DALLAS, NC.....Beautiful cupcake is a 5-year-old Staffordshire Terrier that was picked up as a stray. She was taken to Gaston County Animal Care Services where she remained for three weeks. This beautiful pup was ataxic in her rear limbs and had trouble walking. Cupcake was urine soaked and stained when she came in.
We were contacted late Saturday Night begging for help for her. Cupcake did not even have a name. She was known as Tag #922. She was scheduled to put euthanized on Monday Morning since she was taking up space and no one was interested in her with her walking and urine issues. A Volunteer had offered to take her home for the weekend to give her some Love and see if she could find her a home before Monday.
On Sunday, I sent a note to the Shelter and the Volunteer asking for more info about Tag #922. The volunteer was now calling her Ms. Judith. After several texts, I realized she had to get out because they did not have any idea what was wrong with her and no one wanted to waste their time on a dog that had these medical issues. We are the Last Resort for the dogs we take on, and we were it for Cupcake.
We had this precious emaciated pup taken to Carolina Veterinary Specialists in Matthews, NC to see our wonderful Neurologist, Dr. Bob Bergman. As you can tell, we did not like the name she had and wanted her to have a name more suitable to her sweet personality. She was named Cupcake. Dr. Bergman and his Neurology Team did a thorough evaluation on Cupcake and determined she would have to have an MRI to figure out exactly what was going on.
Cupcake was wobbly and had a swollen area surrounding part of her spine. We were prepared to give the okay for him to do surgery once the MRI was done but instead I was sent shocking images and was told that we needed to discuss the case further. Cupcake appears to have a congenital malformation and a secondary syrinx (large fluid pocket inside the spinal cord). Dr. Bergman was shocked she was able to walk at all. He had never seen a pocket this large and the dog still able to get up and walk.
We went into great detail about the pluses and minuses to him doing surgery. We do not know how long cupcake has had this fluid-filled pocket. Dr. Bergman thinks it is genetic but can't say for sure. The swelling around her spine could be from an injury or someone hitting her. I decided the risk was too high for us to do surgery on Cupcake to remove the fluid at this time. She could be paralyzed by the operation and lose her ability to walk at all. Dr. Bergman did not feel good about her prognosis but also knows that we do lots of Miracles at Noah's Arks Rescue so her chances could be better than average.
When we got Cupcake, we were shocked at just how thin she was and still had terrific muscles in her front limbs and chest area. The contrast was shocking on so many levels. Based on the muscle mass we see in Cupcakes front area, we believe she was born with this condition. She has compensated for lack of control of her rear legs by using her front legs to balance and support her entire body. As you can see from one of the pics, Cupcake's rear-end goes in a weird position at times from lack of control.
We are doing lots of Rehab for this sweet, sweet pup to build up her strength. Cupcake is not incontinent but does dribble at times. Her quality of Life has been part of her issues. Her fur and skin are stained from laying in her urine for long periods of time. She is a beautiful dog that did not deserve the inhumane treatment she has received. Every animal deserves to be treated with love and respect. A genetic medical issue should not be a Death Sentence for a dog like Cupcake. She has compensated all her Life and now deserves a chance being loved and cared for.
If Cupcake's health declines and Dr. Bergman thinks surgery would be her only option for a better Quality of Life, then we will proceed with that. We have already done the significant testing and MRI that cost the most money. It would just be surgery at that point and then more rehab. We don't know what the medical future holds for this special pup. What we do know is we will give her every opportunity to get healthy and be loved unconditionally. Please, Donate toward Cupcake's Medical Bills so we can continue her Rehab and Medical Care.
