Albert the Dachshund

A Tribute to Albert the Dachshund and his journey to recovery.

In August 2017, my mini–Dachshund Albert, at 5 months was in and out in of hospitals with a neurological disorder the Vets couldn’t diagnose. A last resort spinal tap pinpointed the disorder (shaker syndrome) and after a course of steroids that regressed his behaviour, Albert made a full recovery.

During this time, Albert’s legs began to grow strange, and he struggled to run and walk normally. He was diagnosed with Pas Varus in both back legs (a developmental condition that results in a limb deformity and is seen most in dachshunds).

This complication led to a leg reconstruction and Albert almost lost one paw due to complications.  He had orthopaedic surgery to the right leg to straighten it in August 2018, it was successful, and we decided to have the other leg corrected in November the same year.

Complications set in with a blocked artery within a leg and caused Albert’s paw digits to bleed and the pads were detaching. He has seen specialists, and after consideration, we ended up working with our local vet to assist us in treatment and I stayed home with him to aid his recovery.

A year ago, Albert, became paralysed with IVDD (a spinal disorder that follows from the herniating of an intervertebral disc) and suffered pancreatitis (an inflammatory reaction within the pancreas), resulting in a hunched back, vomiting, weakness and other symptoms.

He underwent emergency spinal surgery and with months of crate rest and hydrotherapy, chiropractic and acupuncture treatments, he is walking and running again.

Albert is finally showing some reflex action in his rear leg. He still has acupuncture treatment monthly and improving each time. He had just progressed from the water treadmill to the pool and was making amazing progress!

My poor little sausage, as you can see, Albert’s a real fighter and has an amazing tolerance and hilarious personality.

We are so grateful to Petcover for providing cover for Albert’s surgery and physical therapy sessions. He has had huge health problems since we adopted him five years ago as a puppy and without Petcover pet insurance he wouldn’t be with us today.

I recommend Petcover to all my family and friends. It’s has been an absolute godsend, worth every cent!

Next month he will be featured in a TV commercial (it hasn’t be released yet so I can’t say much more about it).  So stay tuned!

– Dana

You can follow Albert’s progression on his Instagram account: @albert_wiener_wong