A rehab specialist walks you through what actually happens to a Frenchie spine after the ER — and a rescue org shows you what it costs when nobody caught it in time. French Bulldog Weekly — okay, today we’re going from the neurology consult to the rehab table, and then over to the foster network that’s picking up the pieces. Michelle Monk at Dogs In Motion is our named source today, and this is the first time we’ve had a canine rehabilitation specialist in the conversation. That’s not the same thing as a neurology consult, and that difference matters more than most owners realize. And French Bulldog Village’s adoption process shows you what happens when a dog with a back history needs a home. That’s a very different conversation from “adopt don’t shop.” From Michelle Monk at Dogs In Motion Canine Rehabilitation:
IVDD occurs when the cushioning discs between the vertebrae of the spinal column either bulge or burst into the spinal cord space. These disc issues can lead to pain, nerve damage, and even paralysis. French Bulldogs are especially at risk due to their genetic makeup and physical structure.
We’ve been in the IVDD thread since May 12 — crate sizing, neurology grades, the whole arc. Today we finally have a named rehabilitation specialist in the mix: Michelle Monk at Dogs In Motion Canine Rehabilitation. That’s a different credential from a neurologist, and that distinction matters — physio post-IVDD is its own clinical lane. And that’s exactly the gap nobody tells you about at discharge. The neuro consult tells you what grade the herniation is. Michelle Monk’s clinic is about what happens after the crate — the actual hands-on rehab work that gets a dog moving again, or doesn’t, depending on whether you even knew to ask for a referral. Dogs In Motion is based in Australia, so this isn’t a local referral resource for most listeners — but the protocol framing still translates. What a canine rehab specialist prescribes post-IVDD, whether that’s hydrotherapy, targeted muscle work, or a structured return-to-movement plan, is not on a standard vet discharge sheet. That’s the gap. I also want to flag the rescue angle here, because French Bulldog Village is in today’s rundown and IVDD surrenders are a real intake category for them. If you’re fostering or adopting a Frenchie who’s already had a back episode, you’re not just taking on a dog — you’re potentially taking on a rehab caseload. That cost, in time and money and protocol, lands on the foster network, not on the breeder who produced the dog. From French Bulldog Village:
The French Bulldog Village is a wonderful rescue group...we foster and rehabilitate French Bulldogs and Frenchie Mixes that are rescued by our volunteers or surrendered to the Village. We take in healthy dogs, ones with behavior issues and ones with medical issues or handicaps that require more extensive help from us.
French Bulldog Village has an open-intake policy — healthy dogs, behavior cases, medical needs, handicaps — if a Frenchie needs a home, they take the dog. That’s a meaningful policy statement, but it also means their foster network is absorbing whatever the surrender pipeline sends them, and right now that pipeline includes a lot of spinal cases. The Village runs entirely on vet-network discounts and donations — no compensation per placement, nothing commercial. So when a dog comes in post-IVDD episode, already needing rehab, that cost lands on a volunteer foster household and whatever discount relationships FBV has negotiated. That’s not a criticism, that’s just what the math looks like. The RKC BOAS genetic screening research we covered on May 16 raised a real question about whether welfare improvements at the breeding end ever make it into the rescue pipeline — and French Bulldog Village is a concrete test case for that. If better-screened litters reduce the number of structurally compromised dogs being surrendered five years from now, FBV’s intake profile should shift. But that’s a long runway, and their fosters are carrying the load today. If French Bulldog Weekly is part of your weekend routine, take a moment to subscribe or leave a review wherever you’re listening. It really helps other Frenchie lovers find the show.
We’ve put links to all of today’s stories in the show notes, so if something grabbed your attention, you can dig into the original reporting there.
That’s French Bulldog Weekly for today. This is a Lantern Podcast.