Introducing Merlin

Merlin is an eleven year old Pembroke Welsh corgi. His birthday was actually two days ago. Merlin has a disease that is called Degenerative Myelopathy (DM.)

Although Merlin is shown here in his cart, he does not actually use it yet. He is still walking. But DM will gradually cause lesions to form on his spinal cord, and as it does, he will use the use of first his back legs, then the front legs, and finally, if he lives long enough to experience it, his ability to breathe. DM is similar to ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) in humans.

Right now Merlin can still walk and run, but when he stands still he doesn't know that his legs are crossing or sliding out from under him. He will fall trying to stand still or trying to turn. He can barely stand up to pee. He will soon need to start using his cart for walks as he is now dragging his toenails and when they wear out he will be scraping his feet. I bought him a cart from K9cartsWest. Other companies that make good carts (wheelchairs) for dogs are Eddies Wheels, Doggon Wheels, and K9carts (east.)

DM is a genetic disease. Not every dog that has the genes for it gets it, but every corgi that gets it has the genes for it. Nobody knows (yet) why it affects some corgis and not others. It may be another gene or an environmental factor. There is a test available from OFA for the genes, and by testing and selective breeding, we hope that in the future DM will not be a problem.