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!"
I met Tammy and Precious at the Corgi Celebration last October. I was corgi-less after losing Rosie and then Monty within 3 months. I was impressed with how loving and caring Tammy was with Precious, her devotion to Precious, and her warmth and friendliness to me. After we started talking Tammy realized that she had Rosie's sling, which I had posted on Wheelcorgis for whoever wanted it. I hadn't made the connection. I was privileged to be able to paint Precious' portrait for Tammy. I'm looking forward to seeing Tammy at this year's Corgi Celebration with my Dakota, and, maybe with Tammy's next corgi.
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