Missy the undefeatable dog

So last night I went to bed with a dread, unsure what the next few days would bring. Our dog Missy lost control of her limbs (unable to support her weight) and required constant care as she dirties herself where she is lying. We had to bathe her twice yesterday just to get her clean; only to have her ‘leak’ again and then lying in the midst of it.

Felt like taking care of a paraplegic.

I consulted Dr.Google and it turned out a term I wasn’t familiar.  "Degenarative Myeopathy" .  Basically a loss of use of it’s rear limbs as result of spinal cord degeneration (old people/or dog problems). It was a sobering moment as I envisioned having to perform repeated baths for her as she dirties herself and the front porch. At 14 years she is not young anymore and perhaps on the horizon already.  The thought of putting her down kept coming up.  My heart sank.

It all started when the neighbor across  complained  that my dog would  ‘dump’ in front of his gate and  insisted I sealed a hole in my gate which I had purposefully made so she could go out whenever to pee. It was a good arrangement for her until a couple of other dogs attacked her. Then she became very nervous to go out by herself. In the evenings, I would accompany  her with my trusty shovel scoop , but she was reluctant at times. Sealing the exit would teach her to be disciplined to ‘do her business’ in evenings instead of going in/out as and when she wanted.

Alas, it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks. 

Unable to get out, she desperately tore at the wire barrier that sealed  the exit, and it must have sap all her energy cos when I came back in the evening, she was at the gate sprawled, spread eagle trying to get up but her legs were too weak (and she couldn’t  lift herself).   The strain of battling the wire barrier must have been too much for her aged body and she collapsed either under exhaustion or strain.  It was a terrible sight to see her half dead, covered with her own feces and urine. But pick her up I did  (good job Andrew!) and cleaned her up to more comfortable surroundings.

So I am feeling rather guilty for putting the barrier, and even more guilty if I had to put her down. I had to put down our first dog Passion when she developed a brain tumor and as result suffered seizures on our porch (feces, urine and blood as result of biting her tongue). In the end after repeated episodes, the last one just lasted forever, till we bundled her to the vet and then lethal injection; she was so exhausted she didn’t even need the full dosage.  When we brought the body back home, Missy was there.  Just one sniff at the body she balked and scooted out the gate. She didn’t return until two days later.

Maybe that’s why she shivered when I laid a tarpaulin next to her. Maybe she too was sensing what I was thinking and also  having flashbacks to Passion.

(And yeah, maybe I shouldn’t have sealed the little exit.)

As circumstance would have it the next day was a public holiday and I couldn’t find the vet. ( If I needed to put her down, I might as well do it sooner than later) .  Degenrative myeopathy is irreversible and it looked like her battle with the wire may have done her in.

When I did get to the Vet at Bukit Wawasan (and he is a great animal lover), he suggested it may be just exhaustion and strain on a tired old dog. He prescribed a powerful pain killer and some joint repair medicine.  I gladly welcomed the idea and the medicine.

As she lay outside, and quite motionless,  I await to see if this tough girl will pull through. My prayer is that she will again surprise us.