Paralyzed dog getting help from animal lovers

KIRIKKALE – Anadolu Agency

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A stray dog whose back legs were paralyzed after he was hit by a car could eventually walk again thanks to the efforts of a good Samaritan in Central Anatolia.

Mehmet Köksal, who feeds stray animals in his neighborhood every day, devised a makeshift cart from a shopping trolley for the dog, which was hit by a car in Kırıkkale. 

Unable to provide advanced care, however, Köksal asked for help from officials last week to ensure treatment for the dog – dubbed Kostak – under better conditions. After the dog’s tribulations were covered in the press, Köksal received calls from animal lovers and organizations around the country to help provide treatment and give the dog a walker. 

After getting in touch with a veterinary clinic in Ankara, Köksal drove Kostak to the capital in a car borrowed from a relative. 

After an initial check, veterinarians began the treatment process for Kostak. Doctors are hopeful that the dog will be able to walk again or be able to use a walker at the very least.

Köksal said he had received many calls from animal lovers after he made his voice heard in the media. 

“I receive calls from all around Turkey. They want to help me. But all I want is to see this dog walking again. People are very interested in this issue; they said they would provide all kinds of support. Then we came here. I don’t have a car but one of my relatives gave me his car. Animals are like my children. If they are hungry, I am hungry, too. I feed them every day; I love them a lot,” he said. 

Veterinarian Erdi Küçük said they had detected numbness in the back legs of the dog but also that the dog was able to feel pain in the limbs. 

“It gives us hope that there is a deep sensation of pain,” Küçük said. “The X-ray shows that there is a trauma between his 13th dorsal vertebra and first lumbar vertebra. We will check his blood test. If we don’t see a problem in his general situation, we will get a magnetic resonance imaging test under anesthesia. Depending on the result, we will do an operation to relieve this part of the body. Also, we will support it with cortisone treatments. It looks like an old case. Generally, recovery in such neurological cases is not too fast. We need to be patient. After the operation we will get support for physical treatment and walkers.”