She could drag herself along by her front legs, but her back legs were just dragging behind her. If the animal can't move a leg at all, the veterinarian may pinch one of their toes to see if they pull the leg away, while watching the animal's eyes at the same time. The injured puppy was transported to Inglemoor Veterinary Clinic in Bothell to be X-rayed. Though there is currently no X-ray unit at the PAWS Clinic, some funds have been raised to purchase one. The X-rays revealed that one of her vertebrae looked a little bit different than the rest.
Puppies have distinct growth plates on the end of their vertebrae.
Inglemoor Veterinary Clinic also has access to a veterinary neurologist. Dr. Mike Harrington, who looked over Spirit's X-rays and suggested a course of treatment. Dr. Harrington felt that steroids weren't the answer and what Spirit needed more was physical therapy. We stopped the steroids, but put her on antibiotics since steroids tend to lower your immune system and make you more susceptible to outside disease. We tried water therapy- putting her in a tub of shallow water so she could try swimming a little.