Meet our Salty Dog of the month for October, Thor. Thor is a five-month-old Husky puppy and was recently rescued from the Miami Dade County Shelter where he was about to be euthanized. Based on our specialist’s examination, Thor has a spinal condition that is preventing him from being able to walk. We were told that Thor has been paralyzed since birth, but we are still investigating to confirm this. Thor came in and was immediately rushed to our vet with a 104-degree fever. We had to treat the fever with fluids and medical care until the fever broke. Luckily, the fever broke and now it is time to focus on Thor’s rehabilitation. He is starting immediate intense rehabilitation and will need rehab for 30+ days to see if we can increase his quality of life and his mobility.
We cannot give up on Thor, but he is going to need a special home or medical foster who is willing to change diapers and take on a handicapped puppy. The vet is still unsure whether he has a possibility of walking again, but we will know more once he starts going through his rehabilitation.
UPDATE as of October 12th:
Pupdate on Thor: Thanks to your kind donations he is already making tremendous progress with his vet! Below is a note from the vet and some photo and video updates! Thor still has a long road to recovery and more donations are needed urgently (which will be matched 100%)…
Thor has shown a great amount of resilience and has made some significant improvements in the two short weeks that we’ve been seeing him. Upon first admission to our emergency service he was unable to take even one step forward on his own without falling. We last saw him yesterday and he took several steps on his own – I’ve included a video [attached]. The key is that his pace must be kept slow so that he has to think about foot placement. I think the improvement in his muscle mass has also contributed to helping him be more stable and mobile. His overall mental health seems to be much improved as well – I’m sure this is mostly due to the quality care he receives on a daily basis! He is generally more alert and wanting to stand/explore the room during the day when he stays with us in the clinic on rehabilitation days. I’ll also include a video of his first UWTM (underwater treadmill) session – I’ll get you an updated one this week since he has graduated to needing minimal manual guidance in the water. He has also been better about relieving himself outside – we still have some accidents indoors [and a volunteer told me that] Thor urinates on his own outside without stimulation and he will posture to defecate – he still needs some help with positioning.
I think the teamwork efforts of everyone involved in his care, from volunteers to staff to donors and of course himself, have been key in giving Thor a chance at living the best life possible given his underlying condition. My hope is that we continue to see him improve and that he is able to achieve as much independent mobility as possible.
Dr. Yang, Jupiter Pet Emergency & Specialty Center
UPDATE as of 10/31/19:
“Thor is continuing to make progress – most noticeably the past 2 weeks in his overall stability. He is better able to engage his core muscles to maintain balance and prevent himself from falling when standing/walking. He is also able to posture better for potty purposes and does not end up sitting down when using the bathroom. Another noticeable improvement is that he is filling out a bit in general – his spine and bones in his hind limbs are not as prominent as before. We have started some dry treadmill therapies in addition to the underwater treadmill – we are able to incline the dry treadmill to help shift his weight back more onto his hind limbs. In addition to treadmill he receives cold laser therapy, stretches, body awareness training/strengthening exercises, and electroacupuncture.” -Dr. Yang with Jupiter Pet Emergency & Specialty Center
THANKS TO ALL YOUR DONATIONS THOR IS IMPROVING WITH HIS REHABILITATION! Look at him go!! He is now walking on the underwater treadmill all by himself!
Thor has been Adopted!
Thor found his forever home in March! Thor, now Hops, hit the lottery by finding the most AMAZING forever home! Hops new mommy is a veterinarian who has 10 years of husky experience! She is even studying to get her CCRP so she can do all of his rehabilitation sessions herself!! He is now going to have acres to run on and we have no doubt that he is going to be spoiled forever!! From being dumped in a card board box to now living happy and cared for forever, congrats Hops!!! If you want to keep up with Hops journey, then follow his Instagram @hopsthehusky
