Meet Tasha. This beautiful nine year old Rottweiler and I
first met in July 2012 after a phone call from her mum seeking some help for
her.
Tasha was recovering from the removal of her left front leg
in May due to cancer and was having difficulty maintaining her balance. She also
needed help with her hind quarters as in recent years she had TPLO surgeries on
both her back legs and was very stiff in her gait. She also suffers with some
arthritis.
When I first met Tasha at her home, her balance was so
unsteady that when she came to greet me, she kept falling down on her chin,
which scared her greatly. With clearance given by her oncologist to proceed
with weekly massage, I started on the road to help her regain her balance,
proprioception and ease the tightness in her hind quarters.
On the fourth visit to Tasha, it was a delight to see her
come running down her yard to greet me, the massage and propriocetion exercises
had helped to give her full confidence in balancing on her three legs. To our
surprise last week, she is now confident enough to jump up on her hind legs to
greet us, though her owner discourages this mischievous behaviour.
Unfortunately, Tasha has not been without setbacks since I
have been seeing her. In late August she suffered a reaction after having a
chemotherapy treatment which left her unable to move her legs properly. Her
owner decided to take her back to her orthopaedic specialist for a check up. He
was unsure of what caused the reaction but recommended she maintain her weekly
massages as he could see the improvement with her.
Tasha is due to have her final chemotherapy treatment in
October and we all hope for a positive outcome for this beautiful lady.
I will continue Tasha’s weekly massage sessions, helping to
strengthen her muscles and introduce new challenges for her as she gains more
confidence with herself.
Sadly, Tasha lost her brave battle and crossed The Rainbow Bridge on 17th June 2013.
Sadly, Tasha lost her brave battle and crossed The Rainbow Bridge on 17th June 2013.