Kaiju
Miss Kaiju came to us in the usual way, but that is where this little lady decided to abandon “usual”. We named her Kaiju. Anyone who has watched a Godzilla movie or Pacific Rim, or King Kong, one of the other Japanese large monster movies is likely familiar with the term. It translates to “strange or fantastic beast.” With a personality that has been larger than life since she was born and the fact that she could not be any more fantastic- it just suits her. I cannot think of a more perfect name for this extraordinary girl.
Kaiju was born with a perfect little stump as though it were docked! It it the first and only time I have ever seen a Rottweiler pup born without a tail in over 2 decades of breeding. We took Kaiju to the emergency room soon after she was born for a full check-up and to assess any possible complications from being born without a tail. All the staff came into the room to check her out as she was quite the novelty. Thankfully, she had a great checkup! The vet said her heart was strong and she was overall a very vigorous puppy. She ate like it was her job! She loved to snuggle and was completely doted on by her mom.
Initially, she seemed quite ordinary with the exception of her little stump. A newborn puppy does not really do very much other than drink, sleep, snuggle and poop 😉 Around 2 weeks or so, pups are starting to sort out walking (adorably entertaining to watch, by the way). Kaiju, however, continued to swim-scoot. Initially, we thought that she is just taking her time to walk because mom was seeing to every need she had before she even knew it was a need. Unfortunately, it did not take long for it to become apparent that something was not ok with her rear system. We were unable to get an appointment for several weeks with all of our local veterinarians (still adjusting to our new normal post covid :/ ), so we ended up taking her in to emergency care. It was a very disheartening appointment. X-rays were inconclusive because of how small she was, but the ER vet felt that, because she was born without a tail, her spine was shortened or somehow compromised. He said she had no pain response in her back limbs, and recommended euthanizing. I not so gently disagreed, and he continued to insist that she would have urine and bowel incontinence and never be able to walk and said I should consider her quality of life. I want to be very clear here, if she were suffering in any way, shape or form, I would never, but never allow that. I have euthanized newborn pups before and gut-wrenching isn’t even close to the correct word for it, but souls this precious should not be forced to suffer. Having said that, Kaiju was, even at only 3 weeks old, always happy, scooched over to snuggle anytime someone new came to sit in the box with her, ate like it was Thanksgiving- she was not and has not ever suffered. My biggest contention to making a unilateral decision to euthanize at 3 weeks of age was how could anyone say that this was it- that there was no hope for any improvement with growth or physical therapy, or that surgery or any other intervention down the road was not possible. How can one know that at only 3 weeks of age?? So I thanked and payed him for his advice and then sat in the parking lot with my little Kaiju crying for a bit, hoping I was not being selfish. She snuggled up under my chin and sighed.
Here is miss Candi with her newborn baby right after she was born <3
As Kaiju got older and we were able to start follow up visits with our regular veterinarians, the prognosis remained a mixed bag for Kaiju. The veterinarians at Franklin Animal Clinic arrived at a consensus that she did not seem to have any obvious bone deformities- spine is intact, pelvis is correct and rear assembly is built correctly. Thus, the problem had to be neurological. Fortunately, I do not have very much experience with tail docking. I find it barbaric and horrid. I know there can be serious complications from docking to include infection of the central nervous system (open tail, especially right where the poop comes out, acts like a wick for bacteria straight up into the spine and brain), infection of the blood (sepsis) which can then travel to the heart causing endocarditis. Other times, besides the obvious trauma when you chop off a puppy’s tail, the consequences from nerve damage can include loss of bowel or bladder control and issues with ambulation (walking). This is because part of the central nervous system is cut off and damage to the nerves that extend into the rest of the rear assembly can be damaged. Essentially, although Kaiju was born without a tail rather than had it removed, it is the same situation. Lack of sufficient nerve/signals to the rest of her rear assembly.
