This is a story about Reba, our miracle dog. On a typical workday morning, I put Reba, a Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier, and Shakti, a Golden Retriever, out for the day with some water and dog food in the garage with access to the back yard. Both were rescue dogs. Reba found Randi outside a convenience store several years earlier when she was a puppy. Shakti, a new addition to our family, was found near starving on the streets, and then he was gifted to us. I normally didn’t leave out dog food, but for some reason and never again, even though my Inner Voice warned me against it, I did anyway. When I returned home, I found Reba limping severely and rushed her to the vet. They said she had a pulled back leg muscle and she should take it easy for a few weeks. Her walking eventually got better and we thought she was in the clear from a scary experience caused by my refusal to properly act upon a clear message. About six months later, we woke up in the middle of the night from Reba’s whining and moaning under the bed, where she normally slept. When I got down and called her to get out, she didn’t move. I then pulled her out and saw that her back legs were totally limp. We immediately rushed her to the vet hospital where they x-rayed her and said she had two ruptured discs that were pushing on her spinal chord, causing her paralysis. Later that day, we to took her to a specialist who operated by cutting out the disc material that was pushing on her chord. In post-op, the attending vet said the operation was “a success,” but that she never would walk again. Of course, we were devastated and enraged by the news. Reba soon came home, a couple weeks went by, and she still had no apparent feeling or movement in her back legs. At that point, Randi pulled out a business card she found at a health food store about a week before Reba’s discs ruptured. It was for an alternative health practitioner for pets. Randi called Deb and told her about Reba’s condition. Deb said she might be able to help using a massage technique called TTouch. When Deb came over, she showed us the technique on herself, lightly stroking the body in waves with barely any pressure, just enough for the sensation of touch to be activated. We gave her the okay and Deb began to lightly stroke Reba’s leg, barely touching the fur. Reba’s leg immediately twitched for the first time since that horrendous night. We all were ecstatic and broke into tears. Reba was impressed as well. She sniffed at what was going on and later licked Deb in gratitude. Deb showed us how to do the technique as well and we got in on the fun, touching and twitching in pure joy. As we worked with Deb and continued the treatments over the following weeks, Reba became progressively stronger, never losing her, “I’m Reba, hear my bark!” attitude. By then, Deb also had told us about an alternative practice vet, Dr. Mark, who used chiropractic and acupuncture on animals with all levels of spinal and related issues. We soon added bi-weekly visits to Dr. Mark and Reba’s strength continued to grow. Then, one miraculous day, I was tail walking Reba in the back yard and let go. To my joy and amazement, she kept going for quite a few steps before she daintily sat down! I called Randi at work with the wonderful news. When Mama got home, we showed her Reba’s renewed talent, to more tears of joy all around. The story goes on from here with one blessing after another. What started as an apparent tragedy, guilt trip, and unfounded messages of hopelessness, blossomed into a years-long journey of unstoppable determination, joy and laughter beyond measure, and untold lessons in Love. Friends cans see additional photos and videos on my timeline. p.s. Do you see a woman in the window? If so, it’s my mother, who passed away about 10 years before the picture was taken. :-)
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 21:13:01 +0000
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