i.e. wood floors).

he's not too traumatized - he did let me clip his nails the other night.

In true basenji style, he's milking this for all it's worth. trying to get away w/ not following through on commands, giving the sad puppy look to get us to wait on him hand and foot....and of course, we are...

[red and white furever]

So glad to hear Tucker is doing well! LOL @ him milking his situation - they are true con-artists for sure! :) Give him lots of hugs and scritchies from my pack.

[nala121498]

In true basenji style, he's milking this for all it's worth. trying to get away w/ not following through on commands, giving the sad puppy look to get us to wait on him hand and foot....and of course, we are...

Aww...ain't he cute??! So glad to hear he's doing better. Still sending lots of healing ((hugs)) to you both!

[lvoss]

I am so glad to hear that Tucker is recovering. If their is a doggie chiropractor in your area you may want to consider having Tucker seen if he continues to seem like his neck is bothering him.

I took my 9 year old Nicky to a chiropractor for the first time this fall because he was dropping his tail and not as eager to jump on the bed. She made two adjustments and gave him a full body massage. He has been feeling much better and acts like a puppy again playing and roughhousing with Rio. He also really like the full body massage part of it.

[nala121498]

I was going to suggest that too Ivoss, but being from VT I thought you all might think I was a little "out there". I know a friend of mine uses magnets on her dog's collar (something like Nikken or close to that name) and swears that they helped her dog's neck and even cleared up ear issues that the pup was having as well...

[MaxBooBooBear]

I am so glad to hear that Tucker is recovering. If their is a doggie chiropractor in your area you may want to consider having Tucker seen if he continues to seem like his neck is bothering him.

I took my 9 year old Nicky to a chiropractor for the first time this fall because he was dropping his tail and not as eager to jump on the bed. She made two adjustments and gave him a full body massage. He has been feeling much better and acts like a puppy again playing and roughhousing with Rio. He also really like the full body massage part of it.

I never took Max to see a chiropractor; however, I did take him to see a veterinary physical therapist when he was about 15 because he wasn't walking well. The physical therapy really helped him, and they did things like massage and whirl pool baths. Of course, Max hated the whirl pool, but he didn't mind the massage.

[mahendra_suri]

When I first moved into my present house, I did not have all the escape routes figured out. The enivatable happened. My oldest got nailed by a car. Unlike yours, mine had his pelvis broken in 4 places and got 2 plates. The vet recommended swimming for pysical theropy (PT). This did not work. Running did.

A couple years back a ladder kicked out from under me. I shattered my wrist in 8 places and now have 3 plates. PT was hell. PT was painfull. I now have 98% use of my wrist.

Write vet schools about PT for Tucker. As the vet community is small, you will find a vet school or vet who specializes in PT or nueropysics, how the brain communicates with the rest of the body.

Any PT is hell and painfull. Tucker may not enjoy PT and you might be revolted at the pain he goes through. Just hold his paw. Your bond will be so much stronger!

[MaxBooBooBear]

Any PT is hell and painfull. Tucker may not enjoy PT and you might be revolted at the pain he goes through. Just hold his paw. Your bond will be so much stronger!

I think any pain involved with physical therapy depends on the type of injury and the PT program prescribed/needed. Max's PT was never painful. It could be tiring for him. But the clinic he went to was run by a dr who did a very thorough evaluation of him, and the physical therapist was fantastic. It did help him tremendously. But he didn't have a terrible injury or anything. His nerves were just not working as well due to old age and minor back trouble.

[YodelDogs]

I'm so sorry to read about Tucker's injury. It is good news that he is on the road to recovery though.

[jessi76]

sorry for the lack of updates... Tucker is 95% back to normal! He's running, jumping, playing, trying to climb trees after the squirrels, etc...

his brain is fine too - he even remembers all his commands (even a few I normally don't use!).

We've done our own PT at home, walking in the yard, on hills, slowly building up to longer walks on the road, walking on uneven surfaces (couch cushions!), and Tucker has done it all, with no problems. If anything, we had to keep him from doing too much.

he has moments here and there where he's not all that "gracefull", and I don't think he'll be on an agility course anytime in the near future, but I consider his recovery a miracle - he can run, jump, play, walk and enjoy life. He very well may need some special attention when older (massage, therapy, etc) but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Tucker and I would like to thank you all, for the kind words, support, advice, and suggestions offered.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/jesss456/DSCN0140.jpg

[WBL]

So glad he is homing and doing better, he looks happy in that pic

[MaxBooBooBear]

I'm so glad to hear Tucker is doing so well. And he is lucky to have such a devoted mom.

[jys1011]

Oh Jessi so good to hear Tucker is doing well. Lots of happy happy thoughts for all of you.

BTW-I was in your nabe last weekend. We left the pooches at Gemini & they did great while we were away. So relieved :D :D thanks again for your help!

[nala121498]

Love the pictures...he is a cutie. Glad to know he's doing well, he's got a great mommy!