Degenerative Myelopathy
Jesse, my beautiful 13-year-old Collie Boxer mix is dying. DM, or degenerative myelopathy, is taking him from me. No one knows what causes it and no one knows how to cure it. I have been prepared Jesse’s entire life for the day a veterinarian told me he had some horrible disease. I have been prepared his entire life to spend my last dollar saving his life. It never occurred to me Jesse may one day have a disease for which there is no cure. I can make Jesse more comfortable, I can help him walk a little less wobbly for now, help to delay the inevitably of paralysis. . . but there is nothing I can do to stop his death.
Jesse has had behavioral issues since he was a puppy which set me on my path to learning all I can about the incredibly fascinating world of canine behavior and now he’s teaching me once again. This time, I’d really like to skip the lesson.
The lessons Jesse taught me are lessons I would like to pass on to you to help you have the best life with your pet. I continue to learn and will pass on my knowledge and experiences to help you manage any know and put into practice what I have learned and continue to learn.
In future posts, I’ll write about the research, direct you to the literature, alert you to the medical breakthroughs and the devices available to you to help support your dog.
I’m far from an expert but I’m learning and I’ll share with you what I learn as I learn it. If no one reads what I write; well, it’s still therapy for me but what if . . . what if . . . someone does read it? What if I help someone? Or a lot of people? Jesse would like that. And so would I.
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