Merlin and I went over to his birthplace for Mother's Day dinner. Now, I've been watching Merlin's ability to walk disappear over time, but his breeder's family only sees him on occasion, and as I took him out of his cart during dinner, they were quite upset to see him barely managing to crawl around. I forget that what has become normal to me is devastating to them.
When they bred Lily they of course had no way to know that she carried the gene for DM, and neither did the stud's owner. If they had, that breeding would probably not have been done, even though, as it was probably carrier to carrier, it was a better breeding than many are doing. They couldn't know.
Breeders today CAN know, and those that don't have their big Ostrich heads stuck in the sand do know, and can do something to prevent this heartache for future corgi owners. If you are looking for a corgi puppy, ask the breeder what the DM status is. If the breeder isn't testing, or tries to tell you testing isn't important, look for another breeder. Unless you want to have a dog that can only drag himself around, that is. Remember that that cute little puppy that you fall in love with today, you are going to love 100 times more in eleven years when he starts to show signs of DM.
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