Rocky Mountain Great Dane Rescue, Inc.

Long Term Resident

Bishop is a 1 year old, resilient, Harlequin, male Dane with natural ears. He came to RMGDRI because his family was unable to cope with his continued shaking. Despite his condition, he is an absolute sweety that just wants to be loved. He gives gentle kisses and loves to snuggle. He spends a lot of his time chewing on bones and playing with his foster sisters and brother. Bishop also likes to lounge in his crate during naptime. He is a kind and good-natured Dane that is eager to enjoy his people.

July 17, 2008

The following story is written by his Foster Mom.

Bishop was dumped at a vets office in Kansas City. His family told the vet they didn't want him, because he shakes too much so just put him down. The vet worked with a small rescue group and promptly called them to make arrangements for Bishop. The rescue group took Bishop and was told he could have wobblers, so they contacted RMGDRI to help him.

I picked up Bishop 3 weeks ago on 6/26/2008, and almost immediately fell in love with this happy, goofy boy. He bounced his way over to me and greeted me with a big smile. We gave him some time to settle into our house and get a nice bath at the dog wash. Bishop made himself at home almost immediately and we spent our first night teaching him that our bed is not his bed and his bed is REALLY comfortable. In the end, he woke up in OUR bed.

Bishop went to see Dr. Rob up in Lafayette for some x-rays. I received a phone call that evening and thats when we found out that he does not have Wobblers. Bishop has degenerative myelopathy. DM is an auto immune disease involving the spinal cord, where the immune system attacks the central nervous system. This is equivalent to the human disease Multiple Sclerosis. The attack leads to degeneration of the myelin sheath (insulation) and axons (nerve fibres). Usually the first signs of DM are worn down toe nails of a hind paw, dragging/knuckling of a hind paw. It is characterized by an increase in loss of mobility in the hind region. Affected dogs usually show a slowly progressive hind limb incoordination, clumsiness, weakness. The hind limbs start to cross over and trip the dog up. They do not appear to know where their feet are. Usually a dog will lose complete mobility of the hind legs around 8 months from the onset. Bishop is a little over a year old and we think his onset started about 3 months ago, so we are hoping to have him in our family for another 6 months. We don't really know how long he has, DM can be quick moving and come suddenly.

Bishop gets around pretty well. Sometimes his hind legs fold up, but mostly he is able to romp around with his foster sisters and brothers. He really loves going in the ponds at the dog park. His favorite past time is stealing my Golden's tennis ball, then he runs circles around the yard with her in his mouth, teasing her. He can't go for walks on a leash longer than 5 minutes, otherwise his legs start to cross and he trips a lot.

Writing about Bish (as we like to call him) brings both sad and happy tears to my eyes. I have never met a dog that smiles more than him. He has the kindest eyes and most gentle kisses I have ever encountered. He loves to go for car rides and take naps in his crate. He also has a best friend, we call Pom (very fluffy weird looking ball). Bishop takes Pom on all his car rides, to the dog park and to bed every night. I truly fell in love with him almost immediately and when I got the call asking if I would permenently foster him, I couldn't say YES fast enough. Bishop will live out his days as a part of our family and we will all be here when it is his time to go. We all feel truly blessed that we get a chance to be a part of his life.