Milo’s IVDD Success Story

Meet Milo, the 4 year old miracle Maltipoo who was diagnosed with IVDD in just February of this year. Milo’s story is so important, as it shows the true power of perseverance, and never giving up hope. Milo went from showing slight symptoms, to becoming fully paralyzed in his hind end, to learning how to walk and run again! His loving owners, Jocelyn and Drew, refused to give up on him, even after an expensive surgery still left him paralyzed. They gave him the love and care that he needed, along with physical therapy and rehab, and Milo was able to regain his mobility and walk again! This story is proof that there is always hope. Even if your dog is left paralyzed due to IVDD, they still have a chance at recovering. If you give them the time and extra care that they need, along with lots of love, they may surprise you and become your little miracle. Here is Milo’s IVDD success story, as told by his loving owner, Jocelyn.
Milo’s IVDD Success Story
Milo the miracle Maltipoo…
Milo is a Maltese/Poodle mix who was diagnosed with IVDD this February of 2019. I had started a new shift working from 3:00-11:00 pm. When I’d get home late at night, Milo would jump from our very high king size bed to come greet me at the door. I always had a feeling that he probably shouldn’t be jumping from the bed. I never could have imagined how bad it could truly be.
The early symptoms…
The first thing I noticed was in the morning on February 14th after taking Milo outside for a walk. He usually did a trick where he’d give you a high five and stand up on his back legs to get a treat. But this morning he refused to do it. Slowly throughout the day I noticed that he was walking funny and staggering his back legs. The following day he seemed to be in even more pain and refused to walk. I decided to let him rest and see if he would improve on his own. The third day after his initial presentation of symptoms, Milo refused to walk outside altogether. That is when we took him to the vet. They knew right away what the problem most likely was given his ataxic walk, painful back, and delayed flipping his paws over. That was the first time we ever heard of IVDD.
An attempt at conservative treatment…
We first started with strict crate rest and pain medication, Gabapentin and Tramadol. That didn’t seem to work because his pain seemed to be getting worse each day. He was crying out a lot in his crate and his back was hunched or “kyphotic”. His breathing was really fast and his appetite had decreased. After a couple days of no improvement we decided to take him back to the vet where they kept him overnight to watch and make sure his symptoms weren’t getting worse. They also increased his pain medications to Gabapentin, codeine, and steroids.
Going ahead with surgery…
We took him home and he did ok for a couple of days. But then the morning of Friday, February 22nd he was crying out in his crate. He was breathing so heavy and vomiting so we took him back the the vet again. That’s when we decided it would be best to do an MRI and see if he needed surgery, since medical management did not seem to be working. The MRI showed that he had a ruptured disc that was compressing his spinal cord at T11-12. The vet recommended surgery where they removed the piece of disc that was compressing on the spinal cord. We nervously agreed to the surgery because we knew it was the best option to get him pain free.
Struggle after surgery…
We took Milo home three days after the surgery and everything was going as well as it could. He was pain free and able to walk, just a little unsteady. He was on strict crate rest and could only be carried outside for a quick bathroom break. We used a sling to support him while he walked and kept him on the same medications. A week after surgery Milo started to act very painful yet again, so I called the vet and they told me to make sure I gave him his pain medications as scheduled. I did, and he fell asleep and seemed ok for the rest of the night.
The next morning was when everything went horribly wrong. I picked him up to take him outside and his back legs had no muscle tone at all. He wasn’t able to hold himself up or move his hind legs, nor could he go to the bathroom. So off to the vet we went again. Milo was now completely paralyzed from the waist down. He was unable to urinate, but still had bowel control. luckily he also still had deep pain sensation in his paws. The vet explained that after surgery sometimes dogs will either re-rupture the disc from the other side, or herniate a different disc adjacent to the treated area. Unfortunately, there was no way of knowing unless we did another MRI. We didn’t have pet insurance and had already spent so much money, we just couldn’t do it again. We had to say no.
The first sign of improvement…
We put him on even more medications. Gabapentin three times a day, codeine three times a day, an antibiotic, a medication to help him urinate twice a day, and a steroid taper. Milo wasn’t peeing on his own, even with the medication. We couldn’t express his bladder because he is so small and his belly was tense from being in pain. I had to straight catheterize him twice a day. We had a scheduled visit with the surgeon the next week, and that morning was the first time that he finally peed on his own. I was never so happy to see a dog pee!
Finally on the road to recovery…
Little by little after that we started to see small improvements. He’d kick his legs sometimes, and his tone started coming back. If we picked him up he could stand on his back legs for a few seconds. Then about a week later he started standing on his own! We started going to rehab two weeks after becoming completely paralyzed. During his physical therapy sessions we worked on his core strength. We did the underwater treadmill, laser therapy, and they prescribed some home exercises that I could do with him. He started walking independently three weeks after he was completely paralyzed. We completed eight treatment sessions of rehab and during that time we saw his gait improve significantly! He truly is a miracle!
