1985 - 5th April 1998
Sasha was the first dog on the scene. I'd always wanted a large dog (my mother had before then been ever acquiring little dogs---or rats I called them). Sasha back in 1985 as a pup was beautiful and her intelligence and character was just amazing. On walks she was greeted by literally everyone we crossed...everybody just could not resist her. House guests would even ask to take her out for walks or to the pub. Sasha was and still is everyone's favourite! Sasha in her prime loved walks and specialised in chasing squirrels, tennis balls and hanging out with the other dogs in the park. She's was also the only dog I knew that could catch a tennis ball at terminal velocity! Sasha and her mate Fritz (a truly devoted husband indeed) were inseparable, and brought their pup Strudel into the world. Sasha was top dog.
In 1997 we noticed that Sasha was getting progressively more tired on walks, and at the end of these would start to drag one of her hind paws on the pavements and wear down her toe-nails. Our vet suggested it could be one of 2 untreatable conditions: Spondulosis or Degenerative Myelopathy. The only way to find out what she had was for Sasha to have a spinal tap, a proceedure with an inherent significant risk of spinal damage. We rejected this outright. There seemed little that we could do for Sasha, as advised by our vets. Months passed and Sasha's condition worsened so that she could only walk for 10 minutes before she tired and started to drag her left hind leg, and sometimes she would momentarily lose balance too. We bagan to get Sasha paw covers for walking, to save damage to her toes and foot when she got tired on walks, and started giving her evening primrose oil to aid recovery.
Some 6 months after we noticed Sasha was having these problems, I was browsing the internet trying to find out any information for Sasha's ailment and found a website run by Andy & Jan in the UK. This website was devoted entirely to Degenerative Myelopathy (It is believed this is similar to multiple sclerosis in humans), a condition afflicting not only German Shepherd Dogs, but many other breeds too. It was here that I learnt about the condition Sasha had, and about novel research that neurological veternarians were conducting in Florida, USA. The latter had developed alternative treatments, encompasing excercise, dietary supplements (vitamins and other nutrients), dietary changes (changing to a low fat diet) and medication to stall the disease. Sasha was immediately put onto this regimen and seemed to improve markedly. She had more stamina, could walk for longer, looked happier and indeed within a month or two of treatment looked like a 10 year old dog rather than her 12 years. She also enjoyed the attention too!
On April 5th 1998 we found Sasha lying on the kitchen rug breathing heavily. We quickly tried to comfort her and call the vets, but within a couple minutes Sasha was gone. It was painless and all too quick: a heart attack had taken her. While we were expecting to continue treating Sasha and improve her quality of life, until the day that she would lose the use of her hind legs, we had not expected such a sudden loss. One minute Sasha was there, and the next she was gone. We figure that she took the easy and dignified choice of passing away with all her faculties, so that we could always remember her as she always was: Happy, loveable.... ............We miss you Sash!
Visit Zaxaan at Andy's & Jan's Zaxxan Group Degenerative Myeolopathy Page
Visit Jack Flash At Marjorie's Place
Degenerative Myeolopathy Home at University of Florida