Ragnar's Story, Conclusion
After a few days of this we made a trip to the vet. She instantly performed a test I had never
seen.....she pulled his rear foot back and waited to see how long it would take to right it. It simply
lay reversed on the floor. I was told that this was not a good sign, but that we needed to have his hips
x-rayed for dysplasia. The results were mild dysplasia, for which I was given Adequan to inject
daily....no improvement. When I confronted the doctor again I was told that the prognosis was not
good, and left in the dark. Not good.....dogs do not die from mild dysplasia, so I was confused. As
the leg became weaker I remained in the dark until one day I opened, completely at random, a dog breed
magazine which described a disease I had never heard of before....degenerative myelopathy. He sounded
like the poster boy for the condition so I again called the vet and was told that there was no
treatment, but that I could try acupuncture.
The next day I looked in the phone book for a veterinary clinic which could supply acupuncture and
found one locally. This began a year and a half relationship with Dr. Gael Parks at Rose City
Veterinary Hospital in Pasadena. Ragnar regularly received acupuncture, which was supplemented by
chiropractic treatments from Dr. William Strickland.
The treatments, along with the medical protocol of Dr. Roger Clemmons at the University of Florida,
plateaued the DM and allowed Ragnar to have a quality life. The most remarkable trait of Ragnar
was his ability to accept everything as it came. He looked no sadder on three legs than he had on four.
Unlike a person who would have compared the previous life with the new impaired one, he seemed to sense
no difference. Three months later he had lost the use of his rear leg, and three month after that he
lost the use of the other leg. He remained a happy dog who now pulled himself around the house using
his front legs, which resembled the shoulders of an Olympic swimmer, and relied on a rear end harness in
order to get up and walk. He became so proficient with the rear end harness that he actually ran,
pulling me along at breakneck speed. In fact, I believe that he enjoyed it in the same way that a
kid would enjoy a three legged race. He adapted to taking lots of medications and supplements in the
same way. It was a chance for extra food and treats which were to be relished.
The dragging took its toll on his feet and medical intervention had to be called to heal the sores on
the sides. Ragnar cooperated to an extent, pulling off and hiding or eating the bandages as he saw fit.
Miraculously, the feet healed and callused over, and bandages were no longer a part of his life.
Eventually I decided that Ragnar should have a cart. He adapted very well to it, even chasing a workman
off my property. I will never forget the look on the face of that man when he realized he was about
to be overtaken by a dog in a cart.
Because Ragnar plateaued for so long I was lulled into a sense of security which did not prepare me
for the final rapid descent. One day the halcyon days ended and Ragnar faltered in the front,
followed almost immediately by a refusal to eat. We had faced the loss of the bladder and bowels in the
same good natured way we had faced everything else, but this was different. I knew that there was
something darkly different about this turn of events.
It was over in an instant it seemed. His eyes were flat, his front legs useless, and his internal
organs were no longer functional. I knew that I had to repay the love he had given me all these years by
allowing him to pass with as little suffering as possible. Friends offered to transport him to
wherever I wanted, but I knew that his last minutes had to be where he had always wanted to be the
most.......home. I made arrangements for a doctor to come to the house, even though it was the hardest
thing I have ever had to do. While we waited for her, I sat on the floor next to him and told him our
story again of how I had found him and of all the adventures we had together. When the doctor
arrived, a very calm and quiet young woman, his last act of valor was to raise his head painfully and
bark at the stranger coming in the door. He was given a sedative, and fifteen minutes later his
majestic spirit passed into freedom again.
As his body was taken from my house I was reminded of a line from the play Hamlet spoken as the main
character passes.
Good night, sweet prince,
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.
I cried for days, slowly accepting the fact that Ragnar was no longer with me in the physical form.
However, I never doubted that if there was a soul, his would never be far away from me. One night,
about 3 months later I had a dream in which a voice suddenly interposed itself into the dream and stated
that a German Shepherd was looking for his owner. I then saw Ragnar with the cart flapping behind him,
evidently useless, letting me know that he was free again. The same dream reoccurred on my birthday
several months later. I knew that my beautiful boy was free and whole again, and I also knew that I
could not be selfish enough to want to deny him that.
Run free, my beautiful boy, Ragnar.
Part 1.
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