Coffee Bean

**I am currently living in a foster home! Please contact [email protected] if you are interested in learning more about or meeting me.** Hello! I'm Coffee Bean! You may have seen my story highlighted a couple of times. I'm a pretty special boy! I had a pretty sad past but Great Plains SPCA made quick work to place me in an amazing foster home and I've been loving life since. As you can see, I need some extra care and I'm not like your typical pup. Even with my hind legs being paralyzed, I absolutely love to play! I'm still a puppy so you'll get all the puppy-love you've been searching for. I love to play with other dogs and love to cuddle up. I even do great in the car! ~ Coffee Bean came to us with hind limb paresis, meaning he has partial paralysis in his hind legs. It was suspected that he had suffered trauma to his spinal cord. An MRI revealed a large cyst within the spinal cord which explains his clinical signs. There were also changes to one of the vertebrae, which could have been a result of a congenital anomaly such as spina bifida. It is possible that a combination of a congenital defect and trauma is what resulted in his current clinical signs. Coffee Bean has been undergoing physical therapy to help improve his ability to use his legs. He has shown some improvement, but there are not a lot of long term studies to give us an idea of what we can expect with his recovery. Most likely, he will never be able to walk on his own, but he may have some reflexes in his hind legs that will help him to get around in a wheel chair. Coffee Bean can urinate and defecate on his own, but he is has no control over it and seems unaware that it is happening. Right now, his bladder is easy to express by pressing on his abdomen. Doing this a few times a day to empty the bladder as much as possible may keep him from leaking as much urine. Coffee Bean gets around really well in his wheel chair and has a great outlook on life. He hardly seems to know that he is paralyzed in his hind legs, and he is such a happy boy. Great Plains is covering the cost of the first six physical therapy sessions. Once he has completed those, we will know what further recommendations they have on continuing physical therapy in the home or in a rehabilitation facility. Adopters will want to follow up with their family veterinarian or a veterinary neurologist for ongoing medical care and rechecks.