Our Best Friends, M & M

If my husband and I had known forty years ago that dogs were so wonderful, we would probably have added dogs to our family unit instead of children.

Our two shihtzus are our best friends. They love us unconditionally and they NEVER ask for money. They appreciate everything we do for them and they show it in countless ways. They are cute and affectionate and fun - and they warm our hearts! They snuggle against us, and they seem to value every minute they spend with us.

Mindi and Molli are very special because they have suffered and survived. They were born in 2002 and, soon after, we were told they had Demodectic Mange. I chronicled their ordeal at http://www.lindapages.com/mindi-molli/puppies.htm.

The dogs were physically tortured by innumerable dips in Amitraz (Mitaban), in an effort to deal with the mites that took over their bodies and practically killed them of demodectic mange, and the related staph infections, in the first year of their lives.

If someone else had bought these two sisters from a breeder (no doubt, of the puppy-mill variety), they probably would have chosen euthanasia for them because their cases of mange were so severe.

In the end, we paid to read a Canadian study that shows that Interceptor, the drug used to prevent heart worms, is an effective and SAFE treatment for Demodectic Mange. We think that vets in the US don't want people to know this because treating Demodectic Mange is great business! Never mind if the dog suffers with tortuous itching, pain, and damage to their nervous systems! And Amitraz, the only APPROVED treatment, CANNOT kill mites that are between the eyes, inside the ears or under the toenails! Period. A systemic drug is required.

We made a choice and paid for the Interceptor. It worked miracles and Molli has been asymptomatic for more than 4 years. Mindi still has a little flare up, here and there, but we have been working to build up her immune system.

Since the ordeal in their early years, they have, admittedly, become very spoiled. They rule our roost and Molli is, clearly, the alpha dog. This means that in terms of our family pack, she is in charge. She is very particular and she "talks" until her communications are understood. Otherwise, she will not shut up. Obviously, she knows she will prevail in the end.

Mindi is very sweet and passive and she seems OK with Molli being in charge. She never challenges Molli's authority and she rolls over when Molli is aggressive. In fact, she rolls over when someone goes near her because she knows it is futile to resist what has been the inevitable far too many times in her life.

Molli had a back injury a few years ago but she recovered well, after a few days of rest and pain medication. But Mindi sustained a back injury - a slipped disc - this week and she required surgery today. She had been having some problems for a few months and we noticed that she could no longer jump onto the bed. She had not been playing with Molli and that really should have been a red flag. She was even worse after they returned from the groomer's two weeks ago.

On Tuesday night, Molli, the Alpha dog, got upset over some perceived misdeed by Mindi and she jumped on Mindi's back. Since then, Mindi has not been able to walk, and she shivered and panted, as if in tremendous pain.

The next day we took her to the vet and she was diagnosed with a slipped disc. Dr. Kleinpeter said to let her know if she showed no improvement or got worse in the next 24-48 hours.

By today, 48 hours later, there was no improvement and our poor baby Mindi had to go for more X-rays to confirm that. She was rushed to the LSU Veterinary Hospital in Baton Rouge, where she was promptly evaluated and then taken to surgery. The surgeon said they had admitted six dogs that day with the same condition.

The cost of the surgery was $3500, but she is in the best possible place. We are assigned to a clinician, a vet student, who calls us at least daily with status reports. It is a day-by-day recovery and we simply won't know the prognosis until we see if her motor skills, as well as bowel and bladder functions, return.

Mindi is fat... OUR FAULT. She does not eat nearly as much as Molli but she is obese and Molli isn't. Mindi's thyroid is fine, so we can't blame it on that. When she comes home, we have to use tough love and monitor her diet so she can be healthy. It is our responsibilty. We know that her obesity was a factor in this condition...