Meet Cami!!!

Cami (short for Camelot) was born here in San Diego on September 14th, 2005 to a local breeder. The breeder noticed that she appeared a bit different than her littermates and feared she had a disorder called "Swimming Puppy Syndrome", so he contacted us to see if we might be able to help. Of course we said yes, and took Cami in.
Once in her foster home, Cami's foster mom, who did quite a bit of research on Swimming Puppy Syndrome, began to suspect that Cami did not actually have the disorder, but there was obviously something going on. Cami's back.well, as you can see, it looks like a camel's back!

After trips to the vet for x-rays and a visit to a veterinary neurologist, we found out that Cami was born with a severely deformed vertebra in her spine, and the 5 vertebrae in front of the deformity are completely fused together. It's a miracle that Cami's spinal cord hasn't been severed and she isn't paralyzed. The vets are amazed that she can walk, run, tumble and play with the best of them, and she doesn't seem to notice that there's anything wrong with her tiny back at all. Little 1.5 lb Cami isn't afraid to take on her much larger dachshund rescue sister as you can see!

The neurosurgeon feels that surgery to try to correct Cami's back cannot be done until she is fully grown, and until then she's in danger every day of going paralyzed due to the deformities in her spine. Cami's foster mom and the others here in our rescue are determined to help Cami grow up and get the necessary surgery, no matter how expensive it is. She's so full of life and such a spunky little girl.she deserves every chance!

Check back often for updates and new photos of Cami's progress!

Update 12-01-2005

Cami is now a whopping 2.6 lbs and is loving life in her foster home with her big sister Jen (see our "Adoptions page, Jenny is one of our former rescues!). Jen is busy showing Cami the ropes of being a dachshund, complete with barking like a crazy woman when the doorbell rings, and showing her exactly what to do with puppy potty pads, as you can see in the photo. Jen is definitely Cami's idol and she follows her around everywhere imitating her. Cami's foster mom says Cami even does the same "happy hoppy dance" that Jen does when she arrives home. Cami is also learning to pose for the camera and is quite the photogenic young lady!

Update 12-28-2005

Cami is up to 4.5 lbs and is in her "puppy terror" phase, which means running around and generally being a spaz! She's faster than her foster mom now, and is definitely giving her big sis Jen a workout when they play. When Cami first came into our rescue, we thought she was a very light red, but now that she's starting to show some of the typical hair loss that isabella dachshunds can have, we've realized that she's actually a solid isabella (her sire is an isabella and tan). For more information on the genetic condition that causes fawn/isabella and blue dachshunds to lose their hair, color dilution alopecia, please read this website.

Update 04-13-2006

Cami was spayed on April 12th, and they took more x-rays of her back while she was out so she wasn't wiggling around so much.

T13 is the vertabra causing the trouble with her spinal cord. The channel narrows there and is pinching on it. The deformed vertabra (looks like L1 according to the xray) isn't really doing all that much damage. The plan is to have regular xrays and just keep watching for any degenerative changes, and if she makes it to 1.5 years with no problems, we'll discuss surgery on T13 at that point.

If she goes paralyzed before that, we'll of course need emergency surgery. If that doesn't work, we plan on getting her a hot pink cart with flames. I don't think a cart would slow Cami down at all. : )

Thank you to everyone who sent donations for her. The spay alone was over $400 since they had to use special equipment in order to be able to lay her on her back without putting pressure on her spinal cord.

Update 03-26-2007

Cami is about 8 pounds now and she's still going strong. She is still playful and spazzy and giving everyone in her household a run for their money. When she isn't demanding that you throw her ball or that you pet her, she's giving kisses and just being plain old cute! She absolutely adores her "sisters" Jen and Carlee and all the other buddies in rescue. She loves to go for walks and looks like a crazed bumble bee on a serious mission. Nothing slows this girl down! We continue to monitor her and follow her doctor's advice for keeping her healthy and strong. At this point surgery is not necessary. Cami has a disability and has adjusted quite well to it. She has no idea that other doxies do not walk like Charlie Chaplin or hop like a bunny. In her mind she is healthy and capable. Cami is an inspirationton to us all. She is the embodiment of when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.