My four-year-old boy Chihuahua named Buddy is in very rough shape. He is such a loveable highly active very fit healthy dog. He suffered a type one IVDD incident. This was six days ago. He went from stage one to stage four in 48 hours. He was not diagnosed until after an x-ray when he was already in stage four. Four days after that he has been diagnosed to be in stage five. He showed signs of improving his stability when holding himself up with his front two legs two days ago and did not eat until just 12 hours ago. He’s eating and drinking and his general comfort seems to be much better but he has zero high pain feeling and has no bladder or control of his annular muscles. My regular vet who is not a surgeon has recommend putting him down. I named him Buddy because he literally is my buddy. He was adopted two years ago and rescued from Mexico with scars all over his body that already healed when I got him. He is a survivor and so am I as I have suffered emotional and physical scars as well. I can’t bear the thought of losing him and not seeing him run and be happy again. I don’t want to give up on him yet. I also don’t want him to suffer. He is totally responsive from his front legs forward. He is kissing, eating and drinking now. I am hoping I hear from Krista. I have seen Krista’s videos on IVDD recovery stories. I don’t know what to do for him. I am doing every thing I can but not surgery which I can’t afford. Is there any hope?

Our adult cat (probably about 10-12 years old) has a fracture on her front left paw/leg. It’s the holiday weekend, so we splinted it but we don’t want her to suffer until Tuesday. There’s an emergency vet but it’s over 2 hours away (we live in a rural area) and of course the expense will be outrageous so while we are willing to do whatever needed we’re wondering if there are any OTC pain meds we can give her until Tuesday when we can take her to our regular vet, or is she at risk of complications if we wait? Any info is appreciated. The break seems to be right above the paw joint.

My dog got spayed on August 1st, she is a 13 year old poodle mix. She also had a mastectomy along with her spay so she has a very big incision. She is on her 4th week and the lower half of her incision does not look like the top half. The surgeon said it may take a while to heal because of the placement but I noticed a bump at the base of her incision at day 4 that has not gone away. She keeps licking at it and the surgeon suggested we must let her heal and later investigate. Also, at day 10 I noticed a white tiny pimple sized thing trying to come through under her skin. I really checked it out today since it has not gone away and it feels like something sharp poking under her skin, she has two of these that feel the same. I am scared she might have torn her internal stitches but the surgeon did not seem too worried. I notice when she eats she seems to look like she feels uncomfortable. She threw up yesterday but I took it as maybe her pancreatitis acting up. I am freaking out and don’t know if I am making a big fuss over nothing. She did not run during her recovery but she would stand up on her hind legs no matter how much I attempted to keep her calm. She did slip 3 times and land on her tummy, twice at day 8 because I had her on a short leash and she would try to run, the third slip was at day 13 and for the same reason of the short leash and attempting to run. I feel so sad and don’t have peace of mind. I feel guilty she slipped on me those three times but then again don’t know what to make of that lump at day 4. After the two slips at day 8 and after on day 10 she started having severe diarrhea. I contacted the surgeons team and they suggested boiled chicken and boiled rice, but at day 12 the diarrhea was a soft serve ice cream consistency and then she thew up so I took her into emergency immediately. At emergency they checked her vitals and incision and could not figure out what may have caused the stomach upset since from her pancreatitis history did not have the swollen tummy and her incision looked fine. They attributed the upset to possible pain med side effect and prescribed a probiotic and to stop the gabapentin. It’s has been a tough healing process for her. I will attach pictures of of what the incision looked like at day 7, 10, and now. I hope it’s not what I am fearing but it’s better to know if I should advocate for her and have them check again. Thanks guys, sorry for the long story but this is my little girl who is my first owned dog and who has been by my side for 13 years. I love her so much and it pains me to see her uncomfortable. Fyi her appetite is always good no matter what and her bowels are back to normal since the 18th of august and they were fine before the 10th of august as well.

6 week old kitten fell off the bed and hurt its back left leg. He can’t walk on it. He cries when it gets bumped. He can pull the leg against his body and lays on it, but when he stretched his leg out the top of his foot was facing out instead of forward. I’m worried he may have broken or dislocated something. How can I tell and what do I do? And what can we give him for pain?