We have been working with her with physical therapy. The first concern the veterinarian raised was whether or not Kaiju had the ability to control her bladder and bowel. I was honestly not sure. From birth, a good mom does all the cleaning. Newborn puppies do not have the ability to eliminate- pee or poop- by themselves and rely on mom stimulating them by cleaning to go potty. It unfortunately occurred to me that we were helping clean Kaiju more often, so the concern was that she did not have control. We started physical therapy with her- placing her legs under her often, doing bicycle like movements with her legs, and encouraging her to stand, even if momentarily. We also all made it a priority to keep an eye on Kaiju’s potty habits. Thankfully, it did not take us too long to discover she did indeed have the ability to hold it. Tahlia was snuggled up with her on the couch and fell asleep. I was in the kitchen baking when I heard little Kaiju crying. I scooped her up and set her down in her play area thinking maybe she was thirsty or hungry. She immediately peed! I was so proud of her. Not only could she hold it, but at only 3 weeks old, she already knew she did not want to pee on Tahlia <3 We discovered that the reason her backside needed washing more often was unfortunately because she just did not have the strength to stand up and get up off the ground when she had to go potty. We have been working with her physical therapy now for almost 2 weeks and I am so proud of her <3 She went from laying on her side and slowly moving her rear legs without purpose to kicking well when attempting to move and even trying to push herself up to a stand. We are not giving up on our little Kaiju <3 And her personality is still bigger than life <3 I adore everything about this beautiful girl <3 Even from her half way laying down position, she is feisty and just wants to play <3 How can you not fight for this beautiful spirit when she is fighting so hard for herself??
Miss Kaiju at 6 weeks old! Already stronger <3
This was Kaiju the day we left for New Jersey <3 She managed to get up on all 4’s and hobble to me for quite a distance. That took a lot out of her and she did not have enough for “round 2” but she none-the-less kept trying to get to me as she was called <3 Such a valiant heart that never gives up!
At 8 weeks old, Kaiju, Ethan and I made a trek out east to New Jersey. There is a rehabilitation center and a phenomenal doctor that have agreed to take on Kaiju’s case!
My little munchkin has been growing in leaps and bounds, pun intended! She now routinely stands up to eat and drink (she used to just lay on her side, propped up just enough), and she has gotten pretty good at bunny hopping and does this just as often as she drags herself. Again, I know it may not sound like a lot, but she is only 8 weeks old, and not even a month ago, her back system was completely useless, so it is a TON of progress for such a short amount of time! Noreen Mahoney, a very dear friend of mine, will foster Kaiju in New Jersey while she is under the care of Dr. Kristine Conway, DMV, CCRT and owner/founder of Aqua Dog and Cat Rehabilitation- a state of the art center for canine and feline physical therapy and integrative rehabilitation services based in Flanders, New Jersey. Her center has everything Kaiju could need- underwater treadmill, dry needling, ultrasound therapy, cold laser, massage, custom orthotics, etc., etc., etc., but most importantly, Kaiju will have another proponent in her corner that will not give up on her <3 Kaiju has such a special spirit and we are all completely infatuated. Please keep her in your prayers as she continues her journey <3 She is a trooper with the heart of a lion <3
She gets a bit mouthy when she is getting frustrated 😉 but she will work for peanut butter and cheese 😉 She never gives up and I am so proud <3 And every day more grateful to Noreen and Kris <3
IMG_8801 CLICK HERE for a video of miss Kaiju on the underwater treadmill! <3
Tuckered out after day 2 of physical therapy. Going home to take a nap with Aunt Noreen <3
To try and encourage her to keep her legs under her more often (rather than out to the side) her legs are currently taped together. This will also hopefully help strengthen the weaker back leg. Kaiju has some curvature in her spine and at this point, we are not sure which came first- the chicken or the egg. Is her spine curving because she always has it twisted with her legs out to the side, or was it already curved as part of the mutated gene that caused the shortened vertebral column (born without a tail).
Reuniting with my Kaiju after not seeing her since we dropped her off for intensive work with the rehabilitation center. Absolutely no words for how my heart soared and my sweet beauty, who wears her heart on her sleeve. I think it’s pretty clear what she thinks <3
Kaiju is always happy, and I do mean always <3 I do not think I have ever met a happier dog in my life. Every single time she makes eye contact with you, I can feel the love just radiating off of her. And every time I scoop her up to help her in or out of something or help her get over or around something, she just leans back against me, laying her head up beside mine and I am instantly engulfed by such an overwhelming feeling of grattitude exuding from my sweet Kaiju. She has never, not one single time, pitied herself, felt sorry for herself, or even felt like she was missing out on anything. She is determined to join in when the other dogs are wrestling and playing, completely oblivious to any perceived handicap. We could learn so much just sitting back and watching this incredible girl. She greets every day with all the happiness and enthusiasm of a child on Christmas morning. I do not know if I have ever, in my entire life, met a happier soul. There is such a pureness to her happiness too- it is unabashed, whole-hearted, and nothing is held back. She is absolutely contagious.
