Another New Normal: Coping and caring for a dog with a degenerative condition

How do you cope when you learn your dog has a progressive neurological disease that will lead to full body paralysis? What will you need to do to properly care for your dog? I'm an emotional mess and can't stop crying - what's wrong with me?

When the author first adopted an older Pembroke Welsh Corgi, she never anticipated that she would become a full-time caregiver to a paralyzed dog. But a year later, her dog received the presumptive diagnosis of Degenerative Myelopathy (DM), the canine equivalent of ALS. This fatal genetic disease causes gradual and progressive paralysis, starting in the hind legs, moving to the front legs, and finally can cause respiratory and wide-spread organ failure.

Caring for a dog with this condition is an emotional roller-coaster for the caregiver, who will experience anticipatory grief, feelings of being overwhelmed by the constantly shifting target of what's normal today knowing it won't be normal next week, and the physical and emotional demands of caregiving. Not only will you lift and carry your dog as he loses the ability to stand and walk, but you may also cope with urinary and fecal incontinence, UTIs, bed sores, and other health issues. You may decide to invest in a "wheelchair" for your dog, or hydrotherapy to help maintain muscle mass. Your dog may experience something akin to "sundowner's" and become more anxious at night.

And always, the lingering question of "when is it time to say goodbye". Many people who have cared for a dog with Degenerative Myelopathy have said it's the hardest goodbye, because your dog is not sick in the usual sense of the word. Most DM dogs are still alert, engaged with life, and with good appetites right up to the day you decide to set them free of the body they are trapped in.

This vulnerable, personal, and intimate story shares the highs and lows of caring for a dog with Degenerative Myelopathy authentically and focuses on how to find joy in life even when faced with this heartbreaking disease. While every dog advances through the different stages of DM at different rates, there are many similarities in that journey, and this book provides a gentle guide to help people realize that they are not alone in what they are feeling.

This book is an excellent companion book to Bobbie Mayer's Corgis on Wheels, and will reassure anyone just learning about Degenerative Myelopathy that while the disease is debilitating and eventually fatal, you can still have many wonderful days, months, and even years with your beloved dog.