Shelby By Emily Northcutt
November 8, 2015 – September 8, 2020
Shelby, nicknamed Doobles and Dooble Doo, was only four years old when she went down with an IVDD related injury. We still don’t know what she did to cause it, other than something as simple as jumping off the couch or out of the car. My family brought Shelby home in July of 2016. She was being rehomed because her previous family could not give her the love she required. The first few weeks we got her home we found ourselves laughing at her constantly. She could not decide who she loved the most and was not satisfied until she could find a way to have everyone in my house touching her at the same time. It was a sight. She loved everyone, but she finally settled in on me. She realized I was her person. She too, was mine. Our bond was like no other.
On the morning of September 6, 2020 I was headed out to run a few errands. Instead of Shelby jumping in the car like she always does, she stood on her hind legs waiting on me to help her in. I thought it was strange, but I chalked it up to her being lazy. My daughter and I were headed to the beach that evening and I dropped her off at my soon to be x-husbands house. When she got out the car I noticed a slight limp on the right side, but she ran straight up his stairs and into the house. Later that evening, I received a call from him stating that Shelby could not walk. He said she was dragging her entire back end.
My parents took her to our regular vet on Monday, September 7, 2020. Of course it is a holiday so it will be an emergency visit. My vet called me and explained that she could clearly see a disk pressing on her spinal cord. She said I had two options. One was to see a surgeon in Columbia, SC. The surgery could run anywhere between eight to ten thousand dollars. She did stress that surgery was needed within the first 24 hours for the greatest chance at success. The second option would be to send her home with steroids and she would have a 50/50 chance at recovery. I opted to treat with meds because I did not have $8000.00 laying around. I mean who does?
When I got home Monday night and saw with my own eyes the condition my sweet girl was in, I was devastated. She was unable to walk. She would not eat. She was covered in her own pee. It was gut wrenching. I knew I had to do something.
I was scrolling through FB that Monday evening and ran across a post from Ambross Taylor. Her dog JJ was going through the exact same thing. I happened to comment on her post. That comment was a game changer in Shelby’s story. The next morning, Tuesday, September 8, 2020, I was contacted by two other people whose dogs had gone through the exact same thing. Teresa Bell and Tim Cline convinced me to take her to have the MRI done. They assured me that no matter what the cost, Boykin Nation would raise the money to save my girl. I took a leap of faith and rushed my girl to Columbia. We arrived at CVETS in Columbia around 2:00 PM. They took her back started the paperwork, assessed her etc. She still has deep pain sensation at CVETS! This is great news. They then told me I would have to pay $6000.00 up front to even have the MRI. I did not have that kind of money. I then had to plead with them to release her so I could take her somewhere else that would not require that kind of money up front. We then took her to VCA across town. They only required $2,000.00 down. By the time we arrived at the VCA it is 5:30 PM, another emergency vet bill, she no longer had deep pain sensation.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, they advised me to go home. She would be spending the night regardless if she had surgery. It was around 7PM when I left her. They said I would hear from them around 8PM. They would tell me the results from the imaging and would take her straight into surgery around 8. I did not hear anything until 9:30 that evening. The doctors called me to tell me that he recommended Euthanasia. The imaging showed she had an old disk injury as well as the new one. She had developed Myelomalacia between the two injuries. This basically meant her spinal cord was dead and surgery was not an option. So I had to make that decision over the telephone. My Shelby was never going to wake up.
If I had known about IVDD before this happened, would things be different? Absolutely. I would have had pet insurance for sure. We would have been in Columbia on Sunday within hours of her going down. There may have been a different outcome for my sweet girl. I am still experiencing financial hardships from the vet bills accrued. I plan to get pet insurance for my other two Boykins. I also promise to pay it forward when I am financially able. I feel guilty. I feel like I failed my dog. You were loved Dooble Doo. You were loved.
November 8, 2015 – September 8, 2020
Shelby, nicknamed Doobles and Dooble Doo, was only four years old when she went down with an IVDD related injury. We still don’t know what she did to cause it, other than something as simple as jumping off the couch or out of the car. My family brought Shelby home in July of 2016. She was being rehomed because her previous family could not give her the love she required. The first few weeks we got her home we found ourselves laughing at her constantly. She could not decide who she loved the most and was not satisfied until she could find a way to have everyone in my house touching her at the same time. It was a sight. She loved everyone, but she finally settled in on me. She realized I was her person. She too, was mine. Our bond was like no other.
On the morning of September 6, 2020 I was headed out to run a few errands. Instead of Shelby jumping in the car like she always does, she stood on her hind legs waiting on me to help her in. I thought it was strange, but I chalked it up to her being lazy. My daughter and I were headed to the beach that evening and I dropped her off at my soon to be x-husbands house. When she got out the car I noticed a slight limp on the right side, but she ran straight up his stairs and into the house. Later that evening, I received a call from him stating that Shelby could not walk. He said she was dragging her entire back end.
My parents took her to our regular vet on Monday, September 7, 2020. Of course it is a holiday so it will be an emergency visit. My vet called me and explained that she could clearly see a disk pressing on her spinal cord. She said I had two options. One was to see a surgeon in Columbia, SC. The surgery could run anywhere between eight to ten thousand dollars. She did stress that surgery was needed within the first 24 hours for the greatest chance at success. The second option would be to send her home with steroids and she would have a 50/50 chance at recovery. I opted to treat with meds because I did not have $8000.00 laying around. I mean who does?
When I got home Monday night and saw with my own eyes the condition my sweet girl was in, I was devastated. She was unable to walk. She would not eat. She was covered in her own pee. It was gut wrenching. I knew I had to do something.
I was scrolling through FB that Monday evening and ran across a post from Ambross Taylor. Her dog JJ was going through the exact same thing. I happened to comment on her post. That comment was a game changer in Shelby’s story. The next morning, Tuesday, September 8, 2020, I was contacted by two other people whose dogs had gone through the exact same thing. Teresa Bell and Tim Cline convinced me to take her to have the MRI done. They assured me that no matter what the cost, Boykin Nation would raise the money to save my girl. I took a leap of faith and rushed my girl to Columbia. We arrived at CVETS in Columbia around 2:00 PM. They took her back started the paperwork, assessed her etc. She still has deep pain sensation at CVETS! This is great news. They then told me I would have to pay $6000.00 up front to even have the MRI. I did not have that kind of money. I then had to plead with them to release her so I could take her somewhere else that would not require that kind of money up front. We then took her to VCA across town. They only required $2,000.00 down. By the time we arrived at the VCA it is 5:30 PM, another emergency vet bill, she no longer had deep pain sensation.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, they advised me to go home. She would be spending the night regardless if she had surgery. It was around 7PM when I left her. They said I would hear from them around 8PM. They would tell me the results from the imaging and would take her straight into surgery around 8. I did not hear anything until 9:30 that evening. The doctors called me to tell me that he recommended Euthanasia. The imaging showed she had an old disk injury as well as the new one. She had developed Myelomalacia between the two injuries. This basically meant her spinal cord was dead and surgery was not an option. So I had to make that decision over the telephone. My Shelby was never going to wake up.
If I had known about IVDD before this happened, would things be different? Absolutely. I would have had pet insurance for sure. We would have been in Columbia on Sunday within hours of her going down. There may have been a different outcome for my sweet girl. I am still experiencing financial hardships from the vet bills accrued. I plan to get pet insurance for my other two Boykins. I also promise to pay it forward when I am financially able. I feel guilty. I feel like I failed my dog. You were loved Dooble Doo. You were loved.