Heartbreak !!!!!!!
The story of Pebbles' struggle with Degenerative Myelopathy
By Dick Noe
In late June 1998 we noticed, our 10 1/2 year old Kerry, Pebbles
dragging her left rear foot as she walked across the kitchen floor.
Nothing much, just a slight scrape, but enough that Lucy said
,"Pebbles must need her nails
trimmed because I can hear her nails on the floor." That's
when we noticed it was the sound of only one foot. We watched
her walk and decided that it was just her left rear foot that
was making the noise. It was evident that something might be wrong.
There was!
Pebbles, a great companion, a little bossy at times (most times), who loved going to shows, and in all respects was a very happy little girl. She had a great show career, mostly because she loved it so much. Pebbles was OFA certified and never had a sick day in her life. She always wagged her tail, sometimes even in her sleep. She thought everybody came to see her no matter where she was, at home, at a show, in the motor home, or just walking the neighborhood. She was our first Kerry, our pet, our baby, our love.
After deciding that something was wrong, we immediately took her to our veterinarian, Dr. Tim Minnix, who examined Pebbles and could find nothing wrong. He then had us walk her up the hallway and back again. He said,"I have seen this in German Shepherds but never in any other breed. I would suggest you take her to Ohio State University School of Veterinary Medicine, because I think she might have a nerve/spine problem.." On July 1, 1998 we took Pebbles to Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio and met with Dr. Debbie Ruhlman, a Neurological Specialist, who wanted to keep Pebbles for a few days and run some tests. Reluctantly we left her. Pebbles had never been away from us in over 10 years.
We picked Pebbles up on July 3rd and Dr. Ruhlman explained the tests and procedures she and her staff performed on Pebbles and has concluded that she had Degenerative Myelopathy. Good news and bad news.... Good news is, no pain is associated with this disease. Bad news is, no cure and life expectancy will be three to six months.
| Laboratory | Radiology |
| Hemogram-CBC-DIFF | Spine, Thoracolumbar |
| Profile - 17 tests | Contrast study, Myelogram |
| Cytology - CSF analysis | Thorax - 3 views |
Although there is no known cure, there are a few things Dr. Ruhlman suggested we could do that might, just might, help extend her life. No promises, but it can't hurt.
Recommendations
A lot of TLC
A positive attitude - do not show displeasure or unhappiness - ever!!! Exercise her rear legs by manually moving each leg 20 times twice a day
Medication
5 ml Aminocaproic Acid 3 times a day
Vitamins B, C, and E (child's dosage on the bottles)
Caution
If Pebbles shows any signs of pain, call immediately, because this is not consistent with Degenerative Myelopathy.
WHAT IS DEGENERATIVE MYELOPATHY?
A condition where the white protective coating around the nerves in the spine starts to break down and expose the nerves. This works like the electrical cord to your lamp. The protective coating around the wires starts to break down and once the exposed wire touches something, like a heat register, it shorts out and the lamp doesn't work anymore.
When the nerves become exposed they "short out" and
they no longer stimulate the muscles in the rear legs. When the
muscles do not get the stimulation, the muscles do not contract
or compress to do the work required to make the rear legs work
right. Eventually the muscles become useless, like mush, and the
dog has no control over their rear legs. Also when the nerves
"short out", they can not carry any messages to the
brain, so the brain is unaware
of any problems in the rear end. In the final stages the dog loses
all concept of where it's feet are, and falls down often because
the legs have no muscle strength.-absolutely none!!!!
WHAT SHOULD YOU LOOK FOR.
In the beginning watch for one rear foot not being picked up
as normal, maybe slightly dragging. Maybe the rear end stance
just a little wider than usual. Later, you will see a weakness
in one or both rear legs, where the dog
doesn't stand as straight as usual. The rear end doesn't seem
to be able to follow the front end. Going down steps (or stairs)
the rear end is free wheeling (little or no control). Then toward
the end, the dog falling down
because the rear legs can't hold the dog up.
We immediately, after returning home with Pebbles from Ohio State, signed on to the web and sent out an e-mail message asking for help and information from anyone who has ever known or experienced this problem in their Kerry. We received many responses from all over the United States and Canada. Some knew the problem as DM and some assumed it was just Hip Dysplasia. We were advised to go on the web and enter "Degenerative Myelopathy" on the search engine.
- We found many web pages dedicated to DM in German Shepherds. The most informative was the web pages submitted by the University of Florida's, Dr. Clemmons DMV, PhD. http://neuro.vetmed.ufl.edu (home page). If you are interested, you can read Dr. Clemmons research report and conclusions at the above address. The most important part of his conclusions are the recipe that he feels will help prolong the dogs life. We made a weeks supply each time by multiplying the recipe by 5.
Basic Diet
2 oz Boneless pork center loin chop (we used chicken)
4 oz Tofu (soybean curd)
8 oz Long grain brown rice (3 oz cooked in 6 oz water)
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup of molasses
2 whole carrots, boiled and then cut up
1 cup spinach - cooked
4 tbs green bell peppers - chopped and steamed
4 broccoli spears - boiled and cut up
2 raw garlic cloves - crushed
1 tsp dry ground ginger
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp bone meal
Additionally each day
B-complex - stress formula 100 mg
yeast - heaping tablespoon sprinkled over food
Vitamin E - 2000 mg
Vitamin c - 2000 mg
selenium - 200 ug
We, on our own, gave 2 baby aspirins - 81 mg twice a day. We think this helped as much anything else we gave her.
