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Dakota is in hospital

3K views 55 replies 39 participants last post by  Harley & Dakotas Mum 
#1 ·
On Thursday night Dakota was playing with her bird friends as usual. I have posted videos of her doing it here before so some of you have seen her in action - and have seen how she stalks the birds, almost cat-like, and very, very slowly. Well, she ran this time and something?? happened, and she started screaming!! She came towards me dragging her back leg. I scooped her up & we came inside. I was freaking. I gave myself 5 minutes to calm down & call the vet ... they closed at 7 pm, it was then 7.10 pm.

So off to the ER vet we went. By this stage, she had started to lose movement in her rear. I had initially thought it was her knee, but at this point, I was starting to think spine. ER vet did a thorough exam and was a bit at a loss - Dakota was not indicating any pain points. ER vet sent us home after giving a shot for pain (Dakota was panting & shaking), and told us to see our regular vet in the morning for an x-ray.

Friday morning I had to admit Dakota to our regular vet for an X-Ray. After an anxious wait of about 3 hours, I got a call from our local vet that the x-ray was not showing much and that I had a choice - leave her & see how she did, or consult with a specialist down in Sydney (3 hour round trip) and get a CT scan done.

I called the specialist centre (SASH - Small Animal Specialty Hospital) and got an appointment for 2.30 yesterday (Friday). She was admitted to SASH at about 3.30 yesterday afternoon. I then got the call from the surgeon at about 6 pm last night - he had done the CT, and he thought she would need surgery, but he wanted the scans to be seen by a radiologist before he went ahead. At this point, he suspected a slipped disk. He told me that he would call me this morning, but if I hadn't heard from him by 10 am, to call him.

I called at 10 am - he was busy, so I left a message. I sat fretting for 2 hours still not knowing if she needed surgery or not and at 12 noon, I called again ... I was on hold for what felt like forever, before being told he was still busy - this is an emergency centre, so I had to *try* to remain calm, and remind myself that Dakota must be considered more stable than some other poor animals.

The surgeon called me back at 1 pm today. He offered me 2 options - 1) Keep her confined, and see how she goes. If she didn't improve in about a week, surgery would be needed. Or 2) Do the surgery now to relieve the compression on her spine. I asked him to do the surgery.

Its now 2.45 pm Saturday - he told me not to expect to hear back from him until at least 4 pm.

I am now playing the 'wait for the phone to ring' game again .... I have a wait of at least an hour, but although he said 4 pm, I think that's the earliest I will hear anything ... so it could be 2 or more hours before I hear.

I will update as soon as I know anything.

To anyone considering pet insurance - do it! I dont have it, but really wish now that I did. Vet explained to me that a slipped disc can happen pretty much any time. A dog could be just sitting there doing nothing and it can happen. Although the horse has already bolted, Im going to get insurance now.
 
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#9 ·
Dakota Update #2 - Saturday, 4pm. She is out of surgery, and doing very well!!!!!!! Surgeon just called & said he is very glad the surgery went ahead, he removed a 'great amount of ?something?' that was compressing the spine (I think thats what he said). I am to call tomorrow mid-morning for another update. I can also call whenever I want before that. I don't know if I will call, there wont be much to tell me. But the surgery went very well, thats the main thing!!
 
#11 ·
Lesson learnt: get Pet insurance y'all: I had the same situation and $1000+ later I couldn't call Pet Plan fast enough to get my pet insured.

I initially thought, "oh, what the heck, my "Little Girl" is young and healthy, nothing will happen to her
anytime soon, well unexpectedly she started bleeding and vomiting out of nowhere......

Glad the surgery went well for Dakota, and more so, that you were able to afford the surgery.:aktion033:
 
#12 ·
I am so glad to hear Dakota is doing well after surgery. I was concerned that they would do surgery way too soon but it seems that it was the correct procedure for your baby. Please keep us in the loop. My prayers and hugs go out to you all!!! Give Dakota a big kiss for me!
 
#14 ·
Jacqui, thanks for letting us know about Dakota---I will add that to the prayer list!
I am thrilled w/the results of the surgery---and hope your baby will be back in your arms quickly! Get well Dakota, the birds will miss you!
 
#15 ·
Jacqui, I was headed to FB after visit here to see how Dakota made out.. and glad to catch your post here. ( I sometimes have a hard time following the format on peoples timelines and miss a lot! :blush: )
So happy to find your little girl got thru the surgery fine and now on the road to recovery! You made a good 'call' in going ahead with the surgery as opposed to the 'wait and see' option! :thumbsup:
Will be keeping Dadkota in my prayers for a speedy recovery! ... and keeping an eye out for your updates.
 
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