In the last four years, Judy H. has lost three of her Corgis, all of whom suffered with DM at the end of their too-short lives.
Hers is a difficult story to read, but an illuminating one. As someone who knows this disease first hand, she speaks honestly of both the heartache and the hope.
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“I share a home/farm with some friends so the dogs in the house know and love all three of us. I’ve had Pembrokes since 1980 and was fortunate enough that we never experienced DM until my heart dog Cody (Mik Sha Forgetmenot) started weakening in 2007.
I contacted CorgiAid requesting a loaner cart for her, never dreaming we would be using it until 2011!
Cody wasn’t down long before she was getting so frustrated and depressed by her weakening front that I made the decision to let her go.
Around that time, I noticed Frasier (CH Forfox Face The Music) getting weak behind, and my heart was breaking, I had to keep the cart for him as well. He was my first serious show dog. I have great memories in the show ring and I handled him to every point he earned.
He became very depressed when he lost the use of his hind legs and never would adjust to his disability, so once more I made the decision to let go.
My housemate Judy kept saying Tucker (Forfox Friar Tuck) had DM. I denied it, didn’t see what she did, but she was right. He had it, and thus we still needed the loaner cart. Unlike the other two, Tucker accepted his disability with a great attitude and was happy and had a healthy appetite until the final days of his life. He was down almost two years, accepted the cart and motored around happily. He went to horse shows with us, even to Texas, and charmed everyone who encountered him.
I asked Judy to sum up what she wanted to say about Tucker. She he said he had the best attitude and was happy, even after he went down in front as well. Surprisingly, it wasn’t the DM that ended his life; he had a tumor on the side of his face that grew and grew and the vet thinks it went into his brain, based on his behavior changes and the pupil in the eye on that side.
We let Tucker go a few weeks ago.
Because of DM, we have been mourning our dogs since the first day we realized that Cody had it. All three were show breeding, our first five Pembrokes were poorly bred pet quality, but all lived very long, healthy lives. Judy says she’ll never have another Corgi. I got a Cardi and we love her to pieces.
She and our remaining Pembroke both have us worrying we will go through it yet again. We really hope not. Three in a row is bad enough! We got them before the DM test was available.
I have implored breeders to test their breeding stock, and the answer I get back is that this is an old dog disease and other tests are more important. Yes, the dogs are older, but still have a lot of life left for them if it weren’t for this terrible disease. I for one will never get another Corgi (or any breed prone to DM) unless the parents are tested and I know we won’t have to face this again, and I make sure to tell
anyone I meet to do the same.
This weekend, it will be bittersweet as we pack up the cart to send back to Corgi Aid for another DM dog. I hope one day those carts will be sitting around gathering dust!”
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Editor’s note: Information about the DM test:
The DNA test for DM became available in 2008.
http://www.caninegeneticdiseases.net/DM/ancmntDM.htm
http://www.caninegeneticdiseases.net/DM/testDM.htm
and
Shame on the breeders who won't test for DM and try to eradicate it from their breeding stock. My girl's breeder, God bless her to the end of time, has been testing her boys and girls for generations and generations, and as a result I know that my beautiful Amy Girl Baby will be jumping, bounding, and bouncing for many years to come, and so will her children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren, if Anne has anything to say about it. I also know Amy's grandsires and granddams came from a wide range of strong stock, so she isn't exclusively out of one kennel and her genes are great.
And I'm not at all biased because I'm her Forever Mommy. 😀
I have to comment on multiple dogs with DM- sadly, this is not the only CorgiAid cart loan that has gone through multiple dogs. Currently two borrowers have new loans for second dogs with DM, and another cart is out on its third dog in the same family. At the same time, several people whose dogs were tested as At Risk a couple of years ago when the test came out are now showing signs of DM. This isn't the rare disease some breeders would have you believe, I firmly believe it is becoming more and more common.
Thank you Laurie and all the Daily Corgi readers who have contributed to research- now you can contribute more by insisting that your next corgi puppy test Clear or Carrier. Some of the breeders are working hard now to defeat DM but the others need pressure from us, the corgi owners.
Judy, my heart breaks and my tears flow as I read your heart wrenching story of Cody, Frasier and Tucker. Thank you for sharing the story of your beloved Corgis. I so understand your pain and I admire your strength to have had 3 Corgis with DM. My thoughts and prayers are with you for your losses. I too hope someday that the carts will be collecting dust.
Thank you for all your comments. It has been a rough time in our lives.
The real shame is that the owner of Frasier and Tucker's sire froze semen and continued to use it in spite of the fact that the sire "had back problems" and had gone down in the rear……., and in spite of the fact that Frasier was a known victim at the time.
Hope she ran out of it!
Jody