The biggest problem with Dachshunds is the dangerous injury that they have when they could have back problems that result in permanent paralysis for the rest of the little dog's life.
Some veterinarians will insist that if a surgery isn't done within 72 hours the dog will never walk normally again.
Jasper has proved that wrong. About five years ago, the brave dog suddenly was injured and couldn't move its back legs, similar to the typical dog injury to the back.
After going through a treatment, the owners of Jasper, May and Peter Hay, are amazed at Jasper's progress. They say that Jasper can even keep up with their fellow pets Hector and Dolly.
The way Jasper was cured was unique. Some cells were taken from his nose and used to fuse the breaks in his spinal cord. For four years the dog wasn't able to walk at all.
Now, Peter Hay says, "Jasper is whizzing around the house”.
This could also be applicable to human spinal chord injuries. Professor Robin Franklin, one of the study leaders from Cambridge University, is quoted as saying: "Our findings are extremely exciting because they show for the first time that transplanting these types of cell into a severely damaged spinal cord can bring about significant improvement."
So far, this has been done in 34 dogs that had all suffered spinal cord injuries as a result of accidents and back problems. A year or more after their injuries, the animals were unable to use their back legs to walk. Nearly all the dogs were Dachshunds.
Dachshunds are a breed known to be susceptible to this kind of injury. Unlike humans, dogs can suffer serious damage to their spinal cord just by having a slipped disc. Some of the dogs in the trial did regain bowel and bladder control, but the number was not statistically significant.
Jasper's owner May Hay, from Cambridge, is quoted as saying: "Before the trial, Jasper was unable to walk at all. When we took him out we used a sling for his back legs so that he could exercise the front ones. It was heartbreaking. But now we can't stop him whizzing round the house and he can even keep up with the two other dogs we own."
She added, "It's utterly magic."
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