Soon after Andy was uncaged, we let him swim again. The vet recommended swimming as a form of physical therapy. Getting Andy to swim would not be a problem. The vet did suggest we use some sort of flotation device for Andy in his first week or so of swimming again.
I never knew life vests for dogs existed until then. I went to a pet store and found one. I bought it and brought it home. It took some adjusting for me to properly adjust the straps to fit Andy. Andy patiently waited while I made the adjustments. I pointed to the pool and told him “Get in the watty.”
I didn’t have to twist his arm. He went in and I followed. He swam laps and in circles. He would swim to me or my mom so we could hold him. He loved being in our arms while we stood in the shallow end. Other times, he would stand on the steps. The water cooled him and the “weightlessness” relaxed and soothed him.
He would swim regularly from then on. After a week, he didn’t need to use the life vest. There were times he needed help getting out because his back legs were still a little weak. He still loved to swim. He was enjoying life.
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