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Not always do we get the waggly tails in our job. This was the first time I saw this dog and had been given the history that she had been abused and was rescued as a puppy. After sustaining severe leg fractures when falling off a ute on the sunshine motorway (and disappeared for 7 days), has been very people aggressive since. Her owner manages her very well but unfortunately she is not amenable to any veterinary consultation, requiring the owner to muzzle her and often just send photos of her issues rather than attend consultation.
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Over the years I have found these dogs just need time and lots of it. The right body language, no eye contact and staying in a calm state with some desensitising massage and 2 hour consultation I was able to assess this lovely dog fully, have her lying on the side and treat her (including acupuncture you can see in this picture) and underwater treadmill. Her owner was astounded and so relieved to see her beloved dog get the treatment she deserved and soak up some much much needed overdue therapy. She is now 7.5 and has severe orthopaedic injuries on both legs (patella luxation, cruciate disease, hip dysplasia) and old fracture on the other leg.
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We are both confident we can make a difference to her quality of life and I hope in some future consultations I will get a waggle rather than see that tail so far up under her belly I wasn’t sure if she had one!! once again what a rewarding job I have!! You just don’t make those changes to humans in the same time period. Trust is a wonderful thing in the right hands.
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