My rescue dog is a Miniature Chihuahua and today she broke her front left leg and I have no funds to help her until I get my Disability check next month.I was already taking her to the vet as soon as my check came.I don’t know what to do, she is everything to me and in awful pain and I have Never felt so helpless in my life.We have a very strong bond and I love her so much please help her I don’t know what to do I just want to die for real please help Thank you Gina

How can you make a cats oversized bladder shrink?
I know it’s possible,
Do they need to be hospitalized?
I seen a video of a guy with a cat that has lower motor neuron bladder atony. He said his cat had a cath for 3 wks and it shrunk the bladder.
Also diapers… is it a guarantee that a cat will get a bladder infection from wearing a diaper or is it just a possibility? I see hertz has special diapers for cats n dogs, it doesn’t say if they will help block infections. We have an appointment the 23rd with the neurologist for a 2nd opinion. I was told mri is $4,500 to $8,400. We don’t know how to look at this situation or what to do. Our hearts are breaking at the thought of possibly saying goodbye to our 3yr old cuddle bug. He peed on me twice this morning while he was sleeping. I worry I am squeezing too hard, or that he is in pain.

Help Dr. Magnifico of Jarrettsville Vet Our beautiful 13 year old Husky/beagle mix Sadie was struggling with getting up and climbing stairs because we thought her arthritis was getting worse. We took her in to the vet to get some pain medicine and they discovered that she has a large tumor on her spleen. We were told that the surgery is quite expensive. We are unable to afford much due to our current financial situation. The doctor suggested that we should euthanize her if we were not going to try to do the surgery. we have scheduled an appointment for tomorrow. 6/3 with lap of love.
My husband was looking for solutions because she is walking around and it is so hard for us to imagine putting her down. We saw the article by Dr. Magnifico. We tried to call Jarrettsville vet and they told us our only option was to put a question on here. Beth.a.acton@gmail.com

Hello. My 9 yr. old Beagle, Treble, is 9 days post op of a ventral slot surgery to clean a herniated disk and decompress 2 more. His whole cervical spine is not in the greatest condition. He could walk prior to and after surgery. He had severe pain after surgery and was placed on gabapentin, ketamine injections, something to protect his stomach, stool softeners, an antibiotic and a steroid. He returned home after 2 days where he was rested and carried downstairs to the bathroom. He seemed better by day 5 but still woke up shaking and in pain. The 5th day, he yelled in pain when we lifted him, and again only worse when we placed him down and he tried to walk. The vet told us to take him to physical therapy. We are 9 days out and since he finished his steroid, they moved him to NSAIDS. He has been doing well. Still stiff and painful in the morning but generally better and walking around by the afternoon. Today, he stepped up while the PT was doing laser therapy and when he moved, he cried out painfully for a while again. The PT immediately took him to the on call vet. His opinion was that Treble, because of his age, would probably deal with that pain (almost like a pinched nerve or catch) for the rest of his life and there’s nothing to stop it. It happens occasionally but not all the time. My questions are, since we are only 9 days out of surgery, could the nerve potentially heal enough that he doesn’t scream in pain every few days, the sound which haunts me. Also, he’s been walking a lot with the PT every day. Is that okay or should he mostly be resting? His neck range of motion is good and the leg causing most of the painful issues has been checked with no pain upon touching. I want to hope that he won’t be in that kind of pain for years. He has always been pretty resilient.

My year and a half old Great Dane had large lump on belly, took her to emergency vet where she put a needle in it and drained lump. Sent home with heavy duty antibiotics and pain meds. Now dog has diarrhea and trouble with her bowel mvmts. and has started puncture hole bleeding. Don’t really want to take her back to vet. Beginning to not trust any doctors as I read on your blog site that you don’t agree with draining and lumps should eventually absorb on its own. She doesn’t seem in distress or pain. What can I do to take care of her at home with giving her meds that will help her heal?

My 14 year old Yorkie has recently been diagnosed with spine and nerve problems. He has severe pain in his back end (hips, knees, lower spine). The doctor gave gabapentin and he is already on carprofen. It seems he’s getting worse with more pain, and sometimes whining and yelping in pain even when nothing has touched or moved him. Is there anything else I can do for him?? I hate to see my boy in so much pain.