When Goldie the puppy arrived at Good Karma Pet Rescue in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, she was in a bad way. She’d had a terrible start to life, and had been starved and neglected. The abuse was so bad that she’d been left with a spine deformity, a mangled tail, and was unable to walk.
April Lowe, a volunteer with the rescue, immediately took to the little pup, and began to share pupdates to keep people informed about little Goldie’s progress.
“Went to the vet today and all tests came back negative,” April posted on Nov. 14. “She’s on antibiotics for her eyes, her rash and her little nub (they were able to remove her partially hanging tail).
We are so grateful to everyone who donated to her medical care. We are still awaiting her X-ray results but so far everything is looking really good!”
Over time, Goldie began to eat more, and the little pup steadily gained weight. With her weight gain came increased strength- though she was still struggling to walk.
Vets began to question if Goldie had Swimmers Syndrome– an uncommon developmental deformity of newborn dogs and cats whereby the limbs, primarily the hind limbs, are splayed laterally resulting in an inability to stand or walk.
However, more tests confirmed that the pup didn’t have the syndrome- she simply couldn’t walk due to the terrible conditions she had grown up in.
We started physical therapy today!Goldie is CRUSHING it. She’s such a stud, her joy and eagerness to please make this…
Posted by April Lowe on Sunday, 15 November 2020
“I spoke with the vet this evening, he’s not so sure she has swimmers syndrome, rather he believes she was kept in a very small cage and starved (and yes her tail was the result of a botched docking),” April said in an update on Nov. 15. “It’s sickening to think about BUT the take away here is that with our exercise and good nutrition she will be able to use her back legs.”
It was heartbreaking to think of what Goldie had been put through, but the fact that she would one day regain the use of her legs was great news.
April was determined to help Goldie get back on her feet again, and to help the little pup out, her brother and sister-in-law built a box specially for her. The box had walls on either side to act as a bumper, helping Goldie to keep her balance.
Although her makeshift box at home provided a great leg-up for the little pup, she would still need extensive physical therapy. April met with Kyle Krupa Athletix Rehab and Recovery- and despite him normally being a human therapist, he was willing to take on the challenge.
“Once her hind legs are strong enough we can start encouraging her to walk more frequently with proper form, starting with a narrow box/tunnel, then having her observe and play with other dogs that she can mirror,” Kyle told WTSP-TV
April was overjoyed to have found such a committed therapist, and she was impressed with the amount of work he was putting in to help the little pup.
“My amazing physical therapist, Kyle Krupa from Athletix Rehab and Recovery, worked with Goldie today,” she posted on Nov. 21. “He sent me home with exercises to do with her and we will follow up next week. So grateful to him for donating his time to help this miracle baby get as strong as she possibly can.”
We can already see what an impressive transformation Goldie has been through since she first arrived in the shelter, and we wholeheartedly believe that she will be ready to go to a new home in no time. To keep up with Goldie’s progress, you can take a look at the Good Karma Pet Rescue page here.
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