Jocelyn’s advice for IVDD…
The chances of this happening again to Milo are very high, and we are trying to stay cautiously optimistic that he won’t relapse. We know that Milo will never be the dog that he was before, and that can be hard to think about sometimes. But we are so grateful to have him in our life. Milo was a very active dog that loved going for hikes. For now his hiking days are over, but he is still happy with walks around the block. I’d say the biggest and most important thing is keeping Milo in a crate when we’re not home so he doesn’t jump on and off the couch. He also doesn’t sleep with us in bed anymore, but in his own doggie bed on the floor to prevent him from jumping off our bed.
My best advice, if your dog goes through something like this, is not to give up hope. A lot of people may have thought we were crazy, but if you really love your dog and believe in them, miracles can happen.
Follow Milo and Jocelyn @jocelynann125
October 19, 2019 @ 12:16 pm
I just took Zeke my true best friend for surgery yesterday. His experience was exactly the same as Milo’s up to the surgery. I am hopeful he is able to make a full recovery, but I will take more time with him in anyway (as long as he is pain free).
Milo’s story while heart breaking gives me hope that no matter the result love, care, and an adapted lifestyle can extend my time with Zeke. He weighs 80 lbs, and my abilities to express his bladder before surgery were a struggle, but nothing like the struggle of living without him before his time. I am up for the challenge should it be the case.
I’m going to keep following the site and hope to be able to share Zeke’s story and of course lots of pictures.
Thank you for giving me the hope and smile I needed. 🙂
October 21, 2019 @ 10:48 am
I am so sorry you and Zeke are going through this right now, but it makes me so happy that Milo’s story helped give you hope. I am so proud of you for your dedication to Zeke and for not giving up hope. It is so hard in the beginning, but it gets easier and it is so worth it! Thank you for reaching out, it makes me so happy! Good luck on your journey to healing, and I hope you continue to reach out because I would love to hear updates. So many dogs do recover and there is always hope. I would love to hear and share Zekes story, when you are ready, so he can help other dogs and their owners who are going through this too. Feel free to email me any time through the contact page! Zeke is very lucky to have you.
February 22, 2020 @ 6:43 pm
Thanks Cristij. I am doing my best, Zeke isn’t doing well. My hope is that with some pain management he can live a better life.
October 22, 2019 @ 5:39 pm
My good boy Blu just got of ivdd surgery. He was completely paralyzed with out feeling in his hind legs yesterday out of no where. The vet said surgery went well and the spinal cord looked really good. Now we wait to see if he can feel the pinches in his hind legs tomorrow. He’s an 8 yr old 70 pound Pitbull so I know he is strong. Say a prayer for him. We can’t let him go this early.
November 5, 2019 @ 7:49 am
It is good news that surgery went well! I hope for a full and fast recovery for your boy Blu. He is so lucky to have such dedicated owners. It’s not easy, especially with a 70lb dog! I hope he is doing well. Any updates?
February 22, 2020 @ 6:41 pm
Joe I had the exact same experience at the same time with Zeke. He is also an 8 y/o 70-75 lb pit-mix and had back to back surgeries in mid-October. For some reason the first surgery did not remove all the material in the spine and they had to go back in the next day. I felt terrible for him.
He regained his ability to walk just before Thanksgiving, but he has taken a turn and is not doing well at all. He has lost a lot of weight down to 60lbs he looks terrible. He has lost all the muscle mass in his hind legs and abdomen. And as if that wasn’t enough he got hit with terrible allergies and is miserable.
My hope right now is that acupuncture will relieve some of his pain and allow him to work in hydrotherapy to rebuild some of the muscle. My heart is breaking so much for him.
March 8, 2021 @ 2:27 am
Hello, I have a soon to be 7 month old male maltipoo. I had done the Embark test to find out his breed as well as his medical health. They emailed and told me he has stage 1 IVDD and is a carrier of that gene. I’m praying he lives his life full… curious how much was the surgery? And also what would you suggest for a healthy vitamin to start him on? This is my second maltipoo and he loves to jump so we will limit what we can and teach him what we can also. Any words of advice would be much appreciated. Curious how your baby is doing now? Thank you! I’ll be discussing this with his vet next visit
March 8, 2021 @ 10:42 am
I’m glad you found out so early so you can take the right preventative steps! Surgery can vary a lot depending on where you live. In California I was quoted 11,000 for emergency surgery. That seems to be in the high end. I highly recommend pet insurance if it’s not to late to get covered. As far as vitamins, a lot of people use Vetri Disc. CBD oil as well may slow down the degeneration of the discs. Last I heard, the dog in this story, Milo, had another episode and was paralyzed in the back end and having surgery. Poor Milo has been through a lot. I’ve asked for an update, hopefully he has recovered well! My biggest advice is limit anything that involves jumping up and down furniture as well as limit use of stairs. Teach him not to jump up on bed or couch, or you can make ramps and teach him to use those, maybe block any stairs with a baby gate. Be mindful of the way you pick him up, try to keep him level with the ground, back straight, support front and back end. And just dont let any other dogs play too rough with him. He can still run and hike and play, you just want to limit things that cause an acute compression of the spine as much as you can. Good luck to you and to your baby. Thanks for reaching out!