Ginger’s Legacy

Once there was a Pembroke Welsh Corgi named Ginger. We know there are many red and white Corgis of the same name, but she was the best. She was a fluffy, and at the time, we had no idea what that meant. (a LOT more shedding) We just knew she picked us. Out of all the puppies, she was the one who flopped over on her back at our laps and “claimed” us by begging for belly rubs.

What we didn’t know was Ginger was genetically destined to suffer from Degenerative Myelopathy (DM). A dog can be “Clear”, a “Carrier” or “Affected”, and she was “Affected”. That means both her parents were carriers of the disease. DM is a terrible disease that attacks the spinal cord and nervous system. It’s exactly like ALS, (Lou Gehrig’s disease) if you are familiar with that. The dog loses nerve function (and muscular control) starting at the base of the spinal cord, and it progresses towards the brain. It’s a horrible progressively debilitating disease, and there is no cure.

In retrospect, we’re sure the breeder had no idea about the genetic defect. Both mom and dad have to be a carrier for a pup to be affected. It doesn’t manifest itself until late in life. Genetic testing for DM was not available at that time. Testing is now available and relatively inexpensive. We were bound and determined after seeing Ginger suffer to make sure our next Corgi(s) would be DM clear.

Another thing that Ginger taught us was tail docking is not only unnecessary, it is undesirable. Ginger’s tail was docked so close, there was not even a little bit of a wagging nub. She never wanted anyone to touch near where her tail was previously attached. It is true that some Corgis are born with a naturally bobbed tail, but that is pretty rare, and it’s much more likely they were cut off shortly after birth.

Here’s a well written article on Why Removing Your Dog's Tail is Unnecessary, which includes a video from Inside Edition with short interviews from both sides of the tail docking fence.

In Ginger’s memory, all of our pups will be DM Clear and will have their tails when they join their new families.