After Eight
Eight, born January 13, 2015 (NOT A BREEDING DOG!)
Eight is, without a doubt, the love of my life. The shock was immense when we found out at just 10 months old that she had mitral valve dysplasia, and her life expectancy would be measured in weeks or months, rather than years.
After the initial shock from this devastating diagnosis and several intense discussions with the cardiologist, she convinced us that the best thing for Eight was to continue living exactly as she was used to — with lots of walks. We also do “light” agility with her, purely for the fun of it, with no specific goals in mind.The progression of the disease is not affected by her activity level, though we go for ultrasounds every few months and Eight takes a number of medications. Following the advice of a friend and doctor, we started her on a heavy course of antibiotics soon after the diagnosis. To everyone’s surprise, it turned out that her condition is NOT hereditary but the result of a bacterial infection she contracted between 4 and 10 months of age. Of course, the issue never improved (the valve will never work properly), but at almost 10 years old (!!!), her heart murmur has decreased from 5.5 out of 6 (at diagnosis) to 3.
Eight is truly a special dog. Not only do I find her beautiful, but it is mainly her absolutely perfect temperament that stands out. I’ve never seen a dog so socially competent, so fundamentally positive towards everyone and everything, affectionate, intelligent (though I must admit, the high dose of Vetmedin she takes makes her a bit moody with other dogs sometimes) )… but above all, she has a gift few dogs possess: she can look directly into your heart.
Eight is my shadow, and I wouldn’t trade her for the world. Naturally, we never bred with her.
