A poor little Corgi named Bentley was going to be paralyzed from DM (Canine degenerative myelopathy), which according to Redditor Barbicore “is similar to MS in humans.”
Bentley’s back legs were becoming paralyzed, so Redditor Barbicore and family built a wheelchair for the pup!
You can check out the Reddit thread here.
And view the original Imgur post here.
Some takeaways from the thread:
1. A simple $60 DNA test will save you a lot of heartache.
I love my Corgis! But make sure you do your research on your breeder. A simple $60 DNA test would have found this condition in Bentley’s parents and saved a lot of heartache. We are going to make sure the time we have with him is the best for all of us :).
2. Always make sure to ask the breeder.
Ask the breeder about DM status for the pups. Most responsible breeders do the tests and are trying to breed DM out of their lines. I have a corgi. Her father was DM clear and her mother was a DM carrier. This means my pup is a carrier of the gene, but cannot get DM. If both parents were carriers there is a chance 50% of the puppies would have DM. Responsible breeding in action. If your corgi breeder doesn’t test for DM run away.
3. When in doubt — ask.
Corgis can carry a gene for Degenerative Myelopathy, which causes a painless loss of control of the hind end. Onset is usually at a higher age (8 and up, usually more like 10 and up). In the past several years, a genetic marker test has finally been developed which allows responsible breeders to make sure they do not create puppies that may be affected with the disease. Anyone interested in a corgi puppy should always ask about the DM status of BOTH parents. The gene is a simple recessive, so there are 3 possibilities: CLEAR, CARRIER, or AT RISK. At risk dogs are the only ones that have the possibility to develop the disease later in life. If you breed an At Risk dog to a Clear dog, all of the puppies will be carriers but will not develop the disease. If you breed Carrier to Carrier, puppies have a 25% chance of being clear, 50% chance of being carrier, and 25% chance of being at risk. Carrier to clear is 50/50% carrier/clear. And Clear to Clear produces all Clear puppies.
Having a pet puppy (spayed/neutered) that is a Carrier is no problem as they will not develop the disease. When asking a breeder about potential puppies, you would ideally want one parent to be clear, and the other parent could be any of the 3 status. Then you are assured that none of the puppies will develop the disease.
If you talk with a breeder and they do not know what DM is or do not do the testing and show you the results (there is paperwork, make sure the names match…you’d be surprised how sneaky people can be), then run away.
