Thanks to Jennifer for sharing this great story of her dog, Lilly Mae's recovery from a fibrocartilaginous embolism (FCE). While recovery from FCE (and other neurological conditions, such as IVDD) is quite common, understandably most people prefer to put this difficult period behind them and we don't get to share these important stories.

Today we spend some time with Duke and his owner, Catie​, in Reno, USA.

Duke is 10 years old and has had arthritis since he was about two years old which for many years never seemed to affect his ability to run, play, jump, or to be a happy dog. In May of 2015 Duke was also diagnosed with kidney disease and pancreatitis. He was able to fight through the initial shock it took on his body, and soon after he started to get a little unstable in his back end. 

Catie took Duke to see a physical therapist to help strengthen his back again and to help him maintain balance, while doing acupuncture at the vets. This seemed to slow down the process of him ending up in a wheelchair. For about seven months now, Duke has been in a wheelchair due to the nerve damage that has occurred as a result of the arthritis.

Due to these health problems he is on a strict diet and a lot of medications to keep his kidneys functioning properly. He gets a small dose of Gabapentin with dinner to help with nerve pain.
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His back feet are not in the stirrups yet because he still has the function and movement of his back legs, just not the strength anymore.