Sugar was my 60th birthday present to myself I had always wanted a
Silky Terrier so I saved a long time to purchase her. She was only 12 weeks old
she would chase her tail in circles at first I thought she was just playing as
some dogs do this and it means nothing but as time went on she got more
aggressive at doing it and started trying to chew her tail off then she
graduated to crying and growling at her tail as she chased it. Took her to my
vet at the time and he said it was a sign of pain and she was very sensitive at
the base of her spine when he pushed she would scream and try to bite him, we
were referred to the Toronto Emergency Hospital for a neurology consult where
they did x-rays, an MRI and blood tests to investigate the root cause of Sugar’s
problem. Unfortunately, they could not find anything that could point to Sugar’s
clinical signs. The possibility of nerve damage, undetectable disc damage or a
problem due to bad tail docking practices could not be ruled out. We also
started a session of laser therapy that gave Sugar temporary relief. Then, she
started having problems with her legs she would just fall and scream in pain
and was not able to get up on her hind end. Due to Sugar’s ongoing issues, we
were referred back to the Referral and Emergency Hospital for further tests;
this time it included a CSF spinal tap with inconclusive findings. I was beside myself after spending thousands
and thousands of dollars and witnessing that Sugar was still suffering with no
relief for my dear Sugar. Since there was no relief in sight, I was told by my
family vet and the specialty service that I may need to make a hard decision
down the road and consider Sugar’s quality of life. I did not want to put Sugar
on any strong medication for life without a diagnosis since she was so young. We
started researching about alternative treatment and acupuncture. Thanks to my
daughter, we found The Holistic Vet clinic in Newmarket and met Dr. Haghighat. After
a thorough exam and a couple of sessions of acupuncture and biopuncture and
starting on some herbs and homeopathic medicine, Sugar started to show nice
improvement and having less and less neurologic episodes. The tail chasing
started to decrease to only once or twice a week. After about 9 months, Sugar
seems to be almost fully recovered and I am so thankful for the wonderful staff
at The Holistic Vet who helped bring Sugar back to health which I will be
forever grateful!
Sincerely Mary Mackenzie and Sugar xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
