Viktor’s had a long list of interesting health problems that started when he was very young. Last August we visited a neurologist due to an abnormal gait. We were given a list of possible diagnostics. The recommendation was to continue monitoring Viktor as it was unlikely diagnostics would help.
At an appointment in December a vet noticed that Viktor was showing a delayed response with his front legs – not just the back ones. She recommended another neurologist consult and sent us to MedVet Akron. In early January Viktor had an MRI and we were able to see his brain!
The vet team was great. They let Viktor stay in the car until the time of his procedure. They brought him in when they were ready to start. After the procedure he was disoriented and they brought him into a room to be with me until he was more alert. And my favorite part was a few weeks later, on the next visit, he was just as happy to go in and be with them. During the procedure I spent time in the waiting room and saw the staff do a great job of handling a challenging dog and a challenging person. I saw many vet and tech interactions with dogs that showed the team knew those individual dogs well.
The good news is that there wasn’t anything too unusual about his brain. The vet did note a type of cyst in (on?) his neck vertebrae which isn’t great and could explain some of the changes. She also thought this did not explain his abnormal motion in the back end. This could possibly explain some of his exaggerated front limb motion and that he rubs on walls/surfaces/people. At this point, we’re not pursuing any surgical options at the recommendation of two specialists. Both think it’s more likely to do harm than good and he is currently functional.