Joey’s Pet of the Week – Gir’s Sore Neck

By Scott Lackenby | Dated August 20, 2015

Hey Gang!! How are you all? How great did the GVH Bakers do with Cupcake Day for the RSPCA?!? It is easily one of the best days of the year for me, all of those tasty treats that are occasionally left unattended. Although, they have wised up to my ninja skills and the goodies were all safely sealed in plastic containers this year. I’m working on growing opposable thumbs for next year so I can take the lids off.

I have an extra special star this week. You will all remember Gir, Nurse Emma’s dog. Gir had an extended holiday with us that included lots of amazing adventures with some of the Nurses and Vets. Well, my good pal Gir has been in the wars of late. As you know, she has been on special medication for an immune mediated blood clotting disorder. And then she got apncreatitis from the medication. Well, last month, Gir fell off the bed and hurt her neck. Gir was due for her routine blood tests anyway, which were thankfully all normal. An examination of her neck showed that she was sore but the medication she is taking for her other issue means we can’t use certain pain killers for her. It was thought that she had most likely pulled a muscle when she had her fall and was sent home with some Gir friendly pain pills and told to take it easy. Gir came back a few days later when she started shaking her head. This obviously wasn’t helping her sore neck. Gir had a mild ear infection, so was sent home with some ointment. A few days after that, the pain medication hadn’t helped her at all, so Dr John admitted her for some Xrays and she also had her teeth cleaned while she was under. Dr John suspected that Gir had early signs of a prolapsed disk or mild instability due to playing to vigorously with her toys, so we sent her Xrays off to an Imaging Specialist so they could review her films. Two days later, Gir was back. She was in immense amounts of pain now. She wasn’t walking, she was just standing stiffly in one position. She was stretching out her abdomen, so Dr Helen was a little concerned that she was having a flair up of her pancreatits on top of her neck issues. The blood test to check for pancreatits was negative, but we Xrayed her abdomen just to be safe, and it all looked good. Gir was given an injection of super dooper pain medication, which had made a big difference for her. She was now showing some interest in food and was able to walk small distances. Gir was sent home with MORE medication and seemed to be more comfortable but still not 100%. It was recommended that Gir have an MRI of her neck. This showed that Gir had a bulging disk and would need surgery to fix it. Our good friend, Dr Eugene Boffa, a Specialist Surgeon, recommended Gir have the procedure done with our new friends at Eastside Veterinary Emergency and Specialists in Rose Bay. Gir had a Ventral Slot Decompression of C6-7. Basically this means that part of her vertebral bone is removed and the prolapsed disc is removed. This is a big surgery and Gir needs 24hr nursing care for at least a week after. Gir had the surgery done yesterday and they are super happy with her progress so far. She is able to urinate on her own and is even standing up and taking a few steps! We are all so happy to hear that things are going well. And I’ll keep you posted on Gir’s recovery.

Well, better go. Enjoy the rest of your week and I’ll catch you all next week. Meows for now, love Joey xoxo

Gorgeous Gir

Not a happy camper

Miss Gir with her slow release pain medication patch

Dr John supervising Gir’s MRI