all about ruby
hi my name is karen iwould like to introduce you to my best friend and loyal companioin ruby a six year old blenheim cavie. will write more tomorrow as it is getting late got to get up early tomorrow. i have a lot to tell about the little minx. karen x
i shall start my story about ruby (affectionately known as stinky minky) I always said after i lost my first dog i would never have another dog, i was devastated, many years later, in the evening sometime my daugher called me upstairs, she was on a website that were advertising puppies for sale cavalier king charles spaniels, she new i always loved the breed , after watching lady and the tramp. and there they were, one girl blenheim, and four tri coloured brothers, she was tiny against her brothers. they were available now, no i said to my daughter, she was on my mind all evening. ok the deal is if she is still available when i ring the breeder shes ours, if not then no more on the subject. i rang the breeder who was quite local to me, thinking that this beautiful puppy would have been snatched up already, yes he said she will be ready to go in three days time, come and see her and if your happy leave a deposit, we went to see her the following day, he went to the back room and brought out a carrier, and out they jumped, the three tri coloured brothers, but ruby remained at the back of the carrier, she was the runt half the size of her brothers, she fitted on the palm of my hand, she was the sweetest loveliest creature i had ever seen, my daugher and i were overwelmed by her. we left a deposit and were due to pick her up 2 days later the longest days of our lives, that was in may 2006. we took her home where she began her new life with us. As ruby began to grow it became apparent to me that she was in pain with her back legs, she also had sore eyes and often infected, on a 6month check at the vets my vet suggested have her x-rayed, on return to the vets we were told she had luxating patella (slipping kneecaps) also she needed an entropion on her eyes (ingrowing eyelashes) they operated on her legs it was a success, but unfortunately the operation on her eyes was,nt. she was awarded pet of the month for her bravery and waggy tail, she was referred on to a specialist, who advised me know more operations on her eyes, he also said she had a disease of the retina and would eventually go blind suddenley or it could be gradual. i was upset but at least she was healthy, my daughter and i made the decision no more operations unless it was life threatening. The years went buy and ruby enchanted everyone who met her, with her expressive eyes, and her searching for the pussy cats in the evening under parked cars she new exactly where to find them. she was having episodes of pain again in her back legs i thought she was arthritic, and started giving her vitamin supplements, in the summer of 2011 ruby had a couple of petit mal seizures, i took her to the vet, who said they could have been due to the hot weather, but to moniter her, in january this year i noticed ruby was,nt responding to me, it began to get worse, i started to research her symptons, and became worried, my vet arranged for her to have an mri scan at surrey, on the 26th april 2012 i prepared myself. i sat and had a consultation with the vet who was fantastic, she wanted to do two scans one on her head and one on her lower back, but felt this was not so imperative as she had a good idea what the problem was, it would obviously cost a lot of money, so we decided on the head scan only, she was to be sedated and return at 5.30 in evening with results. i returned a little early hoping not to prolong the agony. rubys scan was on display and she explained rubys problems. yes she does have chiari like malformation resulting in syringomyelia, but it is moderate, and at this moment in time is displaying no clinical signs, in addition to this she also has p.s.o.m. primary secretary otis media, i had already had my suspicions on both, she had discussed rubys ear problems with another colleague, who advised against surgery because it can reoccur frequentely, the scan showed her ears were almost completely blocked, she will go totally deaf, she also suspects ruby has a lower disc problem unrelated to the syringomyelia, but these episodes only happen three or four times a year after 48 hours rest shes ok. and with a bit of weight loss it could help. so there it is, i was advised to get an ultra sonic whistle for her which i will sort out at some time, i felt almost relieved her syringomyelia is not too bad at this present time, she told me that her condition could change. At this moment in time ruby enjoys life she runs plays and snores, if her circumstances change, and i feel that she is suffering i will do the obvious, she takes no medication, and i feel so lucky it could have been so much worse. thank you all for reading my story who ever reads it, i will keep regular updates. if anyone has suggestions on alternative medicine for her p.s.o.m. i would like to hear. thank you karen and ruby the dog