The Cousins are coming! A happy ending to a puppy's struggle with CMD

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In the spring of last year, my son Jeff and his family decided that it was time to add a pooch into their family. Fully two years before, they had lost their Retriever/Newfie X, Angie, at the age of 15.5 years. They loved Angie so dearly that it took quite a while for them to think about adopting again.

Shortly after Cody arrived they heard about a little retriever mix pup at our animal shelter and thought that as long as they were training one - heck, they could train two. Little did they know that when they adopted Suzie they were getting more than a puppy. They were getting a puppy with canine muscular dystrophy. Not fatal and not progressive after the first year, they kept Suzie even though the shelter said they would take her back. After all, Jeff told me, you just don't get rid of a family member when they run into a rough patch.

Canine muscular dystrophy can be really, really bad or it can be mild. Thankfully, Suzie's case is mild. She receives special vitamins and nutrition as well as loads of love from her human family and her furry brofur.

Jeff was out running errands last week and had his pups (now 18 months old) with him. Needless to say, a round of happy play in the snow took place with my two and their furry cousins. What is beautiful about Cody's relationship with his sisfur is that he senses that she is more delicate and will compensate for her disability when they play. It's sweet to watch and it's sweet for me to have a son that doesn't give up on an animal just because it isn't PURRfect. And - especially sweet was watching Suzie smile and play in my yard with Scout, Freyja and her doggy sibling.