The trouble with age is along with it, as we all know, comes more ailments. Our 12 yo lab mix is not doing well. A couple Wednesdays ago he stopped being able to get up and walk. He had been having hip arthritis issues and slips if he’s not careful. So off to the vet we went. Turns out he has a herniated disc in his L spine and some spinal stenosis going on now.

We were so worried and didn’t know what to do he was so bad. We had to help him in and out (really carry him) and it was next to impossible for me to do myself. I made it work but it was rough. Luckily the first few days hubby was home to help due to a ice snow storm and the weekend. We decided to give it a go and do all the treatments we could to help him. So he was put on meds and we started acupuncture. So far so good. He’s showing improvement.

It would have been much harder had we not ordered a good harness that helped us hold up his back and front end at the same time and the one we got works well. I can use it on my own easily. It’s really helpful to get him up and up and down his ramps, no steps for this boy in over a year now. He’s able to mostly get up on his own the lay few days and walking better. He’s still got a ways to go and we will have to use the meds a while longer and probably the acupuncture the rest of his life to help him be comfortable, but if he can have a good quality of life we want him around a while longer. He’s our boy and we love him.