Henry is a wee Pomerian who was called Bubbles before his rescue – but Henry suits him so much better. He looks like the most adorable cherished Teddy Bear you’ve ever owned yet a year ago he had been abandoned and ended up with the Dogs Trust.
He was referred to me with a trapped nerve in his left shoulder which causes him to yelp now and again, particularly at night when he wakes himself up. He is currently on quite a lot of pain medication but his owner wants to try and treat him with conservative therapy. He has already had one acupuncture session with the lovely Guy from Coastway Vets who treated our Sarah. The aim was to add another complementary therapy to give this little fella some relief. (And little he is…..imagine a miniature terrier or tiny Chihuahua. His owner told me of a lovely story where they put all his daughter’s fluffy toys in a pile and placed Henry in the middle for their picture of last year’s Christmas card – a bit like that scene in ET. People had to try and spot Henry).
He is thought to be about 12 years old and rescued a year ago. He only has a couple of teeth left and is described as “a right character with a bit of a dislike for men, particularly youths with caps”. Fortunately I can no longer describe myself as a youth and certainly don’t wear caps so 2 out of 3 ticks for me.
The pain from his issues was clearly displayed when he stood up as his back was very hunched and roached – his front legs were almost touching his back legs. His owner said the best way to hold him was simply to scoop him up and sit him in my lap. Before any ‘scooping’ I had a little chat with Henry who decided that I was definitely yapping and ‘gumming’ material. After 5 minutes of gumming I went in for the scoop. Henry sat in my lap while I had a feel of his muscles. His little neck was rock solid which must have been causing an awful lot of pain.
A Henry-size dog can’t really be massaged by hand, but with fingers and thumbs. So he got lots of work on his stiff neck and down his back. Within 5 minutes he had slumped into my knee then he slumped down into my lap then his eyes closed and then his head drooped. Clearly this was what he needed.
You’d think that treatment for a Henry-size dog could be done in a short time but actually he lasted a full 60 minutes with a turning round half way through without any complaint. Just as I had finished he let out the longest sigh.
He had to be one of the most receptive dogs I have treated in a long time despite his initial wariness of me. He seemed to know that I was there to help him and trusted me within such a short time going nice and floppy allowing me to really work on his muscles and joints.
The picture below shows the end result – Henry fast asleep back in his bed. Just goes to show that canine massage & myotherapy has no size barriers.
