My favorite pet as a small child was a “squirrel dog” that, many years later, I realized was a Rat Terrier. I HAD to have another one. I “adopted” Muffin on November 1, 1990. She was undoubtedly the most cherished of all my pets. We moved to Houston together in 1993 … just the two of us. We had a bond that many people said they had never seen between a dog and a human. She WAS my child. I lost my beloved Muffin on Friday, May 13, 2005.
After losing Muffin, I was devastated. My house was unbearably quiet. I set out to find another Rat Terrier that could help heal my heart. I knew Muffin could never be replaced, but I wanted one that looked somewhat like her. I wanted to call the puppy Mini Muffin, aka Mini … so she needed to be smaller than Muffin. I found Mini in a little town outside of Houston. The breeder was just a local breeder, with no testing. I had heard about luxating patella in small dogs but hey, I had small dogs all my life (tiny poodles, rat terriers, chihuahuas, etc.) with never a patella problem. Mini was going to be just a spayed pet …. AND I was anxious to get a miniature …. AND the show breeders I knew of and contacted did not have any available. Mini’s breeders showed a lot of care and concern for their dogs. The dogs lived in the house and seemed well adjusted. It was worth the risk … at least so I thought.
It was shortly after I purchased Mini that I attended my first UKC conformation show. I found the UKC show to be much more relaxed and fun for the "less than professional" handler. I wanted Mini and I to get out and do things together. I knew Mini wasn’t “show quality” but I decided I would learn with her before getting a “show dog”. We began taking some conformation classes, as well as obedience. I wanted to do agility and obedience with Mini. Once Mini was old enough, we started basic agility training. She LOVED IT!!!!
On December 16, 2005 I came home from work to find Mini holding her right rear leg up. I was heading out of town for the weekend, so I took her to my vet to be checked out before we left. The vet thought it was just sore and didn’t want to manipulate it too much. All weekend long, Mini held the leg up. Monday I took her back to the vet. This time the vet said she had a luxating patella and suggested I take her to a specialist. I took her to the best specialist I could find, Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists. The orthopedic surgeon there said she not only had a medial Grade III LP in her right but also a medial Grade II in her left. When we discussed heredity, he said if it had been just one leg, based on what he saw he would say there was an 80% chance it was inherited. But since it was in BOTH legs ….. he didn’t finish the sentence but I assumed he meant the % went to 100. I was devastated. Not only was my little girl facing some serious surgery, but the agility she loved so much might be over before she even got started.
Mini’s first surgery was January 10, 2006. It went well. The right leg was already somewhat twisted from the luxation, but she did not have to have an osteotomy. The surgeon did deepen the trochelear groove, reposition the patella ligament, and tighten the tissues around the joint. On the left side he tightened the tissues and repositioned the patella ligament. She began her recovery process. She was such a good girl. But she wouldn’t put her right leg down. When I took her back to the vet, he thought the patella ligament might need more adjusting. It turned out this wasn’t the problem but she had formed a lot of scar tissue that was inhibiting the tendon movement. Mini’s second surgery was in early March. She walked much better after this surgery. But during the summer I noticed a knot appearing on her leg. After a third, but much more minor, surgery to remove a pin that was “backing out”, she was good to go. The vet gave her the OK to resume agility.
Conformation was over, which was OK as I knew she wasn’t a “show dog” anyway. We went back to agility and obedience training. Mini LOVED training, was so smart, and had the best work ethic of any dog I’ve ever known. After a few more months of training, she started shutting down at the word “come”. I couldn’t figure it out …. my trainer couldn’t figure it out. We finally worked through that issue after a couple of weeks. But then it happened again. Mini also started exhibiting other irrational fear behaviors. Clicking an ink pen, among many other things, would send her into hiding. My trainer, who was also very good with abnormal dog behaviors, had never seen these issues as Mini was always “up” in class. One evening in class, Mini “shut down” over her heel word. The trainer was watching her. She had heard the word many times that night with no issues, then suddenly a major issue. The trainer was stumped as she saw nothing that should have caused the reaction. I decided to take Mini to a Licensed Animal Behaviorist.