Dr. Clemmons does not recommend monthly heartworm medication ( Heartgard, Heartgard plus, or Interceptor). He goes on, in his report, and recommends other herbs and vitamins, but leaves these up to the owner. He also talks about acupuncture, while it won't cure DM or slow it down, it doesn't hurt if it makes the owner feel better.
All my attempts to contact Dr. Clemmons via e-mail or phone were non-responsive. I was told that Dr. Clemmons does not believe any other breed has DM other than the German Shepherd, so consequently will not get involved. I even offered to donate Pebbles body to his research program if it would help to find a cure and I was told they were not interested. So much for that!!!!!
Although we were disappointed in the lack of response out of Florida, we still used Dr. Clemmons recipe and recommend vitamin dosage. Did it help? I'm sure that all the things we did, helped Pebbles, but we can't prove any of it.
As time went by, it was evident that non-carpeted floors became too much for Pebbles to handle, so we carpeted the Kitchen, the slate floor in the hall way and the slate floor in the foyer. Pebbles was able to climb the stairs and come down the stairs the first six months but it became harder for her. We helped her climb the stairs until she got so weak that we had to carry her up at night and carry her down in the mornings. We set up a crate in the dining room for her and blocked the archway from the foyer and from the kitchen with 4 X 8 sheets of peg board and that is where she rested when it was time to let the other Kerrys down for their "prime time".
Drs. Ruhlmann and Clemmons both claim that there is no evidence
that DM is hereditary or genetic, both believe there are probably
genetic factors involved as well as chemical and other factors.
We know of approximately 10
other dogs that were put down with the same symptoms, some diagnosed
by qualified neurologist and others not. Unfortunately, there
has been no research in this area so I cannot say for sure either
way.
As time went on, Pebbles became very tired if she stood too
long in one place, like on the grooming table. We found in J-B
Wholesale Pet Supplies catalog an item called a "Risky Bar",
which we ordered. It is an upside
down u-shaped bar that fits into two grooming table arm clamps
and supports the rear end of a dog and keeps the dog from sitting
down or turning around. We padded the bar with 5 towels and then
adjusted the padded bar to support Pebbles while we groomed her.
She loved the attention of being groomed. We also found in the
same catalog a harness with a strap that supports the rear end.
It is called a "Walkabout" and it allows you to support
your dog with the strap while the dog walks. We used it for about
4 weeks before she became too weak to even take advantage of this
type of help.
We always allowed Pati, our 7 year old Kerry bitch, to be free
the same time Pebbles was out because Pati was/is such a timid
girl, afraid of any noise or disturbance. Pati used Pebbles as
her protector. One day, when
Pebbles fell in the family room, Pati attacked her. We were shocked,
Pati never had the nerve to do anything like that before and we
ran into the family room to protect Pebbles and to get Pati off
of her. Before we reached them, Pebbles had gotten to her feet
and was starting to fight back. Pati stood back, started wagging
her tail and trotted off into the kitchen. We truly believe that
Pati was trying to help Pebbles get her feet. Many times, later,
we would see Pati out in the back yard with Pebbles walking shoulder
to shoulder to steady her. She would stop when Pebbles would squat
and stand there providing support until Pebbles was finished.
We had a chance to get a complete geriatric exam for Pebbles
in May of 1999, so we took advantage of it, hoping against hope
they would find something positive that maybe everyone else missed.
The only thing they found
that we did not know was that her heart was being stressed and
weakening and her front end was becoming muscle bound. Of course
this was because she had to use her front end more to pull herself
up and to balance herself.
The beginning of July we knew it was just a matter of time,
Pebbles would lay in one spot, usually where we set her down,
until we would carry her outside again or carry her upstairs.
She was still alert and wagged her tail but she wouldn't move.
We were now carrying her outside and holding her up while she
defecated or urinated and then carrying her back in. The last
week of July, Pebbles seemed so tired and did not pay any attention
to what was
going on. We discussed her condition with our Vet and he agreed
she was probably ready. She was tired and too weak to carry on.
The night before, I woke to her soft woof, I got up and sit down
with her, and it seemed all she
wanted, was for me to hold her. Lucy and I sat up all night with
her. The next day, we held her as the Vet put her to sleep. Pebbles
wagged her tail until the end. I truly believe she knew.
Pebbles lived 13 months after the diagnosis - But then again, she was a Kerry Blue Terrier.
CONCLUSION
Is Degenerative Myelopathy a problem in Kerry Blue Terriers - No I don't think so. I truly believe it occurs in many breeds and has been misdiagnosed by Vets and owners as hip dysplasia. I think that some people when they have an older dog that shows the symptoms, just put the animal down, so we'll never know for sure. In the research I did looking through pedigrees, I couldn't find any concrete evidence that DM was hereditary in one line or another. I think that if there is any one area that might and I emphasize "might" be indicative of creating problems is the over vaccination of our dogs.
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