The miracle of Christmas

Pleat was fawned over and had a great 2.5hr session, Saturday at the Canine Fitness Centre in Calgary, they commented on how majestic he is, his muscled condition, his lovely structure for a 14 year old. It was concluded that while he had some vestibular symptoms, the main issue is a actually a Stroke. We were given an exercise regime to help him remember what gravity is, how to plant his feet in positions that a puppy would be, neck traction and head circles, as well as passive range of motion and massage (both if which I was doing daily, I figured it couldn't hurt). It was well worth the trip. Still unable to walk we were also given some power positions to try to give him confidence to stand - placing a step stool or bunches of blankets to prop him up as to do it 2-3x daily.

That was Saturday ...

And then Monday came ...

I sent out an email to friends ...
"Our exciting news is Pleat is starting to stand/shuffle, I used his willful personality and love for food to have him work 30 minutes for his food, he crawled, pawed, tugged on the dish and held his back end up for almost a minute ... Gotta love a stubborn, willful dog!!! He's fast asleep now ... Phew that was tiring."

Then Monday evening (Christmas Eve) came ...
It was time to feed Pleaters again, "there is no free lunch" is what my Grandpa always said. So, Pleat had to work for it again, and I'll be dammed... He stood up! He silenced a room f 12 half drunk adults, then we all cheered. By the end of the night, he stood 6 times, and took a poop!! It seriously made our Christmas.

Today is Christmas ... My mom woke up to Pleat standing -unassisted and looking at her. She even barged into my room and woke us up to tell us, like a little kid that got her gift from Santa!!

Oh and by the way he also walked to the Christmas tree this morning while I taunted him with breakfast... We carried him out to pee and he stood all on his own for a good minute.

It's the season for miracles, and I'm not a religious person, but I tell ya, that brought our entire family closer last night! Please have a Christmas toast to an amazing, stubborn, strong willed dog, who will do anything for food!! Here's hoping the upswing continues.

Here are a few photos of the past few days, I'm on the mobile blogger and I'm not sure how to put them in order, but you'll get the idea.