swimmerpuppy.com

    Coreen,,
    I just wanted to share my swimmer puppy's story.  He was 5 weeks old when he was rescued and no one thought there was any hope for him.  His big blue sparkling eyes looked up at me and I decided that I would do whatever I could to help him.  I have attached a brief story of his recovery with some pictures.

    Thanks,

    Erin and R2-D2

Hi Coreen,
Please do share our story with everyone.
l have also started a facebook group to spread the word about swimmer puppies, I would love for you to join and add to it.  I have put pictures and video of R2's recovery and the first times he walked.   However, his is the only story I know so if you have other pictures and stories you can add, that would be great! I will send you the link from facebook.

I found your web site when R2 was a baby and it was the only suggestion I found that he might live and I had to cling hard to that so I am very grateful.  At the time I couldn't figure out how to contact you and wasn't sure the website was still active, otherwise I would have contacted you then for help at first and later to share our success.  I still wanted there to be as much info as possible about saving swimmer puppies though so I also started the website:www.swimmerpuppy.org  and hoped people would send in their stories for me to add but I haven't gotten much response.  I keep R2's story up and it has more details than they short version I sent you so feel free to check it out and feel free to use anything you find on the site and add it to yours.  What matters most is that people with swimmer puppies are able to find information, help, and hope somewhere.

Thanks

Erin 

R2-D2 & Erin Bierwirth

When he came into my life he could not walk, he could not even stand. His chest was as flat as a board and his legs splayed, reaching out like the points on a star.

His condition was extremely stressful for his body and his entire immune system was severely compromised.

I went on an extensive search for information. I exhausted every possible resource including vets, breeders, dog trainers, medical reference books, published papers and every website that even re- motely approached the topic. But they all came to the same conclusion ….R2-D2 was already dead. I read over and over: “the syndrome of swimmer puppies (pectus excavatum) is a condition of ’so called’ flat chested puppies. They usually die anywhere from two days to four weeks of age. More often, sooner than later.”

R2-D2 was 5 weeks old

I refused to accept this fate and I managed to come up with some creative physical therapy. I spent all day massag- ing his shoulders, trying to encourage his legs to move into position in a constant battle with the muscle spasms that were fighting to keep his legs as they were.

Next, R2 started wearing homemade vests that would help reposition his legs and pad his chest to avoid any additional pressure on his rib cage. He also had to sleep in positions that would keep him from roll- ing onto his stomach.     Finally we added a new exercise to our physical therapy routine which would help him start to develop the muscles and the coordination that would be necessary when he was able to start walking. The Chute was built so that the sides were shoulder width apart provid- ing support for him to stand up and keep his legs from splaying. It took almost a month and it was the longest month of my life but R2-D2 got on his feet, learned to walk and even started looking like a “normal” puppy.

 
 

The trust, dedication, determination, and passion we both put into R2’s recovery led to the creation of an amazing

bond and I am now applying the same passion, dedication and commitment to providing dog training and pet care services for others.   Waggles Dog Training & Pet Care - Great Falls MT:   For more information about our dog training and pet sitting services contact Erin at Waggles Dog Training: 406-564-1982 erin@waggledogs.com www.waggledogs.com

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