Guess who makes her big screen debut tomorrow on KXAN? Only the sweetest dog weve EVER met - Hope! For those of you that dont know about Hope, shes a very special girl in our adoption program with a pretty rare, but easily managed condition called Centronuclear Myopathy. Hope is SO much more than her minor disability! Hopes amazing foster mom has been by her side since May and has witnessed an amazing transition. This is long, but SO worth the read!: Hope is the first dog I have fostered for PAWS. I had only contemplated fostering a dog when I made a stop by the shelter in regards to some kittens I was fostering. When I mentioned possibly fostering a dog, the shelter director told me she had the PERFECT dog for me. I had been told that Hope was a very good girl but she was getting quite depressed staying at the shelter. She had come into the shelter with muscle weakness, difficulty walking, was very skinny but no one was sure of the cause. I agreed to take a look at her and see if it seemed like a good fit so we went inside. When I saw her, she was lying down in the office area and when I said “Hello, Hope!” she wagged her tail but didn’t get up. With some encouragement from the staff she was able to get herself up and wobble over to see me. I couldn’t help but notice how skinny she was and my heart went out to her so I decided to give it a try. When I first brought Hope to my home, I was concerned because she could barely walk. I have a single story home but there are 4 steps down on the patio to get to the grass and I wasn’t sure if she could manage. I was given a sling to help me if I needed to carry her so I decided to give it a try. At first, she could barely manage the stairs. I would frequently help her up the stairs because she would fatigue if she had to squat too long while pottying. Despite her difficulty, Hope never had an accident in my house and she always kept a cheery, sweet disposition. She immediately became my shadow and followed me wherever I went. She was a little nervous at first if I were out of her sight and would cry a bit but that quickly resolved as she grew more and more comfortable in her new surroundings.I made the decision to leave her free in the house while going to work and she was a perfect angel. She is extremely quick to learn the rules of the house and is very obedient. When it was time for bed, she would sleep on the floor next to my bed and be ready to greet me every morning. After extensive testing it was determined that Hope has CentroNuclear Myopathy (CNM). This is a muscular disease inherited most frequently in yellow labs and means that she will never develop a completely normal muscle structure. Despite ample amounts of food and effort, the defect is found in how the muscle fibers connect and without proper connection, new muscle is not built. I’m told that some of her muscles are affected and some are not so she and has built a little bit more muscle while I’ve had her, which is great! I can’t really see it but she is so much stronger than when we first met! Although she will always be skinny and fatigue more easily than a typical dog, she has made great strides while staying with us. She frequently plays with her foster sister, Mati, and now she RUNS down the stairs when it’s time to go outside. She is able to easily climb the couple stairs to get back indoors and she has a lot more control of her legs now when pottying. She has to work a bit to climb onto the couch but she is a determined girl and doesn’t let her disability get her down! She is a love bug and extremely happy to spend a quiet life loving on her human. She is great with the cats in the house as well. Some might say she has the perfect amount of barking. I rarely hear from her unless there is a knock at the front door or when someone enters the house that she couldn’t see. She would be great for someone who wants to feel a little extra security from a dog that will sound the alert if something doesn’t seem right yet remains low maintenance because she has minimal exercise requirements. No need to take her to the dog park and endlessly throw tennis balls…she prefers a good squeaker toy and a movie! One night, one of the employees at PAWS kept Hope for me while some new fencing was being erected in my yard and I’m told that she is an excellent bar dog! She gets along with everyone yet doesn’t jump on anyone and will be content lying by your side at the table. With CNM, it is possible for Hope to overdo it and fatigue. She may get tired if she runs too much with her foster sister or at an extended outing, greeting lots of people. When this happens, she just lies down. Usually she recovers quite quickly and will get up and try again but occasionally I will carry her to the car when I know we’ve done too much. Luckily she’s just under 40lbs and very easy to pick up so it’s no trouble. (She rides GREAT in the car as well!) We try to keep things low key for her to prevent these spells but they still happen from time to time although she is 100% stronger than when I first met her. CNM is not curable and not progressive so that means it won’t get worse. It should not shorten her life span nor does she require costly medications or veterinary bills. She has some pain medication that she can have if she needs it but she rarely does. The cost of caring for Hope should be no different than any other dog. Please consider adopting this sweet girl. Everyone who meets her just falls in love with her and I’m sure you will too!
Posted on: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 23:30:00 +0000