Update
“We were so grateful when an angel stepped forward & provided our little Naru with a Muffin’s Halo. Sadly, Naru had to be euthanized last night. Is there an angel who needs a halo (medium size)? We’d like to pay forward the kindness we were shown. Thank you.”
S & J Dorsey
We are so sorry for your loss. Please find comfort that Naru has many of our friends in heaven greeting him xo
Backstory
“Naru is an 8.5 year old Miniature Pinscher with vaccinosis and cataracts. Her vaccinosis has manifested itself via extreme allergies. She is highly sensitive to pretty much everything. We have to be careful what she eats, drinks, wears, etc because pretty much everything has the potential to cause her to have an allergic reaction (yes, she’s literally allergic to water). When she starts reacting to something, it’s hard to get things back under control. It starts out with her breaking out in a rash (and sometimes hives). It quickly advances to the scratching stage, where she’ll dig herself until she’s literally raw and bleeding.
At one point, she had her ears looking like hamburger because they were so torn up. Over the years, we have tried various cones, inflatable cushions, clothes, etc to keep her from scratching herself raw, but she always found ways around it. She’d enlist the other two dogs to help her by getting them to scratch, lick, or chew whatever part of her that was itching! She even went so far as to use the corner of our platform bed and the carpeted stairs to scratch whatever was itching! She required constant supervision and medical attention for her wounds. Her ears bear permanent scars from her scratching.
When her allergy problems first became apparent, we contacted the breeder (who turned out to be a puppy mill owner), as it was was occurring within the first 3 weeks we’d owned her. We explained what was happening and the breeder offered to “exchange her for another puppy” because “the runts usually have health problems”. That didn’t sit well with me. I asked her straight out what she expected to do with Naru if she was returned (which I’d already decided was NOT going to happen!!), and she said, and I quote, “I’ll probably just put her down. It’s not like I can resell her.” I immediately refused to return her. We were already attached and I was NOT about to allow her to be euthanized for something that wasn’t her fault!
It took hundreds of vet visits, thousands of dollars, and nearly 7 years for us to finally find someone who could help us. Now, thanks to our current vet, Naru rarely ever has an outbreak (maybe once or twice a year), and even when she does, a simple quick bath and a dose of her meds usually cure it. She is literally medication free right now and hasn’t had an outbreak in months. She is doing so well, but we still are careful (and a tad paranoid) because the fear is still there that something could trigger her allergies at any time.
We learned earlier this year that she has cataracts. They’ve been advancing fast and our vet has stated she has limited vision currently. They expect her to be completely blind within the next year or two. We noticed there was a problem Dec. 2014 when she was beginning to have issues with judging distances (ie – difficulty jumping on the bed, issues with going up/down the stairs, etc). Recently, she’s beginning to run into things around the house – specifically the fridge, doors, and occasionally, walls.
Our other two Min Pins try to aid her but she mainly just lays around the house now. I still take her out in public as my ESA (she can still sniff out my medications and get me the correct bottles, as well as bring me my cell phone to call someone if there’s a problem). I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to keep her as my ESA dog, but I’d like to make her feel more confident and comfortable getting around. She’s done so much for me and I feel terrible that I can’t currently afford to get her a halo. (My medical bills are over $20k right now and my hubby & I are just trying to make ends meet.)
Sara
