Here's the story ... and it's evolving!

YouTube Notes: To see all the videos in my playlist, go to My Playlist.
You should be able to replay a video by clicking the loop icon, in lower left corner.

May 9 to May 20, 2021

Starting on Mother's Day, May 9th, Sunna (GSP/Dalmatian, 11.5 years old, 50#)  started having trouble walking, stumbling on steps, wobbling. She got steadily worse, losing control of her hind legs. We saw the vet and x-rays showed severe arthritis with most of her spine fused and probable nerve damage. They prescribed pain meds and suggested euthanasia. I've had her since was 4 months old and she has always been super active, high energy, and happy. Somehow I noticed Nzymes on my computer and I followed the links. Sounded good, but I was skeptical. Ordered the treats and made the post office staff mad at me for pounding on their door after hours to pick it up. I didn't want to waste a day. By the time I started her on Nzymes (May 20), she could not walk at all on her own, I used a sling. And her hind legs would sometimes just drag on the toes, and get crossed. And she wasn't drinking water, so I had to force water into her mouth. It seemed hopeless.

Video 5/20/21:

Sunna, 11.5 yo German Shorthair Pointer/Dalmatian, started having problems on May 9th and got worse until she could not control her hind legs at all. Here she is walking with assistance of a sling.

 

May 20, 2021 - May 31 - 12 days on Nzymes

I started her on 3 treats a day and on day 5 upped it to 4 because there was not much change. Within several days she was drinking water on her own, but physically she was getting worse. On Day 7, I started to see some improvement: more alert, walking better with help. We saw the vet that day, May 26, and again she said the prognosis was not good, recommended euthanasia, and said the only thing we could try is steroids. Day 8 she showed more energy, and walked a little bit better. Day 10 she was sitting in the yard while I worked and suddenly got up and RAN out of the yard, down the driveway, and down the road, about 150 feet. She was galloping! I couldn't believe it! Since then, I've let her walk more on her own. In the fenced yard I let her off the leash (no more runs down the road!). She is still pretty wobbly and needs help getting up. But is dragging her feet less and able to walk much greater distance without assistance. Scrapes on toes are starting to heal. Today, May 31, Day 12, we started prednisone. I figure the Nzymes will help her body deal with the steroids while they do their thing to reduce inflammation.

I can hardly believe the miracle that is happening. I'm so hopeful for the future! Thank you Nzymes. See nzymes.com for more about them.

Just seeing her walk on her own is a huge step. I thought you'd like to know.

June 1, 2021 - Three weeks from the beginning...

She's getting a bit better. We started the prednisone yesterday and she has been more active and alert. She's even moving around a bit on her own, can get up without assistance. Our walks are on the leash but I don't hold onto the sling unless she sits and needs help getting up!

VIDEO June 1, 2021:

Here Sunna is walking on her own. The sling is still attached as she needs help standing up and going up and down the ramp into the house.

June 8, 2021 - Walking on her own! Nzymes: Day 20, Prednisone: Day 9

Video June 8, 2021:

At this point, Sunna is able to get up and down and walk without the sling to help her hind end. She is still a bit wobbly, but clearly walking on her own.

 

Progress:

June 3, she went up the ramp inside on her own, no help from me! I stopped using the sling. We are walking farther and she's more stable. Spine seems a little more flexible when she turns.
June 5: she is eating standing up in the kitchen, instead of me putting the bowl in front of her nose on her bed; Able to walk off leash in the fenced yard; Today walked over 600' to the horse barn and back;
June 8: we walked over a half mile around the property, she was not sore afterwards; Walking keeps getting more stable, not dragging toes most of the time. Getting more alert and active every day.
June 10 - 13: we took the ferry and drove to Hoquiam, an all day trip, for a weekend with my RVing buddies; lots of grassy trails, we walked the loop trail a number of times; She seemed much stronger
June 15: she leaped over the ditch on our dirt road! More energetic, but her gait is still wobbly. Toes mostly healed. I'm using the ramp for in and out of my truck, with some assistance from me.

June 17, 2021 - She's running - short distance!

Here you can see that Sunna's spirit is much brighter, and she even ran a few steps at a small dog park.

 

Progress:

We are regularly walking a half mile for our first walk, to pumphouse and back.
June 19: I had barricaded her favorite chair with pillows, but in the morning I found she had climbed over the pillows and settled into her "gold chair".
June 20: Sunna is so much brighter and energetic. She has resumed barking at things outside and running around inside the house.

