Chelsea's
Introduction
Hi, my name is Jan and this is my
beautiful girl Chelsea. She has a disease called
Degenerative Myelopathy (DM) which is similar to
Multiple Sclerosis in humans. Chelsea lost all
control of her rear legs in September 1999 and
has been using the doggie wheelchair since then.
Her "wheels" have given her a new lease
on life. Rolling along, Chelsea can again take
long walks in the park and chase squirrels!
 Wheelchairs can help
dogs who have difficulty or can no longer support
the rear portion of their body due to disease,
accident, hip dysplasia, surgery, or old age.
However, in order to use the wheelchair, the dog
must still have enough strength in their front
legs to pull themselves.
Most dogs adjust easily and
quickly to the cart. To entice them, you can use
food treats or their favorite toy and coax them
to come to you after you first place them in
their new cart. In Chelsea’s case, it was
best not to have our other dogs around during her
maiden voyage. Because she’s not one to
accept new contraptions and she’s not food-
or toy-oriented, she couldn’t be bribed
using these methods. Simply moving several feet
ahead of her and cheerfully telling her to come
to mommy, along with LOTS of praise, was all it
took to get her going in her cart. I think she
was just as proud of herself as we were of her!
Overall, there are a number of
devices which can help a disabled or elderly dog
move around better and give them a better quality
of life. You may need a wheelchair, a sling,
booties, a ramp, specialized food bowls, or just
scatter rugs to allow traction on slick floor
surfaces.
With encouragement, dogs adjust
amazingly well to their disabled condition. As
you can see, Chelsea is still a happy girl. Here
she is lounging with her Golden siblings.
E-Mail:
Whenever possible, we’ll try to respond to
questions you have about aids and devices for
disabled dogs. Just click here
to send email to Jan. We’d also love to hear
about any other aids or devices you’ve found
to help your disabled dog so that we can share
this information with others.
Links:
Another site which provides information about
disabled animals is Pets
with Disabilities.
There is also a web site for
persons who have dogs with Degenerative
Myelopathy. This is a very caring and supportive
group. The address is http://www.freewebs.com/dmroster/
.
The Senior Dogs Project
focuses on the extraordinary relationships
between older dogs and their companions;
encourages the adoption of older dogs; and
provides information on the special care that
older dogs need.
Acknowledgements:
I’d like to thank the many people who helped
with this site, including those who will provide
still more ideas in the future that we can share.
In particular, I’d like to thank Nicky and
Barb, without whom, this web site never would
have been created. Also, I thank the many
wonderful friends I’ve met on the DM support
group list, who are such a creative and caring
group of people and who have provided many
suggestions and ideas to help disabled dogs. I
also thank my wonderful homeopathic/acupuncture
vet, Dr. D, who gives me many imaginative tips
and never seems to mind all my odd-ball
questions!
And last, but never least, to my
beautiful girl Chelsea, who gave me the
inspiration to develop this information. She has
taught me a lot about courage.
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Tribute to Chelsea
On March 14, 2001, my beautiful girl
Chelsea passed away peacefully in my arms. She nuzzled me
as she left, as if to thank me for letting her go. A
letter to my pretty girl follows.
Dear Chelsea,
I can't begin to tell you how very much I miss you ...
the way you barked to greet me when I came home, and the
way you would smile when I stroked your beautiful face. I
know life became such a struggle for you. You reached the
point where you could not even turn yourself over due to
the paralysis. But all through the struggles of the past
3 years, you overcame each new challenge and taught me so
much about courage, how to deal with difficult
situations, and what was really important in life. I've
lost count of the number of times that I wished you were
back with me, if only for a few minutes to hold you again
and tell you how much I love you, but I know that would
be so unfair to you. Your poor beautiful body was just
worn out, and during your last weeks with me, your eyes
clearly told me it was time to let you go have some
peace.
Should there be such a thing as reincarnation or return
of the spirit, please consider letting me again be your
mom. I would be so honored. I will try not to repeat
mistakes I may have made before, but you know I need
guidance at times. Just let me know it is you by doing
your cute shadow dance that you once did before that
awful disease robbed you of your body.
Please know that I will always think about you, and while
that brings tears right now, thinking of you and your
courage and spirit makes me so proud of you. You were a
wonderful ambassador for disabled dogs. I know with time
that the tears will be replaced with a smile, thinking of
all the memories of you being both naughty and nice. I
think you know that I loved you and always will. Rest in
peace my beautiful girl, and once you're ready, play
again with our dear Bernie, and Kelly. Remember to give
Bernie his kong toys, and keep reminding Kelly that the
frisbee you brought with you is YOURS, she has her own!
Maybe you'll also again see dear Toby who left us shortly
after you came to live with me. Perhaps you'll even met
my sweet Blacky who guided me when I was growing up. All
of you were so special to me, and I know there are so
many other very special pups there as well. You are
without doubt in wonderful company. Sweet dreams my love.
Your mommy, Jan
One of the things I think Chelsea tried to teach me was
to find the good even in bad situations. I'm still having
trouble with that, but I'm trying. Certainly she tackled
life that way! Probably the best thing that resulted from
her ordeal with this awful disease was the close bond
that formed between the two of us. Chelsea had always
been an independent, and sometimes aloof, girl growing
up, but once her body began to fail, she become
especially loving and grew to understand that I would
always help her. The trust we had in each other was very
special and is something I will always treasure.
Another good thing was the opportunity to meet some very
thoughtful and caring people on the Internet, many also
dealing with the same dreadful disease in their precious
pups. Cindi from North Carolina is one of these very
special people. She wrote these thoughts for us after
learning of Chelsea's passing:
"A Letter
Home"
I'm safe here and I'm happy.
I have lots of space to run.
A cool, clear stream to drink from
And a deeper part for fun.
The grass is long and lush and green
with flowers everywhere.
The air is clean and always warm
And spring is in the air.
I've made a lot of friends here
Who were cripple once, like me,
But I wish you could see us run now
We're restored, we're strong and free.
But don't think I don't miss you
And all the love we've shared,
I know you're sad and hurting
But remember that I care.
So try to be happy for me
Until we're together again.
For I'll be waiting patiently
For you ... my most loved friend.
Cindi, thanks so much for your caring thoughts, and
thanks to others who have expressed their sympathies and
support. While it hurts so much when they leave us, I
can't imagine never having felt the unconditional love
and devotion that our furfaces give to us. Our time
together is all too temporary, but something I will
forever cherish.
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