I know most of you only know Timo via Facebook, but those of you who have met him, know what a cuddly, sweetheart he is. Before Gus and I brought Timo home with us 4.5 years ago, I was concerned to bring an adult dog home with us because of all my nieces and nephews. Little did I know that we were bringing home the sweetest, most well behaved Boxer I have ever met (and I grew up with Boxers). We could not have asked for a more perfect addition to our family. He is the friendliest, happiest and most loving little guy I have ever met!! My entire family loves him!! The most precious moment I have to say is when Timo recently met my newborn niece. I could not believe how sweet and gentle he was when he met her. I was so touched it brought me to tears.I am telling you Timo is an angel. He loves people and people love him and want to pet him wherever we go. Even people who are scared of dogs have been able to relax around him. Timo even answers to handsome because everywhere we go people call him Handsome. It is too cute. Timo really saved me during one of the roughest seasons of my life. I do not know how I would have gotten through the last 4.5 years without him. We got our first Boxers when I was in the 3rd grade and they passed away when I was in college. I never would have expected that Timo’s time with us and the rest of our friends and family would be cut short even though he is barely 9 years old. As many of you know, our Timo has been diagnosed with a horrible spine disease called, Degenerative Myelopathy (DM). Unfortunately, this means that Timo will be losing the ability to use his hind legs first and eventually it will move through his entire body until he is completely paralyzed. The only good thing about this disease is that it does not cause Timo any pain. It is a pain free disease. If anything Timo is more confused as to why things are changing for him, but he has maintained his beautiful, happy, spirit throughout this entire ordeal that began back in June for us. As much as I want to believe that doctors are wrong about his diagnosis, it is very obvious that Timo is undergoing major physical changes in regards to his hind leg mobility. He can still enjoy his outdoor walks with assistance from a special harness that his physical therapist recommended, but he does seem to have a very hard time in the house because like usual he wants to follow us everywhere which makes him fall or lose his balance a lot. So as much as I hate to admit it, we are quickly moving into the next phase of this disease, and Timo is in need of a hind leg wheelchair. According to the material I have been reading, it is best to provide Timo with the wheelchair while he can still walk so that he can stay as strong as possible for as long as possible. That is all we can ask for at this point. He is quickly losing his strength on a weekly basis which is shocking to us, but we are hopeful that once he gets his wheelchair he will be able to maintain some strength to keep him going for as long as possible. Unfortunately this disease is known to fully paralyze a dog within 9-12 months and our Timo has been dealing with minimal symptoms since the beginning of the year. But the therapists say that Timo has been progressing slower than other Boxers that they have seen with the same disease. Perhaps the fact that Timo is only a carrier of the disease and therefore only has one mutated gene, could mean that the progress might be slower in his case. Since we are home with him daily we definitely see the major physical changes he has been experiencing this summer since the symptoms really became apparent. Of course you all know how much we love our Timo, and we would never want him to suffer, but as long as Timo maintains his beautiful, happy spirit, we are committed to continue to help him stay comfortable and strong for as long as possible. Timo’s therapy and acupuncture appointments although expensive, are keeping him mobile because that is the only way to slow the progression of the DM. Unfortunately, Timo’s insurance will not cover any of his therapy or acupuncture visits which at this point are about $250/week. Thank goodness Timo has his own credit card too and that is how we have been able to keep all this going. But like everything in life, we are reaching the end of our resources, and we are now reaching out to request help to keep our Timo going. His new wheelchair will be about $400 and if we could raise enough money to get his chair before the end of the month, we are hoping he can get the hang of it quick enough to help him maintain some strength so he can still be mobile while we are at work. Our fear is that he can injure his front legs because he is compensating for both of his hind legs. We will also need to make a new ramp to help Timo still have access to the yard. The ramp he has now is good for him as long as he can walk, but we will have to transform the backyard stairs into a full ramp so he can use his wheelchair to go outside. Timo at his weekly water and laser therapy sessionTimo relaxing at his weekly acupuncture sessionIt is not easy for us to ask for financial assistance to keep our four-legged son happy and mobile, but we have no other option at this point, and we know you all have so much love for him that we feel that this is the best way to keep our Timo going for as long as possible. If enough of us pull small donations together, I am sure we will be able to buy Timo’s chair as soon as possible and possibly pay off his $2,000 balance (with a $3,000 limit) on his credit card so that we can keep charging his ongoing therapy treatments and keep him on the 3 medications that are keeping him as comfortable as possible, which is what he obviously needs at this point.Timo smelling the flowers...he is my Gentle GiantWe would like to thank you all in advance for taking the time to read about our Timo’s situation and for any possible donations you can spare at this time. And even if you do not have extra cash, which is completely understandable, we are still very grateful for all the love you have all given Timo through this ordeal. I know for all of you pet lovers you understand how difficult a time this is for us, and the only thing that gets us through all of this is all the love and support from everyone. our little family Timo has brought us and our family and friends so much love, joy and laughter that we just want to keep doing everything in our power to keep our Timo as happy as possible, and we just want to enjoy every single moment we have left with him. our handsome boyI am attaching the link below for any of you who may want to read more about the disease that Timo has been diagnosed with. Degenerative Myelopathy in Dogs | Diagnosis and Tests http://www.petwave.com/Dogs/Health/Degenerative-Myelopathy/Diagnosis.aspx
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