Starting 2014 as a year of gratitude has been challenging to say the least.

Thursday, January 2, 2014 Hubby said, “Sampson tried to jump up on the couch and couldn’t make it. So he laid down on the floor.”

Really?

A short while later he went to get on the bed for his snack and he fell.  He put his front legs on the bed and I lifted his back end up (like I’ve done hundreds of times in his life) and he yipped.  Of course he stared at me like I’d done something to him and I said, “That’s it, you’re going to the vet tomorrow.”

Friday morning I called the vet and my vet wasn’t scheduled until later in the afternoon so we saw another vet in the practice.

After examining Sampson thoroughly, she said, “I think there are a couple of things going on here.  He’s got some arthritis in his hips, he has a loose knee and he’s got Degenerative Myleopathy.

I’m sure I sat there with a stunned look on my face for a few seconds as I digested this.  I’m not a vet, nor do I work in that field so I had no idea was Myleopathy was.  But I sure as hell know what Degenerative means.  After a few seconds, the words formed on my lips and I asked the question.

What is Degenerative Myleopathy?

And then words that no pet parent EVER wants to hear came out.  I won’t bore you with that now, because quite truthfully I was so stunned that I can’t remember the entire conversation, but I will tell you this.  I have never in Sampson’s entire 9 1/2 year life, cried at the vet.  But I did on January 2nd.

Here is a link to DM.  I know that 2 Brown Dawgs is planning a post on DM in her health series, but it won’t be for a while.  The simple explanation for you is this, it’s Lou Gehrig’s disease for dogs.  Which means this disease cruelly and methodically robs your dog of his/her ability to use their back end.  And eventually what you have is a decision to make of when enough is enough.

DM can really only be diagnosed in one way and that is with an autopsy, but there is a blood test which determines if the dog is “at risk” “carrier” or “clear.”  A dog that is “carrier” does not necessarily have the disease.  Typically DM is diagnosed via process of elimination and the blood test.   The lab that tests for DM is closed on Saturdays and the specimen needs to be overnighted, so I needed to schedule an appointment to have a blood draw.

My next question was how to treat it. While there is no ‘cure’ for DM, there are supplements which can be used to help support your dog.

Additionally the vet thought we could try some pain medication, so she gave us some Tramadol.

As soon as I left the vet’s office I went to my sister and basically threw myself in her arms (thanks for the shoulder Sheena) and when I could pull myself together, I drove home.

I am always humbled and ever so grateful for this blogging community, because it means I have unlimited access to support from other people who are far more knowledgeable about dog related topics than I am.  And who love their dogs as much as I do.

When I got home I reached out to a number of them, I talked to Jen from My Brown Newfies, Linda from 2 Brown Dawgs and Donna from Donna and the Dogs.  I also shared on a Facebook page I belong to (you know who you are.)

I was comforted and supported by their generosity and love.  I knew whatever we were facing, we wouldn’t be alone.

Once I’d been home a few hours I thought it might be wise to call and schedule the test and also run this past our own vet as she’d had Sampson under anesthesia in December and I specifically asked her to check his back end.

When I got on the phone with our vet she was as flabbergasted as I was.  She was also concerned about the loose knee as when she had examined him under anesthesia the knee was tight.

She said she wanted to try him on an anti-inflammatory and she was going to speak with the first vet as she’d seen nothing to indicate an issue when she had him on the table three weeks prior.

Sampson’s story doesn’t end here but this post does as it’s rather long, let me just say the diagnosis changed quickly.  Please come back tomorrow for the Blessing of an Ear Infection.

**Hint** It’s better news!!