Spinal Injury

[Emily]

My parents 11 year old beagle escaped the other night and wasn't found until the next afternoon in the neighbors yard. When their neighbor found her he said he honestly expected her to die in his arms right then and there. She warmed up but couldn't stand. At first we thought it was a result of being out in the snow and cold for so long but we still rushed her up to the vet. Turns out she must have been hit by a car because she has injured her spine.
She has a fractured dislocation of the T-L junction. And the surgery is between $3,000 and $6,000 on the other side of the state. Which my dad flatly refuses to pay.
But the vet she is at now keeps telling my mom that he wants to wait and see if she heals on her own. Which makes no sense to me, I assumed that a spinal injury is pretty dang serious and it's either surgery or euthanasia. But he says that he's seen "miracles" with dogs that he didn't expect to recover. I'm still skeptical and feel that at this point we're just keeping her alive for our sake. And even if she did pull out of this then what will her quality of life be? Has anyone had a dog with a similar injury?
She does have feeling in her legs and according the vet she is not deteriorating, she's eating and doing well.

[Poohs Dad]

Nerve and spinal injuries can take up to 6 months to heal...if they are going to at all

[Poohs Dad]

feeling in her legs is a good sign, I'd give her some time. sry bout the dbl post

[Misskiwi67]

If she has pain sensation in her legs, then there is a reasonable expectation that she may heal and walk again. Dogs walk on 4 legs instead of 2, so the coordination required for walking is considerably less than for humans, and learning to walk again is a possibility.

However, if for some reason the dog does not heal, the owners need to be prepared for some considerable care and maintenance. The dog will need a cart, and they cannot spend their entire lives in the cart so they need to be kept on appropriate surfaces in the meantime to prevent skin sores from dragging themselves around. If they do not have bladder control, then they need their bladder expressed 3-4 times daily, and will also require urine cultures every 3-4 months.

[Emily]

I cannot thank you enough for your replies. I honestly thought it was totally false hope to believe that she would be able to make it without the surgery. I've never been to the vet my parents took her to so I was reluctant to believe that possibility. She might be an older dog but she's so healthy you'd think she was half her age. I just hope we get a little more time with her.