June 21, 2021 - 3rd Visit to Vet, Almost 4 weeks since last visit (Nzymes 4 1/2 weeks, prednisone 3 weeks)

Vet was impressed, thought she looked great. Said "keep on doing what you're doing" and "this really makes my day!".

June 24: we walked up the trail on Lopez Hill to the boundary line. Longest, steepest walk we've taken. She did fine, on leash.

July 2, 2021 - Sunna, Born to Run

Sunna has always loved to bark at and run after bicyclists. They slowed down so she didn't have to work too hard, but she got to do her thing!

 

I called her, and she came RUNNING back. That's a long way for a dog who's learning to walk and run again! Born to run!

 

July 6 we walked the trail at Lake Padden and she went over a mile! Yes, her gait is not always steady. But compared to where she was in early May, this is a HUGE improvement.

July 21, 2021 - She keeps getting stronger and more coordinated

We've been busy - visited with my daughter and her husband and their dog over the 4th of July. Then had an RV camping trip for a 4 day weekend. I use the ramp for her to get in and out of my truck, then I move it over so she can go in and out of the trailer. Sunna still loves to explore and even got a chance to chase her ball - first time in months. She stumbles when she tries to turn quickly, but her enthusiasm is remarkable. She's also now choosing to go up the steps into the house, but still uses the ramp to go down. She is running more often during our walks and we are going more distance every day. Last night for the first time in a long time, she came down the stairs into my bedroom and slept on a bed on the floor (she used to sleep on my bed, but that's way too high right now). She is still taking prednisone every other day and will continue thru August 2. We'll see how things go after that.

Here she is going up stairs, alternating hind legs. Sometimes she stumbles, but most of the time it is smooth. She still uses the ramp going down.

 

August - September - October - We've been really busy, haven't posted anything for 3 months. Here's some updates:

Prednisone tapered off and ended on August 4th. I decided not to add Rimadyl (NSAID pain killer) back in, as recommended by the vet, because she did not seem to be in pain. After a month, we revisited the vet and she confirmed that Sunna did not need the Rimadyl. Vet was very pleased with how she is doing. Sunna continues to improve. We are continuing the Nzymes, having switched to the Granules in June (cheaper, added to food), supplemented with the treats.

August 23, 2021 - Sunna gets up into her favorite chair - without any help!

September 2021 - Longer hikes

In September we started hiking up the hill behind my property - it's pretty steep and the loop trail takes over an hour. I started slowly and watched Sunna for signs of pain the day afterwards, and didn't see any issues. We have walked these trails since she was a puppy. She loves it! We try to walk the loop at least several times a week. We usually walk an average of 2 miles a day, 3 or 4 on hiking days. This helps her build strength plus it's good for me too!

October 8, 2021 - RV Camping - Port Angeles, WA

October 6th - Sunna had a full blood panel done at the vet's (annual checkup). Her vet called to say that her results were PERFECT, there was nothing that needed attention! She even had had indications of an enlarged heart in 2019 and 2020, but that was GONE! Vet asked if I had changed her diet. Well, yes, I have tried to improve the quality of her food AND she's been taking Nzymes Antioxidents for almost 6 months.

We were camping at the Fairgrounds, so there was lots of open space. When I got Sunna's ball and the chucker out she got all excited! She always loved chasing her ball and when she was younger we would do it for hours. You can see her enthusiasm in the video below. She started running as soon as she saw the ball, before I even threw it!

 

October 14, 2021 -

This was at an off leash dog park along a river. This video shows how smooth her gait is. This is a HUGE improvement.

 

October 26th, 2021 -

We've been busy. Several camping trips in my RPod trailer. By October, she didn't need the ramp to get up into the trailer. And she goes up and down stairs in the house with ease. She has been steadily progressing. Her gait is smoother (see video above), she runs much more often, her spirit is alive and well. I know that because she's been getting her toys out of the basket, something she had not done for a long time. And she still loves to chase her ball. I don't throw it as far as I used to, but again, her spirit shows. She has been climbing up into her favorite chair more frequentlly and on October 25th she was able to jump up onto my bed!! I gave her a boost at the end, but she did most of the work!

Video below is on the hill behind our property. I tried to capture the steepness. Sunna was running uphill.