With our house being foster free for just a couple more days, I figured now would be a good time to update what our rattie's have been up to.
D'light frequently sees Lori Stevens for ongoing TTouch which includes body, wrap and movement work. We continue to practice exercises that increase the bending of his back legs. There are likely a number of reasons his back legs maintain their straight appearance however, the changes in how they look and bend over the last year and a half has really changed. When he first came to us is legs rarely bent when he was moving and he had no muscle definition. Here's a recent video of some of our work with him.
 |
| Tired boy! |
We've also been doing a lot of "vet prep" over the last 6 months. D'light does not like going to the vet. His anxiety rapidly increases once we walk into the vets office and he's very fearful of being touched by the vet staff. In the past D'light, would loose his bladder and bowels out of fear and anxiety and that's what we are working to avoid. So, because there are times he needs to go to the vet - we've been practicing pairing a good experience with the vet office and vet staff.
My first step was finding a vet that was open to doing what I was asking in terms of helping D'light to feel less stressed. We are clients of Urban Animal and they have been beyond amazing. They are collaborative, thoughtful and appreciate how strongly I advocate for D'light. Not all vets are like this. We've been visiting the vet office a lot - I make sure when we visit we see the same vet tech, the same vet and we make every effort to use the same exam room. Yes, this requires me calling the vet to find out schedules and the vet staff is really great with this. We will come into the vet lobby and then leave, other times we will hang out in an exam room, other times we will be in the exam room and have the vet and vet tech come in and say hi and then leave.
 |
| Needing to be close to mom in the exam room |
 |
| Curious about who is outside the door |
 |
| "Remind me why are we here?" |
 |
| Sweet boy doing great! |
And here we are on another visit - we went during off hours and we brought his bed along. We hang out in the waiting room, we make sure to go when the vet is very slow and there isn't anyone around. Then we left!
 |
| Hanging out in the waiting room |
 |
| Visiting with vet tech Jamie! |
On another visit to the vet office...
 |
| Hanging out in the exam room on his bed and with his baby |
 |
| "What's up!" |
 |
| Getting some TTouch body work |
This work will be ongoing and it's already started to pay off as D'light was having some ongoing ear issues that needed to be addressed by our vet. Because we have done a lot of prep work, we were able to visit with the vet, have his ears checked and get his ears feeling better. D'light, myself, the vet tech and vet have a very good working relationship. We are creative in how we work with D'light and I cannot say enough good things about Urban Animal Vet and many thanks to Dr. Cherri Trusheim, Jamie Symbol and the rest of the vet staff!
During all of this D'light and I also have also seen and continue to see holistic Donna Kelleher to get her take on what was going on with D'light. And because we have been doing so much "vet prep" the visits to and with Donna have gone very well! We've found out that D'light has a number of allergies and we are working with Donna to manage his allergies. We are already seeing some great results and I'm happy to report that during all of these vet visits D'light has never lost his bladder or bowels and we are seeing a decrease in his anxiety around going to the vet.
This has been and will continue to be a lot of work with D'light but, when we adopt a dog (especially a special needs dog) we are making a commitment to do all we can to advocate, help manage and work through the tough spots that cause them distress.
All of this work continues to build trust and strengthens our relationship. We're making great progress and I love D'light for all that he teaches me day in and day out!
Stay tuned to see what' Catty's been up to!
No comments:
Post a Comment