Gunther

Gunther

Gunther was a typical five year old yellow Labrador Retriever (bouncy and a wee bit overweight) until one day in August when a squirrel-chasing incident changed his life.  After trying to run down the squirrel, Gunther started limping and was soon unable to walk at all.  An MRI revealed Type III Disc Disease in his lumbar spine. Gunther needed back surgery immediately.  Gunther underwent a hemilaminectomy and spinal cord decompression on August 27, 2010. His surgeon referred him to the ATC for rehab.

We first met Gunther on September 1, 2010 when he was sling-walked into the ATC with a urinary catheter in place and no active use of his hind legs. He was a lively, energetic dog who obviously wanted to get moving as soon as possible!  However, he needed a structured, methodical rehabilitation to regain the use of his hind end and rebuild his strength and balance. It was important to tailor Gunther’s  rehab to his Labrador energy level while keeping in mind the need to proceed at a pace appropriate to his condition. Aquatherapy proved invaluable for Gunther; he was able to gain the therapeutic benefits of water as well as work off his pent-up energy. His owners were determined for him to do well and they dedicated themselves completely to his home exercise program of gait retraining, balancing work and strengthening activities that we developed at the ATC.  Gunther also enjoyed three acupuncture sessions with Dr. Dulin. (We weren’t sure if he would hold still for his needle placement but he remained surprisingly calm.)

Gunther first moved his hind legs in the deepwater pool on September 8th, 2010 and has made steady gains ever since. He now toilets outside, walks around the yard unassisted and goes for several leash walks daily.  Gunther has been released from therapy by his surgeon but we hope he will come back and swim with us for fun.