We had to make the difficult decision to put Mindy to sleep on July 16,2020. She'd been fighting MUO (Meningoencephalitis of Unknow Origin) for 4 months and finally lost the battle.MUO originally caused her to lose her balance (vestibular issues); after treatment, she eventually got back to almost-normal. She never did get all the way back, but did get far enough that we had hope that she would stabilize at an almost-normal level. Then, she started having seizures. We got those undercontrol, and finally things were looking up again. On Sunday/Monday July 12/13 she was alert, and happy,jumping up on her hind legs for treats. Then at 5am on the 14th, she started a series of seizures that resulted in a vet visit, staying overnight for two nights, and eventually putting her to sleep. The final discussion with the doctore was that she'd had two types of seizure meds, which *may* have finally stopped the seizures, but her temperature kept spiking, and it's possible that she had contracted aspiration pneumonia. The doctor thought it unlikely that she wwould rally from the combination of the original MUO (which never did go completely into remission), the seizures, and the fever. (The timeline of her illness is here.)
We brought her home in May,2015, along with Mika. When we went to pick the puppies from the litter, she was said to be shy with people - and indeed was with Curtis - but came over to me and let me cuddle her. It was love at first sight, and while Curtis picked Mika, Mindy picked me. All of the time we spent together when Curtis was in the hospital strengthened the bond. She'd lay on my chest when I was on the couch, and would lick my face with abandon whenever I picked her up. She often played "mountain goat" - jumping to the back of the couch and laying there, watching everything in the kitchen and family room. She loved to run around the back yard - she was small, but very fast, even faster than long-legged Bailey. Every day (multiple times a day!) she'd jump up on my legs so that I'd pick her up, and she'd use me as a ladder - clmbing to my shoulder, then jumping off to land on the couch. When she got bored with the couch, she'd jumpt to the floor and start the process all over again. In the evening, she slept on the couch with me, and at night, on the pillow between Curtis' pillows and mine on the bed.
She was sweet, and feisty, and barked at strangers, and loved to be cuddled, and hated to have her ears and tail combed. She was only 5 when she died.
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Copyright Maryrita and Curtis Steinhour, 2020.