Sunday, January 15, 2012

Puppy Profile - Myra

Inspired by one of my favorite bloggers, Amanda. Please give her blog a visit at indiejanephotography.com!

I'm slightly obsessed with my pets. They are my children with fur. Furbabies.

This post is a profile of my cute little doggy, Myra.

Name: Myra Louise
Nicknames: Myra Pants, MeMe, Boogers, Princess, Pookie, MooMaLou, etc.
Birthday: May 2005
Breed: Longhair Dachshund


The day I got to meet Little Miss. She was about 8 weeks old here. :)

Myra was given to me by a good friend's girlfriend. I was told that she was the runt of the litter, and also the oddball. Apparently both of her parents are full-size, shorthair dachshunds. Myra turned out to have long hair, and was closer to the size of a miniature dachshund.



Around 4 years of age, Myra was diagnosed with intervertebral disc disease. This is a very common issue in the dachshund breed. All it means is that the discs that cushion her vertebrae are prone to becoming calcified. Eventually, one of her calcified discs ruptured and put too much pressure on her spinal cord. She was paralyzed in her hind end and loss all function of her legs, tail, bladder, etc. Luckily we caught it at just the right time and were able to proceed with the only treatment that could help: surgery. Some people think we are crazy for spending so much money to save our dog, but I couldn't imagine not doing it.


After her surgery, she was still paralyzed for a couple of weeks, but she slowly began to improve. The improvement was amazing! I was so emotional through it all, but Myra was SUCH a trooper. I think she recovered so quickly because she was always in such good spirits. She never seemed to let her "disability" get her down. After much hard work and improvised physical therapy on my part, she started moving her legs. She built up strength in her hind legs, and before we knew it, she was walking again. Now, a little over a year and half after her surgery, I would say she is probably at 90-95% of where she was prior to the whole thing. :)

Likes: Cuddling, burrowing under blankets, playing in the rain, sprinkler, snow, etc..., sunbathing, chasing birds & frogs, and eating raw spaghetti noodles.
Dislikes: Her annoying little brother, Winslow (profile on him later), baths, blow dryers, thunderstorms, and cats.

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