Memphis
Our Wonderful Whippet
December 5th, 2009
We have a Whippet Mix who is 6-years old that was given to us 6-weeks ago by a family who was not able to care for her.
This is her story:
We originally thought that "Memphis' was a German Sheppard mix (that is what was told to us by the previous owners) and is the latest addition to our family. We were told she is a little over 2-years old but the vet later informed us she was at least 6 and more than likely a Whippet Mix (probably mixed with some German Sheppard).
When Memphis was given to us we were told that she had a neurological disorder but it was not anything we needed to worry about and would not affect her on a long term basis. Naively we took her blindly and looking back we certainly have no regrets but we quickly discovered it was important to find out her medical history.
Over the course of the first 5-weeks we had her we noticed she would fall often over on her right side and occasionally had problems walking with her back legs. Her episodes were infrequent and we thought it was due in part to her neurological disorder. I came home from work one day and she was so excited to see me that when she tried to come over to me she collapsed. She appeared to not be in any obvious pain, but her eyes were rolling behind her head and she could not walk. I struggled to pick her up and get her in the car to the vet’s office. Worried and scared, I am sure it was all adrenaline that gave me the strength to get her to proper care. In the car she could not stay in the seat. She rolled over multiple times on her right side falling into the part of the car we put our feet.
Then Bad News: The vet kept Memphis overnight and confirmed that she "more then likely has a neurological disorder but to what extent at this time we did not know”. In a frantic attempt to find out her medical history I contacted the previous owners in hopes for a number to a Vet to obtain her records but I had no luck. Memphis was tested for Valley Fever, the Mumps, Tick Fever everything has come back negative. She has no heart murmur and all her other parameters are in range also: Thyroids, Kidney, and Liver. Unfortunately, They were not able to get an adequate sample to get a correct reading on her Toxoplasmosis levels but now that they have looked at the obvious and it all came back okay they want to start looking at things you wouldn't "intentionally" look at.
As far as really understanding the depth of her Neurological Problem the vet’s office has given us a referral to to take her to a Veterinarians office that specializes in Neurological Disorders. This would involve her getting an MRI. (Way out of our ballpark of this ever happening based on $$) Our doctor has unofficially diagnosed her with canine distemper. I personally do not think she has Canine Distemper and feel her symptoms match up more to degenerative myelopathy. I am certainty no doctor but that is my observation.
As of today, She has had no other episodes since last Monday and as far as what is causing her to have these episodes is yet to be determined, and how this may effect the quality of her life we do not know the answer to that either.There are many questions still left unanswered and we are uncertain at this time if we will even be able to get answers. She needs to see a specialist; something we just can not afford at this time.
So.......... I have an idea:
It is not a new idea, and I have researched a little on the internet but the concept of the idea is few far and in between.I want to partner up with someone and start a non profit origination for owners who own pets and can not afford extensive cost involved in there pets medical needs. I am not talking about routine vaccinations or getting your pet spade or neutered. I am talking about pets whose quality of life would benefit from surgeries or treatment that may be to costly for there owners. Animals that need insulin, pets that have neurological disorders, you get it. There are foundations out there but they are slim pickins. My thought is that someone would write grants, collect private donations, solicit animal hospitals to volunteer their services, etc. and then we would have people write in with their story and try to choose a family accordingly and hopefully help with some of there pet costs. We can post there story online and share with the world, we can put plugs in on the blogs for the services that support us, etc.Any ideas or any takers, I would not even know were to start?
