One condition that truly breaks my heart and has been receiving a bit more notice in the news is animals with paralysis. You often see or hear about dogs with three limbs, cats missing legs, and animals in wheelcarts. The last is usually a case of paraplegia. For some time it’s been a poor prognosis to have an animal lose control of it’s limbs. Often beginning in the hind, and quickly progressing up to the fore, taking all functionality with it. As the paralysis continues, organ failure can start, usually with bowel and bladder control being the first to go. These animals can be victims of a ruptured disc, severe disc disease, neurological disease, and many others. Each will vary in presentation and rapidity with progression, nonetheless the outcome doesn’t look good. Up until recently most of these animals would be put down. Surgery is not always an option as there’s often a very slim window of time where it would even be considered a success.
All of this sounds very hopeless, which makes it all the more difficult to be in a profession where this is a common reason for seeking out chiropractic care. By the time an animal presents with paralysis it can be too late, the cause of the symptoms has taken root and been a problem for much longer than most owners expect. With a heavy heart many owners do not get the miracle for which they hope. 
There’s always that success story, the one neighbor lady who has a friend with a cousin who’s daughter has a dog that went paraplegic, they took it to get adjusted, and the dog walked out the door without problem. I’m here to say that is very rarely, if ever the case. I am a very optimistic person but I do not foster false hopes. What every owner needs to understand is that each animal is unique in how they will respond to care. Where one cat need only one adjustment before improvement is noted, another dog may take months of adjustments before a limp goes away. With each new case comes new expectations, new parameters, new experiences.
What I will say regarding paralysis is this, I have had animals come back. It is not every one, nor is it the norm, and they may not regain full function nor is it something that happens overnight. Very rarely is it done through chiropractic treatment alone. 
The best way to treat these animals is a myriad of options. The best results I’ve ever seen involved a combination of laser therapy, chiropractic, traditional veterinary medicine, essential oils, and physical therapy. Everything helps, and through determination and perseverance of both animal and owner, change can happen. To hear more, check out our March entry in Tale of Two Kitties on Pistol Pete, one of our success stories in the making!