Pearl is a sweet, little lady who is a little skittish at first but is quite the cuddler once she's comfortable. Unfortunately for Pearl, she recently started having more severe symptoms of disc-related discomfort. She was diagnosed with IVDD and the most acute problem is in the cervical spine area, meaning she has occasiional flaring pain from the next back and chronic mild discomfort most of the time.
Pearl is still walking and has full control of her functions, as well as pain sensation, which is a good thing: no paralysis.  However, at her age and with her general condition we've been told she is a poor candidate for surgical intervention so that's not an option.
Pearl is currently on a pharmaceutical plan to handle pain management, and she is successfully handling it with minimal daily medications, although we have no way to predict the future in terms of how long she'll continue to respond to the medication and whethe or when the problem will get worse. She has to take it easy so she doesn't aggravate her condition with any heavy activity, but fortunatley Pearl's age helps her with that task.
Pearl's foster family loves her dearly and is making sure she is comfortable, happy, and knows she's loved. She will be with them for as long as her quality of life continues to be good, which we hope will be a long time. Meanwhile, as a sponsorship dog, Pearl would appreciate any financial help that a sponsor could offer in terms of assisting with the expensse for her ongoing pain medication. It's not terribly expensive, but every little bit helps make us better able to care for Pearl and others like her.