Here is Kaiju waiting for her turn for physical therapy at Aqua Dog. That level of entheusiasm that she nearly tows you to the door with never waned while waiting. If you have ever been around a child staring at birthday cake or a dog when their owner first comes home, then you can have a good idea of the energy that just radiates off of Kaiju. The only difference is, this is her energy, always, at all times <3 Just happy. Even when the other dogs race off after a ball and she cannot keep up- she doesn’t get distressed or upset; she doesn’t even look forlornly on at a ‘missed opportunity’. She immediately finds something around her to self-entertain with- her tail, bits of grass she can toss in the air, a leash she can start whipping around… it would be almost ADD how quickly she transitions if it weren’t for the fact that, if you know her, you know that is just her state of mind- perpetual happiness <3
Kaiju will work for food!!! lol As long as the bits of rotisserie chicken or string cheese keep coming, she will do anything you ask of her. She will work until she literally does not even have the stamina to stand up. As she has matured out of the puppy stage, she has gotten more patient and her progression with physical therapy has been able to really take off in leaps and bounds (yes, pun intended… 😉 ) Underwater treadmill work is to help her learn to walk more and hop less. This was especially difficult for Kaiju to learn as she is so entheusiastic that she wanted to do everything at 100 miles per hour. She would get going so fast that her legs couldn’t keep up and she would spin out and fall over. Just over winter, she has grown and matured so much and is so much better at controlling herself. Of course she still get overly excited sometimes 😉 But she has even worked on learning how to walk in a circle when she gets ahead of herself rather than just fall out.
Kaiju has pretty good people skills (I say pretty good, because she thinks she is a 10 foot tall bear and will challenge anyone that she does not think belongs. We have yet to convince her that this is not always the best approach, but we are working on it…) However, her dog social skills are unfortunately quite the train wreck (mostly because she is, of course, a person, so how in the heck is she supposed to know correct dog social behavior??). All of our dogs here- from pups on up to adults seem to understand that something is different about Kaiju and accommodate. It is very sweet when they bring toys to her to make sure she is included, and very tolerant of them when they placate her as she bites them when they walk past attempting to initiate play. They also ignore behavior that they would not accept in other dogs- absolutely no boundaries of personal space, thinking anything you are eating or playing with is hers too, etc. Although this is very generous and gracious of them, it only bolsters Kaiju’s convictions that she is invincible and that there are no real rules, merely occasional suggestions that one can feel free to ignore as it suits them. Consequently, we have been working on proper ettiquite (both human and canine) with Kaiju and try to encourage our 2 and 4 legged friends to help us out by not being as tolerant. Kaiju does not, in any way, shape or form see herself as handicapped, so we also have to not treat her as such.
I cannot put into words how I adore everything about this photo. From Tahlia learning proper usage of all the physical therapy equipment Noreen sent home to her boyfriend, Jeremiah learning how to help. But what really has my heart is Kaiju’s face/expression. She is such an expressive dog to begin with. She wears her heart on her sleeve. In her face in this photo, you can clearly see her apprehension on top of this wiggly, bouncy peanut that she has no control over- I cannot even imagine how helpless and nervous she must feel; and yet, that same face is expressing so much trust and love. I can see her thinking, “I don’t like this, I am afraid and I think I will fall and I won’t even be able to catch myself… but I trust you, so just tell me what you need from me.” And then moments later, when the string cheese comes out, “ok, yup, totally worth it!”
Another exercise that helps her think about foot placement, picking up her feet, and stepping instead of hopping. As you can see, the puppy in her wants to ram through as quickly as possible, completely oblivious to the objectives 😉
This is her “big brother” Gubal. He has helped raise Kaiju and the 2 are quite attached. I took these photo when Tahlia and Jeremiah got Kaiju out to go potty when we stopped for gas driving back to Indiana from New Jersey. He refused to take his eyes off his little sister <3
