Introducing our very special, 1 year old female Cross-Breed, Tanni. She was spotted on the roadside by our team in Romania, dragging her back legs. Tanni was adopted to the U.K. in April, however she was returned to us after her adopter realised that a paraplegic dog was not for them. Now she is in a wonderful foster home.
Tanni is truly the most amazing, brave girl who every day amazes us with her spirit and determination. In the last few weeks she has got deep in to her foster mum’s heart and she absolutely adores her.
She is super smart, she watches absolutely everything you do and has a very cheeky side. Toys are brilliant, she adores playing with them and you see her transform in to a puppy. This puppy behaviour is also showing in mouthing, although she seems to reserve this for her foster mum only! Tanni loves people, she adores attention of any kind and she really enjoys her snuffle mat to keep her brain busy.
Food is also a favourite, she was treated to some steak and now every time her foster parents go near the fridge or a cupboard she’s instantly by their side looking up with her puppy dog eyes.
She’s starting to play with the other dogs in her foster home, it has been a slow and steady progress, as she is a little different and they weren’t sure what to make of the way she moves but each day they accept her more and more. We feel she would be best as an only dog or with one other resident dog that is playful but laid back.
She did pass her cat test in Romania, however then didn’t like them being in her space in her adoptive home. She can be a bit mouthy when excited so any children in the home will need to be aged 12+. Tanni is still not used to the outside yet, she tends to panic and tries to hide so we are working on that.
Although she does have her own set of wheels, her physiotherapist has told us not to use them whilst her walking is improving, to encourage her to try moving around. Her foster parents have had some visitors to the house and although wary of new people, she is quickly won over with some chicken!
As I’m sure you can imagine Tanni does require a little extra care but as the days have gone by her foster parents have found a routine and it does get easier. She has been so accepting of her foster mum from the day she arrived, even though she has never cared for a paraplegic dog before. She said she has never come across a dog that is so gentle or patient.
As her walking has increased significantly it’s important to keep her paws protected from scuffs. When she is out in the garden she needs them either wrapped up or we have now discovered some booties that work very well and are water proof.
Tanni does have some sores, her back end is very skinny from muscle wastage and her hips protrude. These are improving but we apply cream and antiseptic cleaner through out the day to keep them clean and encourage healing.
The biggest part of our routine is keeping Tanni clean as she doesn’t have full control over when she goes to the toilet. Her foster family have preferred to keep her out of nappies as she likes to keep herself clean, her foster mum also found it very difficult to manage the nappies, and found wiping the floor a quicker and easier job. She now has an orthopaedic bed which is water proof and they have a few absorbent covers they can change through the day.
One aspect we have seen a big change in, is the awareness and control over toileting. Over the last few days we’ve started to notice her taking herself off down the garden and having a wee. It’s possible that she is regaining some control and she taught herself that the garden is where you do your business, so it will be interesting to see how this progresses.
