Kaiser
Recently SND was contacted by a couple in Louisiana requesting help for their 6 year old Dobe, Kaiser.
The following letter is the initial request for help, from the student couple.
" Up until about 2 weeks ago Kaiser was a healthy Dobe who just turned six years old. On the day we
were preparing to flee to Houston for hurricane Ivan (Tuesday, Sep 14) I noticed Kaiser did a split on
our kitchen floor (tile). After that episode he was limping on one of his back legs. We packed up
the cars and left. He wouldn't really lay down in the back seat of my car for the whole trip (14 hrs!),
but I thought it was because he was just uncomfortable. By the time we got to Houston he tried to jump
out of the back seat and his hind legs collapsed. At this point he could still walk but had a very
hard time on slick surfaces. When I would take him out to use the bathroom he would fall over
because his leg wouldn't hold him up. This continued on the trip home and still the next day after
arriving home. We all thought it may be a pulled muscle from doing the split and was just aggravated
from standing in the back seat of my car for long periods and waited for him to recover.
This past Friday morning he was basically dragging his back legs and I noticed him knuckling the
front feet as well. My dad did some research and pulled up Wobblers disease. We were all
devastated because he was/is showing all of the signs and symptoms of this disease, except neck pain.
We brought him to the emergency vet Sunday night and the vet ran down all possibilities from Wobblers
to encephalitis, but was perplexed and couldn't put his finger on anything unless he had further testing.
Monday morning my girlfriend and I brought him to another vet and he too was confused because he
shows all s/s of Wobblers but has NO discomfort in his neck when streched and flexed! He said it
probably wasn't a viral or bacterial infection either since he had a normal temperature. He told us
that blood work, x-rays, etc would probably need to be done and referred us. Monday afternoon my
mom and girlfriend brought Kaiser to the referred vet while I went to class in Baton Rouge. This
doctor could also not give an answer or explanation to his situation. He said he has never heard of
Wobblers taking a dog down as quickly as this. He recommended a myelogram, spinal tap, blood work,
etc. to start narrowing down the possibilities.
By Tuesday morning he was basically crippled and even using the bathroom while laying down; Kaiser
was not even attempting to get up. All of the doc's said time was of the essence and I was having
trouble getting him in for a myelogram right away. I called LSU but they said it's a minimum of
$3,000 for just the testing. My girlfriend began making calls frantically trying to find a
qualified specialist (those tests aren't the safest) to do the test and at a price that isn't
astronomical. We finally found a specialist to do the myelogram and the test was performed
yesterday at a charge of $1,500!!! He was diagnosed as an atypical wobbler with a significant
protrusion in C 5-6. Atypical because he showed no signs of pain at all in his neck even when
flexed by the vet, and because the reflexes in his hind legs aren't consistent with wobbler dogs.
His spinal cord is about 50% compressed and he needs surgery asap to relieve the pressure and to hopefully
get on the road to a successful recovery. My girlfriend and I are both still in college and are
trying to come up with the funds to cover the charges that seem to keep mounting at a very rapid
rate. If there is anything you guys can do to help with regards to this emergency please let us
know."
After checking with Dr. Durkes, the gold beads implant expert in Indiana, and learning that Kaiser
was not a candidate for the implants, SND committed to help Kaiser after a payment plan was worked out
with the surgeon.
Tragically, Kaiser died on the operating table. This was totally unexpected and his owners are devastated.
They borrowed the money for Kaiser's myelogram from their parents and do not have the money to pay off
Kaiser's surgery. SND does not typically do fund raising after a Dobe has passed away, but in this
case, help was committed prior to the surgery and Kaiser's death. We would be most grateful for any
donations toward Kaiser's remaining bill. If you would like to help, you can use the PayPal button
provided below, or you can mail in a donation. We anything you can spare!
