MARRERO, La. -- Sometimes you are born with a problem, like Tea, who has no ligaments in her back legs.
Sometimes age takes its toll, like with Max, who at age 13, has heart problems and can’t have the hanging tumors on his body removed.
Or it could be an accident that changes your life, as is the case with Iko, who was knocked into a wall by another dog, crushing his spine.
Or it can be being hit by a car, as Cole was, losing one leg then chewing off his other foot when sensation returned.
For Little Man, it was a bad spinal injury when his mother sat on him, cracking his back.
And for Teo, being shot by his owner made him a paraplegic. The bullet remains in his body.
These are all what could be perceived as a series of very sad stories. In reality, what's happening at Dag's House is a very happy story.
Each of these dogs is having fun, whether in a wheelchair or limping along. Big, small, young, old, they are enjoying themselves and each other.
Some live here. Others visit during the week. But all of them are here because someone is committed to their quality of life. Someone didn't give up on them.
And that's the story of Dag, short for Dagnabit, a pit bull found by a friend of Kim Dudek.
His ears had been cut off with scissors and his neck showed signs of being hung. Dudek says he was being prepped to be a fighter. Extremely aggressive, he had to be muzzled around her other dogs.
That Dag survived that is somewhat miraculous. But together they would survive Katrina, then a year later another crisis: Dag had three broken discs and was rushed into emergency surgery.
Dudek was told he might never walk again and she should consider euthanasia.
“Part of me was angry. Part of me was frustrated and part of me was 'I need more information,’” Dudek said.
It was the lack of information about alternatives that led to the creation of Dag's House. Dudek had been a rehabilitation counselor for disabled children.
“I would get speech therapists, occupational therapists, social workers, doctors, nurses, and we would all come to the table and we would put together these plans,” she said.
So that's what she did for Dag. She pulled together an acupuncturist, a holistic veterinarian, a canine massage therapist, and every day for several hours they worked as a team to build his strength, move his muscles, and let him know he was loved.
But it wasn't until he got his wheelchair that Dag's depression lifted.
“When he saw that chair, he knew,” Dudek said. “We’d get him in the chair. He took off. I live on a dead end street, thank God, and he just, to be able to be vertical and moving.”
The light was back in his eyes and he went everywhere in his chair.
“He went to Pontchartrain Beach. He would go swimming, he would go to the French Quarter, to a bar. He would go everywhere and anywhere,” she laughed.
All of his therapy was done at a boarding facility which had many other dogs.
“The dogs in those suites were like, ‘You go, Dag!’ They would bark at him and root him on.”
Dudek says perhaps he heard those dogs cheering him or perhaps he knew he couldn’t fight anymore, but one day Dag just relaxed. And today he is no longer aggressive with other dogs. He has friends and he plays and today he can walk without his wheelchair.
Dag’s House is a full fitness and rehabilitation center for disabled animals. Some, like Winnie, are looking for a home.
Others, like Forrest Gump, came straight from a shelter, born with deformed legs from a lack of nourishment from his mother.
Stacy Chaisson, house manager and animal massage therapist at Dag’s House, says Forrest is building strength while he waits for braces.
“When he first got here, he could not even do what he is doing now, he was so weak,” Chaisson said.
And she has no doubt he will learn to walk.
For dogs with spinal injuries or even arthritis, the underwater treadmill helps build muscles and strength.
Dr. Catherine Reid said it is the kind of therapy that will benefit a dog like Piglet who has had surgery after being attacked by a wild boar.
“They are supported by their weight. They are in a situation where they can actually put the weight on the leg and trust it again and build that confidence up again,” she said.
Water therapy is among a long list of programs for all kinds of disabilities at Dag’s House. Reid feels, in many cases, it is an alternative to euthanasia for clients who want to commit to the time and expense.
“That’s the most rewarding thing. Some of the clients come, they walk in here and leave crying because they are so happy to finally find a place where we respect their relationship with their animals and we are willing to do whatever we can to bring that quality of life back to their animal,” she said.
For Dr. Georganna Ranglack, acupuncture has helped a dog who was shot by his owner.
“His right leg is working very nicely even in his wheel chair,” she said. “And that means that he is…the message is getting from his brain to his leg that ‘I want to walk. I want to move forward,’” she explained.
The left leg is still a work in progress. But, she says the dog loves his acupuncture sessions.
Rex, a quadraplegic 13-year-old Doberman, was walking again at Christmas but had a setback.
Stacy massages and stretches him daily, convinced that he still wants to live.
“He’s happy. He gets along with all the dogs. He gets on the floor and plays with all of the puppies,” she said. “He isn't ready to give up yet.”
As the dogs come in for an afternoon nap, Kim Dudek knows Dag's House has made a difference in these animals’ lives.
“At the end, what they want is 'I can’t use this anymore. Teach me a different way and I’ll do it.' And that’s what we do here is we teach them another way,” she said.
But Dudek will say it is the animals who have taught her so much.
“They don't hold on to any of that. You can cut my ears off, you can hang me by the neck, you can rupture three discs, you can slam me against the wall. You can do all this stuff and they just keep on going,” she said.
Dag's House is a happy place. These dogs, regardless of their condition, are with other dogs, and surrounded by those who just want to help them move and feel better, make them feel alive again. Just like Dag, who has a wonderful life today, because no one gave up on him.
Dag's House has also helped find homes for over 30 dogs last year alone. Many of the animals they care for are up for adoption. They are trained, socialized and just waiting for a home.
Visit www.dagshouse.com for more information.
