Our Shih Tzu (F-12) had a grooming appointment yesterday morning. Immediately after the appointment, she was returned to us and was falling over and unable to walk. After going to the vet, she has gotten significantly worse and has almost no control over her legs. We have been helping her eat and go outside to take care of business since she returned from the hospital.

The groomer said she was just like that, saying something about her heart murmur that we were already aware of. The vet hospital said it could be a neck injury related to IVDD (invertebral disc disease, saying it's common in Shih Tzus), FCE (fibercartilangeous clot), blood clot/hemorrhage, or cancer. I personally believe the groomer dropped her on her neck/head and potentially paralyzed her. I have no proof and I have no intention of legally pursuing this groomer, but I do need to know if I should continue to follow the vet hospital's instructions or if we should put her down and spare her this suffering for the next week or two as instructed. The hospital has told us to give her anti-inflammatory drugs and pain killers for the next 2 weeks, checking in with the vet a week from now with any progress. They expected results could show as soon as tomorrow (48 hours), though it's not looking like it's working that quickly.

I've attached a video of these neck twitches she's been having, hoping that it is more of indication of what the actual problem is. Her neck and head movement has slightly improved today, but it's still fairly stiff and retracted. She has what the vet called knuckling in all four legs as well. She can somewhat kick her hind legs, but almost no movement whatsoever in her front legs. She also refuses to go number 2 because she's very shy when it comes to that, so if you have any tips on getting her to go while also keeping her upright, that would be great while we resolve this issue. She also struggles to urinate while we hold her, but she goes when she absolutely needs to and she's pretty good about making noise or getting our attention when it's time for that to happen.

Please let us know, we are absolutely devastated by this, especially considering she was her same able self right before the groomers worked on her. Anything you have to offer is greatly appreciated!

12 year old Shih Tzu can't walk after grooming appointment