This story is based on Tammy's remembrances of Precious, and is
mostly in her own words.
" First, it is amazing how we learned to cope through each stage of the
disease. The wheelcorgis website was a tremendous wealth of knowledge
& emotional support. It helped me just knowing that others had either
already or were going through the same experience.
"Precious was four when I adopted her. I found her on Petfinder
and she already had the name Precious, so I kept it. I had her for
six years and nine months.
"May 2010 I emailed the vet about noticing Precious dragging her
back right leg. Precious was almost 9 years old when we visited
the neurologist (Aug 2010). The neurologist confirmed it was
definitely a neurological issue & that Precious didn’t appear to be
in pain. I chose not to do the MRI. When our vet & neurologist
spoke about a month later, the neurologist suggested trying
steroids & if no improvement was noticed then the diagnosis is
most likely DM. We tried the steroids for two weeks & noticed no
improvement.
"Precious lived with DM for almost two years. We went through
the usual. She had a cart. We coped with UTIs & incontinence with the help of puppy pads, shower curtain liners, baby wipes & waterless shampoo.
"We had a fan to calm her at night. We supplemented her diet with
D-mannose for the UTI's and green beans and pumpkin and
yogurt (to keep her weight down and stools firm.)
" We continued our daily walks although they progressed from her
wheelchair, to her red wagon, to her Goodwill baby stroller. She loved
humans & she got even more attention from her “fan club” when she was
in her red wagon or baby stroller. Using the sling to take her outside to
pee & poop was very helpful. (Thanks to Deena & Rosie for “passing it
on.”)
"My world revolved around taking care of Precious during her last 6
months. We didn’t travel, did loads of laundry, focused on keeping
Precious clean & happy. We enjoyed just being together!
"Precious was drinking tons of water her last few weeks & would lose it
almost immediately. On her last morning, she appeared to be having
difficulty breathing. At this point, I decided it was best to let her go. I
took the afternoon off and we enjoyed our final day together.
" Living thru DM created an even stronger bond between us. Watching
Precious graciously & courageously accept what life had dealt her was an
inspiration to me & many other folks that crossed our paths during this
journey.
"She was amazingly happy even to the end & asked very little in return.
She taught me to live each day to the fullest. Every day is a gift!"
