A video of a blue heeler dog that suffered a sudden traumatic injury during a game of fetch has gone viral on TikTok.
The clip, shared from the TikTok account Team Chaps (@rollingoaksfarm), had 24.8 million views at the time of writing.
A message overlaid on the video reads: "June 4 was just a normal day of fetch for Chaps, until it wasn't. In one moment she went from completely normal to paralyzed in the hind end."
The footage shows Chaps chasing a ball before sliding and tumbling across the ground. She was later seen crawling, with the lower half of her body appearing immobilized, towards a man who ran to her.
A caption shared with the viral clip reads: "In hopes of helping just one other dog in the future we are sharing Chap's journey. If also to help the humans process this type of event."
According to a later post, an MRI exam indicated that the blue heeler "herniated a disc that pushed onto her spinal cord."
The spinal cord is made up of small bones known as vertebrae and between each vertebrae are discs, which "cushion the vertebrae from one another, acting like shock absorbers and also providing flexibility to the spine," explains the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in California.
A disc herniation, also known as a "slipped disc," can see a disc pushed out the side, below or up around the spinal cord.
"Herniation of the disc often occurs very explosively, causing significant injury to the spinal cord and pain to the animal. There is very little room between the spinal cord and the surrounding bony vertebrae and as a result, once disc material has herniated into this small space it continues to cause damage to the spinal cord," the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine says.
@rollingoaksfarm In hopes of helping just one other dog in the future we are sharing Chap’s journey. If also to help the humans process this type of event. #blueheeler #blueheelersoftiktok #traumaticinjury #journey #sharingknowledge
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Common symptoms of herniated discs include "back pain, lameness, incoordination, and/or inability to walk in the hind legs, or all four limbs," the school notes.
A message overlaid on the latest viral video says the blue heeler was "yelping and in considerable pain" before being rushed to an emergency veterinary clinic.
According to a later post, Chaps spent 48 hours at the clinic before being discharged.
"She has a long road ahead of rehabilitation," a note across the later clip says.
In a caption in a subsequent video, the original poster says: "Chaps is sectioned off [at home] to limit her to small movements, she gets frequent walks and we invested in lots of mind stimulating toys which we will share soon. We added rugs in many areas to help prevent her from slipping."
@rollingoaksfarm This is what it’s come to 😂 Chaps is sectioned off to limit her to small movements, she gets frequent walks and we invested in lots of mind stimulating toys which we will share soon. We added rugs in many areas to help prevent her from slipping. #blueheeler #blueheelersoftiktok #traumaticinjury #journey #healingjourney #spinalinjury
♬ original sound - Team Chaps
Another video update shows Chaps on all fours, slowly walking inside a building. A message overlaid on the clip says she had her first evaluation and acupuncture session and is "already improving."
Several users were moved by the heartbreaking original clip.
In a comment that got 50,200 likes, user Brooke wrote: "The way she went right up to you in her most scared moment. I hope you all recover from this."
TicTokCowboy said: "The heartbreaking part was watching her try to go back to dad because she didn't know what was going on."
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.
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