The behaviorist watched Mini for quite some time. Then she did a physical evaluation to make sure pains were not causing the reactions. She found that Mini had pain in her neck above the shoulders, in her shoulder and/or elbow, and also that she had a Grade III heart murmur. GOOD GRIEF … WHAT ELSE WAS THIS POOR DOG GOING TO HAVE TO GO THROUGH. So, it was off to Texas A&M University Vet School to see a neurologist, cardiologist, and orthopedic vet.
The neurologist said Mini had a ruptured disk and needed surgery the next day. I was not emotionally prepared to put her through an even more serious surgery than the three she had already had. The neurologist said I could try crate rest for a month but she didn’t think that would work. I opted for the crate rest anyway.
The cardiologist also graded her heart murmur as a grade III. He ran an echocardiogram but found no structural issues causing it. Since no one at Gulf Coast or my regular vets had ever mentioned a heart murmur, I took her back to my regular vet. This time she did hear it and also graded it a grade III. I discussed all the findings at A&M and she agreed that crate rest would be best to try first.
After a month of crate rest, I took Mini back to my vet to see if she could tell any changes in her back. The vet said she did not get much pain reaction in her back above her shoulders but did get some further down her back. And she said she could no longer hear the heart murmur. We headed back to A&M. The neurologist we saw said she also found pain in places other than the initial spot. She said she would NOT recommend surgery and now she thought Mini might have meningitis ... or it could just be more structural issues due to poor breeding. I did not want to put Mini through a spinal tap so the vet sent her home on pain medications to be monitored for a few months.
The cardiologist also could no longer hear the heart murmur. It is not unusual for a heart murmur to go away, or a pregnant bitch to develop one, but it is a bit unusual for one to suddenly appear then disappear within a month or so.
Mini has also been to an animal chiropractor, who has found her shoulder “out” several times. Other joints have been out as well. Mini always seems to feel better after the adjustment.
I also continued with the animal behaviorist for about a year. She said Mini has several emotional issues, most likely inherited. She has an extreme phobia disorder and also does not make appropriate associations. That is what causes the irrational responses. Mini has been on doggie Prozac, Xanax, pain medications, and often takes Rescue Remedy.
So, to make a long story even longer, Mini has WAY MORE genetic issues than any dog should EVER have to go through. I did contact her breeders after she was diagnosed with the LP. They had never heard of the OFA. The woman was very interested in it. The man wasn’t. I sent them a letter HIGHLY suggesting they begin testing. By the time Mini was diagnosed, they had bred this particular pair of dogs three times. Their web site is no longer active and I haven’t seen them list any puppies for sale in the local papers, so I am hoping they decided to quit breeding.
At just over four years of age, Mini has gone through so much trauma it breaks my heart. She already is looking old. She has days she is VERY HAPPY. She LOVES people. But she also has many down days. She will live her life out here at the KTRat Ranch being pampered as much as possible. I cannot train, or even play with, the other dogs around Mini as so many things scare her (heel command, “come”, tugging with the other dogs, any strange noises or words such as “gotcha”, etc.). We still “train” the things she LOVES to do (twist, spin, roll over, etc.). Sometimes I use these to get her “up” when she is so “down”. She loves sitting in someone’s lap …. or sometimes she just wants to lay in her bed undisturbed. It has been recommended to me by some friends that I should not have spent the money on all of Mini’s care as she isn’t a quality dog. But I took on the responsibility of her care when I bought her. It is not up to me to judge what others would do in this situation, but I have to do what I think is right for Mini. I know I get extremely emotionally attached to my pets … they are the only children I will ever have …. therefore, I choose to do what I can to give them as much quality life as I can. I just thank God that I have the resources to do so. She can at least boast that she has three practitioner vets, two orthopedic vets, a cardiologist, two neurologists, and a “psychiatrist”. LOL
MAJOR LESSON LEARNED: I have no intentions of ever buying another dog that is not tested for the specific issues found in that breed. I know testing is no guarantee, but it has to give somewhat of a better chance of getting a dog without severe genetic disorders. Also, I believe that, through testing, we CAN improve the health of our Rat Terriers … and don’t they deserve to have as good a life as we can provide since WE are the ones bringing them into this world?
