Adorable dog learns to walk again after being left paralysed by … – msnNOW

If you’re looking for an uplifting story to round off your year, check out this adorable dog’s miraculous recovery.
Five-year-old cocker spaniel Mowgli has learnt to walk again, defying the odds after developing a degenerative spinal condition. 
Owner Elisha Young, 26, was devastated when Mowgli lost all feeling in his legs last year, which was later revealed to be due to an intervertebral disc disease.
However, after surgery and a year of hydrotherapy, the pup has learnt to walk again and is back to his normal, excitable, and adventurous self.
Recruiter Elisa, from Ballymoney, Northern Ireland, said that one day, Mowgli just started acting strange.
‘He was crying lots and walking a bit funny with his legs wide apart,’ she explained.
‘When me and my partner, Aidan, took him for a walk, he usually pulls and barks at the neighbour’s dog, but he was doing neither, so it started to concern us because it wasn’t like him at all.’
It got worse. By nighttime, Mowgli began panting and was really restless. He was constantly moving and seemed really uncomfortable.
Elisha called a vet who told them to bring Mowgli in that night, and were told nothing was wrong. 
‘We bought him home and tried to keep him comfortable, but I wasn’t happy with what we’d been told,’ she said.
Things weren’t right, and the next morning Mowgli was worse, so Elisha rushed him back to the vet.
After undergoing X-rays, vets said Mowgli was full of air and just needed to pass wind.
Elisha said: ‘We couldn’t believe it; we were laughing about how we’d spent £1,300 on the X-rays and appointment for them to tell us our dog needed to pass wind.
‘We took him home feeling relieved because we didn’t think there was anything seriously wrong with Mowgli.’
Unfortunately, things took another turn. Mowgli became incontinent and was totally out of it. Elisha called the vet yet again, who told her to take him for blood tests. 
‘The tests showed a thinning of his spine, and we were told it must be something neurological, so we’d need to see a specialist,’ Elisha said. 
Luckily, Aidan’s uncle Dr Billy is a specialist vet. He told them Mowgli would need surgery immediately as he has stage four Intervertebral disc disease (IVDD), and it was the only option.
The dog was now paralysed, even after surgery, so the couple moved their mattress downstairs to sleep next to him.
Elisha and Aidan were petrified their dog would never walk again. 
Mowgli was an active dog who loved to go mountain biking with Aidan, and the couple couldn’t bear the thought of him not being able to do this, so began looking into physiotherapy to try and help him.
Elisha explained: ‘We started off doing gentle exercises with him to help stimulate his muscles so they didn’t die.
‘We took him there twice a week for about six months with each session costing £28. We’d have done anything to help him.
‘For two months, after he’d gained some strength and movement back, he was just practising walking on a treadmill underwater.’
The beloved pet eventually graduated to a bigger pool and began to progress, with Elisha and Aidan keeping up the treatment at home.
Incredibly, he’s gone from being unable to move to fighting fit – all in the space of months.
‘Mowgli is doing fantastic now and is fully recovered,’ said Elisha.
‘We are so proud of him, and the vets are more than happy with how he’s doing.
‘He’s so happy and you’d never know anything was wrong with him.’
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