Carla

Carla came into our care after her person passed away. The people who cared for her while she was waiting for a foster noted that she had an inability to control her poop which was attributed at the time to being a result of losing her person. After a couple of weeks in foster care her foster brought up that it didn’t seem to be improving, adding that with the colder weather and her inability to be outside for longer periods she now seemed to be peeing herself, never seeming to squat to relieve herself. In fact, the only time she seemed to expel her feces was when she was jumping onto or off of something, it never seemed to be a choice.

After a little bit of research we decided to reachout to our friends at Bridge City Veterinary Rehabilitation to see if this was something that they could potentially help with, thinking maybe she had a bit of an injury that made it uncomfortable to squat or push. At her examination there it was discovered that she did seem to have some tenderness around her hips but she has no pair response in her tail. X-rays were performed to confirm that she had a high tail pull that resulted in sacral nerve damage. Unfortunately it is difficult to determine the extent of the damage. Carla was also seen by the surgeons at Orchard Vet Care to determine if surgery was necessary. We all sighed with relief to learn that she was able to keep her tail. Dr Christina from Bridge City Veterinary Rehabilitation also reached out to a neurologist who confirmed that there was a 50% chance that Carla would be able to regain control of her bathroom habits.

On February 13th Carla started rehabilitation which includes, acupuncture, laser therapy, acupressure, and exercises, already Dr Christina is seeing that she’s starting to show responses with tightening her rectum. We are cautiously that she will make progress but are very well aware that she may need a family who is patient and understanding of her bathroom needs.

Update: Carla has found her forever home and person! We are so excited for her to be loved for who she is! Thank you to everyone who made this a possibility.

Please consider making a donation to our Guardians of Hope program where your donations continue to help dogs like Carla. 100 percent of all donations towards this fund goes directly to the animal’s medical expenses for major medical care.