Possibly my first serious post here

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greeting my fellow 'mehricans. as some of you may know or have seen in various posts, i have a dog. he’s my first dog ever and he absolutely fucking rocks at being an awesome dog. about 4 weeks ago, he started experiencing some weakness in his hind legs and his regular vet noticed some muscle atrophy in them. based on some other symptoms (knuckling and ataxia) we were given a referral to a animal neurologist.

we saw the neurologist yesterday and she’s recommending an MRI. she thinks it’s most likely intervertebral disc disease (IVDD), possibly multifocal. the good news right now is that he’s still able to get up and move on his own, so it’s probably only level 2 (1 is lowest, 5 is worst). i’ve done some reading and surgical treatment is about 90% effective at this stage. he was still very active prior to whatever is going on right now, so i think he has a good chance at a full or almost full recovery. granted, surgery is HELLA expen$$ive, but that’s a decision we’ll make when we know more.

has anyone here had a pet undergo surgery for IVDD? how was it? what kind of post-op care did you have to do? was there any physical therapy involved? if so, what kind - in home or had to go somewhere? what did you do about stairs (i have a 2 level with the bedrooms upstairs)? any insights are welcome and very appreciated.

in closing, here’s doggo on his birthday last week. the kid is mine too. i know his (the kid’s) smile is wonky, but YOU try to get a 3rd grader to smile on demand and have it look good.