Chai's got wheels!

Well, we made it to the rehab vet in Albuquerque. She spent an hour with Chai, doing an assessment, teaching us exercises, and talking about equipment. Chai has, at this point, a moderate degree of degenerative myelopathy, which means she can still walk, but with some difficulty. She also has something called intervertebral disc disease, which I want to learn more about, but it involves pain in the mid to lower back. I tell ya, I couldn't tell that Chai was having pain - she just crashes around like it's no problem. Those Chessies are so tough...

This photo shows Chai "en pointe", where she knuckles over.



So the vet recommended Tramadol, an opiate pain killer. I haven't gotten it yet. I hope it doesn't make Chai groggy - so far this disease of DM has not changed her personality, except possibly made her a little softer and gentler, that could also be her ripe age of 12. Chai was on NSAIDs for about 8 months last year. It gave her about half a year more of vigorous play time, but then she started having side effects - vomiting and depression. No good.

Then, the really good news is that one of the vet's previous clients had donated her dog's wheels and I got to take them home! For $75. They are usually around $400. Chai walked around in her new cart at the vet's, no problem, but now that we're home, she doesn't want to use it. I put her in it for 5 minutes a day, which is the amount of time she's supposed to be limited to for the first week, but she mostly just stands there.


The other great news is that the vet thinks the growth on Chai's side is a wart or sebaceous cyst! So there!

new harness

Chai got her Help Em Up Harness through FedEx today. It goes around the shoulders and the hips and has handles so you can pick your dog up when need be. We'll just leave it on all day, so I can grab it when she's trying to stand up, or when we go outside, which involves steps.


I wish I had followed my suspicion last year that Chai had DM and gotten her diagnosed. Then we would have had more time to do rehab exercises and stretches, to keep her strong and mobile. Just in the weeks that I've had a broken foot, and then the flu, the DM has progressed and her walking has gotten less steady.

By the way, I got Chai diagnosed by sending a blood sample to a research study at the University of Missouri. They found a DNA marker saying she is at risk/affected. It's not a definitive diagnosis, but with the gene marker, and showing the symptoms of DM, dragging her foot, muscle weakness in the rear legs, etc., she gets the diagnosis.

further developments

Got up early to take Chai to the vet to have her growth removed and she couldn't really walk at all. She stood up, and fell. I helped her get to her food bowl - besides the funky back legs, she's limping on one of the front legs. Those poor front legs are taking so much of the burden these days, they must be overworked. I massage them often, but I guess that's not enough.

I let Casey the new dog out to pee, then fed him. I carried Chai out, all 70 lbs of her, to pee, fed her and went back to bed. (I'm still getting over the flu.) No vet today. There's no way I'm adding to her stress, or mine, by having a minor surgery done.

Later today, I went to let Casey out again, and Chai was up and walking slowly by herself now. I carried her outside again. She started barking at Casey's ball, asking me to throw it! She's crazy! Was I babying her too much? Or maybe she needed it for the first part of the day and now she was telling me not to worry so much, she's OK.

This DM stuff sure is done best one day at a time.

new scare

Sometimes life piles it on fast, doesn't it? I found a potential skin cancer on Chai today. She had a growth on her side a few months ago. The vet said he was concerned about it, wanted to cut it out and biopsy it. I was hesitant, because it took Chai a day to recover from XRays and I didn't want to put her through another sedation. Over the next few months, she seemed to lick the growth away. Good, I thought, problem gone. But no, it's back again, all red and ugly. So tomorrow I bring her to the vet to have it removed and biopsied. Best case scenario, it's benign and now she doesn't have to lick it anymore. Moderate case scenario, the surgical procedure exacerbates her DM (stress can do that). Worst case, of course, is that it's cancerous. In that case, I probably wouldn't treat it because of the expense, DM and fact that she's old and lived a long, good life already. Then I'd have to decide if I still want to buy her some wheels....but I'm jumping ahead. Let's just wait and see what we've got...

Canceled rehab vet appt

Well, I had to cancel our appointment with the rehab vet, as I came down with a nasty flu.
We're rescheduled for March 13th. I hate to wait so long, so I think I'll look over the Yahoo DM dogs list for the exercise files. I can see more progression of Chai's DM - it's harder for her to maintain control of her hind end, especially the left leg. Her spirits seem up however, and have been since I found the support of the DM list.



Other big news is that we have another dog now! I adopted a dog from a Hospice patient who is actively dying. His name is Casey and I met him a couple of months ago. His mom said we connected better than anyone else who said they were interested in adopting him. So much for me wanting to be dogless for a few years after Chai...I just knew it was the right thing to do when I met Casey. He's lived a deprived life (his mom's poverty and illness) and I have a lot to offer him. Training, exercise (he's about 20 lbs overweight) good food and love.



I just hope it's a good thing for Chai. Honestly, if it exacerbates her DM somehow, he's not going to be able to stay. But I will do everything I can to make a stress free adjustment. For example, he's isolated in the guest room right now, laying down quietly, and Chai is calm too.