Hello from MO

[Cat01]

I just found this forum today, and am loving it. I have a wonderful bully named Maddie (short for Madeline Pie)-she will be a year old next month. I am constantly in tears from laughing at this funny little girl, and can't wait to share with others who are in love with this breed.

One thing I am looking for is anyone else whom has experience in dealing with spinal defects, as our dear little girl does. She is a beautiful dog and doesn't let this stop her from being, well-a Bully!:D (just ask the cats)

Looking forward to chatting with everyone.

 

[KMARINO]

[MENTION=1774]Cat01[/MENTION], WELCOME, and I am glad you are loving it, you are only going to love it more, we are all fanatics about our babies. Maddie is so beautiful I love the picture and the tongue!! I do not have any personal experience with spinal defects but I already know a few that do and can give you much information and experiences. Ask any questions you want, someone on here will know or been there done that. Again Welcome and please share your story about the spinal defect, I am interested.

 

[Bella'sMom]

Welcome to the family. You will have an addiction soon. Your Maddie is beautiful!!! I am sure all your answers about Maddie's spinal problems will be answered here.

You found the best place for anything Bully. Friendship, support, answers and contests....don't forget to enter all the photo contests, great prizes!

 

[LariP]

Welcome Cat and Maddie!

 

[bullmama]

Welcome Cat & Maddie! Looking forward to getting to know you better. When you say Spinal Defects, what kind exactly? Your girl is a real beauty! Hope we can help answer all of your questions.

 

[2bulliefamily]

[MENTION=1774]Cat01[/MENTION] Welcome! Maddie is beau-t-bul! Glad you found this site. It is a great site with great folks on it. Can't wait for some Maddie stories.

 

[Gertie's Mom]

Welcome Cat and Maddie! You came to the BEST Bully place there is! You will love it here, it's very addictive, so you have been warned. We all love our Bullies. Maddie is a doll. I don't have any experience with spinal issues, but I'm sure all your questions will be answered. Never hesitate to ask any questions you have.

 

[bfletch13]

Welcome to the forums. We
are so glad you are here!

 

[Lucy-licious]

Welcome [MENTION=1774]Cat01[/MENTION], Maddie and the cats too x
EBN is very addictive so be prepared to spend a lot of time here xx

 

[TessaAndSamson]

Welcome to EBN, glad you joined us Maddie is sooo cute, love that yawning picture!!!

 

[cali~jenn]

Welcome, so glad you are loving it here as much as we do. I am also curious what kind of spinal problems your girl has. She is adorable too by the way! Please enter our contests, the prize giveaway is bigger now than ever before. Look forward to reading your stories and feel free to post more pics, we love them!

 

[Cat01]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome.
Maddie's spinal issues are congenital vertibrae growth defects. She has a section of vertibrae that aren't growing as they should be, smaller and closer together-which has resulted in a pinching of the cord. The issues started manifesting early on-when she was around 2-3 months old. It came about suddenly, one morning she was fine-we put her in the crate and left for a few hours; came home and let her outside-not walking correctly. I rushed her in to see Doc-we all assumed that she had hurt herself, somehow in the crate.
At any rate, after cortisone shots and no improvement, we were sent to a specialist to find out what was wrong. Once the diagnosis was made, he put her on prednisone to see if that would improve mobility at all. We put a stop to that very quickly-nothing worse than a bulldog on steroids!!! She was so aggressive!
We have had so many ups and downs as she grows-some days she could get around just fine, and others-solid dragging and heartbreaking to watch. We think she has finally settled into her "permanent" level, and does extremely well most of the time. She has so much determination, and has mastered the back steps coming up-we still have to carry her down. We have a wheelchair at the ready, but haven't used it so far, as we don't want her to lose the muscles and ability she has now. The vet specialist is in amazement at her progress, and told us to just keep doing what we are doing.
We had hoped that she would be eligible for surgery, but the amount of bones affected is too great, so they will not be able to do it.

Sorry for the length-I could go on and on about it. The main thing is that I know that she is part of my life for a reason, and am glad that she came to me.

 

[2bulliefamily]

Oh what a story! Poor girl but sounds like she is doing well and VERY lucky to have you, someone who cares tremendoulsy about her well being. It is very heart warming.

 

[Momma2Bullet]

welcome! what a story and beautiful bully! so glad you are here. hope being here finds you more info and support with your bully. it's helped me in the short time i have been here.

 

[reallyrob]

Welcome Cat01 and Maddie! I'm just across the river from you in Illinois! You're really going to like this forum...anything you need to know about bullies, you will find it here and if you don't find it, we will find it for you!