RIDGELAND, SC.......We were contacted about a sweet 5-year-old Yellow Lab that had been relinquished to Animal Control with possible Hip Dysplasia. The Owners had taken him to the vet a year ago and could not afford his surgery, so this sweet boy has gone down hill ever since. We agreed to help if they could get him to our Specialists in Charlotte to determine exactly was wrong.
The first thing we noticed was they he had lots of muscle atrophy. Once x-rays were done, it was determined that it was not his hips that were the problem, but it was his spine. He was then put in the care of Dr. Bob Bergman our Neurologist. An MRI was done which revealed significant compression of the nervous system structures to the back legs. Bubba Jack had been injured almost a year ago, and that caused his lumbar disks to compress on his spinal cord. Over the course of that time, he lost lots of muscle mass due to the pain coming from his compressed nerves. Spinal injuries a lot of times look like a leg is injured or displaced when the main cause is coming from their spine.
Dr. Bergman did spinal surgery on Bubba Jack to release the compression. So far he seems to be doing well since the procedure. He has to be on leash walks until we get the final okay from his Surgeon that he can start running around.
When we first rescued Bubba Jack, he was called Jack. Someone at the Hospital thought he looked more like a Bubba, so they started calling him Bubba. I got so confused at one point that I thought I had two labs in the hospital both having spinal surgery. That would not be uncommon for me. I soon realized what had happened and renamed him Bubba Jack, so I had all bases covered when I spoke to the Vet Techs and Surgeons. Everyone seemed to love his new name and decided it fit his goofy personality.
When I say this sweet dog is happy, I mean HAPPY. He does not let anything bother him. Bubba Jack is a typical Lab that loves everyone. He will be undergoing Rehab to bring back the muscle mass he lost and to hopefully keep him from having further surgery.
Please, Donate toward this sweet, sweet pup. He didn't ask to be in this situation and is certainly doing his best to make the most of it. Thanks for caring and making his Life better by donating toward his Medical Bills.
