Mighty Mini Mouse, the tiny Diva Yorkie

Here are my thoughts on Mini and all our PMR pups - and some of what I would like to say (and have on more than one occasion) to those idiots who want an accessory but buy a dog - a very tiny dog.

By: Dana Bates.

And Mighty Mini Mouse’s Story by her foster mommy

Jackie P and her X-rays.

Are you looking for a tiny little Yorkie puppy to dress up and carry around in your designer purse? Look no further! We have her. Meet Mighty Mini Mouse, the tiny diva Yorkie.

Mini came from one of those exclusive breeders - the ones who cater to people who are willing to pay top dollar for a tiny, cute puppy. And it is a good thing these shoppers are willing to spend thousands of dollars for their newest accessory. Because it is going to take thousands of dollars to give this tiny little bundle a chance to live.

The breeder won’t tell you that, of course. Three days after your new bundle of joy arrives, the breeder will tell you that your puppy’s death comes as a complete surprise and it must have been a fluke – or perhaps you did something wrong. What they won’t tell you is that lots of them die before they reach 12 months because their little bodies failed to fully develop.

If you are in the market for a teacup Yorkie, then what you are shopping for is a premature dog. Yorkies are among the newest breeds of dogs and were originally bred to be about 15 pounds when full grown. We pocket-sized them down to a mere 5 to 7 pounds (the current AKC “breed standard”). Now, thanks to celebrities toting them around for the cameras, the demand is for even smaller dogs – the smaller the better. Except for one thing: they are NOT supposed to be that small. It is fine for a Yorkie to drink from a teacup, but they shouldn’t fit in a teacup. In order to force a puppy that tiny, irresponsible breeders breed females that are too small to be having puppies in the first place and are therefore unable to have them naturally. Keep in mind, a dog, especially one kept in a cage in another building far from human inhabitants, cannot rush to the hospital when she goes into labor and needs an emergency caesarian. To further increase the chance of tiny dogs, the breeder throws the female in with more than one male for more than one day in the hopes that she will have multiple pregnancies in one litter. The result is often more puppies in one litter than can be safely carried. The more puppies she can squeeze into that tiny body, the less room there is for the puppies to grow. – viola! tiny puppies!

The end result is a puppy who has perhaps a 50% chance at living more than a few weeks. Because your desire for a tiny dog was more important than having a healthy dog, that premature puppy’s organs and other body parts will not be fully developed.

Adorable little Mini battles Atlantoxaial Instability and Chiari Malformation and a liver shunt and Hydrocephalus. What do all these big words mean? It means Mini’s body did not develop fully. This beautiful little girl is dying. Her legs do not work. Her liver does not work properly. Each day it gets more difficult for her to lift her head. Mini knows it and she’s not happy about it. She wants to run and play, but her body doesn’t cooperate. Because the breeder could not sell her, she gave her to PMR. PMR is doing everything possible to give this little girl a chance to grow up healthy.

The saddest part of this story is that, to the breeder, Mini is just overhead – the cost of doing business. Beautiful little puppies die all the time in her business and Mini is just one more. Because she does not care about the health of the dogs, she will breed another Mini and another and another and another and another… As long as people are willing to buy the ones she can sell before they die, she will keep doing what she is doing. And beautiful little lives will be wasted because of greed and the reckless pursuit of fashion.

Mini has a chance. Thanks to PuppyMillRescue and the foster moms and others who care enough to skip lunches and send money they cannot really spare to pay for her multiple surgeries. To us, Mini is more than the cost of doing business. She is a beautiful little puppy – one who feels fear and frustration and pain and sadness and determination and, we hope, will one day know joy and good health. We watch and we wait and we pray and we cry. Maybe Mini will make it to see her first birthday. We hope so. We try not to think of all the others just like her who never make it this far.

So, while you shop for your tiny Yorkie pup, please keep Mini in mind. If you want a companion who will love you no matter what, then adopt a rescue. There are millions of wonderful, beautiful pups just waiting for a good home. But if what you really want is an accessory, buy a bracelet or a new purse or a pair of shoes. Don’t order a tiny puppy the size of a gerbil who won’t live to see her first birthday.

And Mighty Mini Mouse’s Story by her foster mommy

Jackie P with x-rays.

Mighty Mini Mouse’s Story

Mini was bred because people want tiny pocket pups and breeders are greedy for that all mighty dollar. Mini is lucky, she survived, many do not, but she may never be a normal puppy. Here is Mini’s story.

Mini weighed 2 pounds and 4 ½ months old when she was turned over to PMR by a breeder that said she had a "bad back knee."

The breeder found us through another breeder that has turned over a couple of crippled dogs to PMR. As soon as we picked her up, we took her to my vet to have her legs checked out, well, both legs have bad knees, I took her home and talked to Jean and we decided to take her to a specialist about her legs.

After observing Mini for only a few hours, I knew there was something else wrong with her besides her back legs. She was not acting like a normal 4 ½ month old puppy. She could walk but she would stagger and fall down. At first I thought it was because of her back legs.

When we went to the Dallas Veterinary Surgical Center, I told the Vet there what I observed. He checked her over thoroughly and said that she had neurological problems; he said that we needed to see one of their neurological specialists; we took Mini home and made another appointment to see the specialist.

This baby not only was born with luxating patellas (kneecaps that are out of place and cause her pain and the inability to walk correctly), but she has neurological problems, her ammonia level was very high and she has a small open fontanel, this little fighter has survived all of these problems when most would not have. Usually, the puppy would have been put down (killed) because they could not bring in money for the breeder.

Thank God Mini was not.

Dr Ducote’ the neurological specialist said that Mini could have one of several problems and she recommended that we start with doing a x-ray of Mini’s neck area to see if she has Atlantoaxial Instability where the first two vertebra and the axial comes together at the top of the spine.

That would be Mini’s best chance for survival.

Mini was getting worse daily and soon lost the ability to walk at all, she would not use her front legs, but Mini was alert, feisty and I could tell she was a fighter.

The x-ray was done and Mini did have Atlantoaxial Instability.

This is a hereditary disease that she was born with. The deformity causes excessive movement and dislocation of the first two vertebra bones, resulting in compression of the cervical spinal cord; this is why Mini lost the use of her front legs, she basically was paralyzed. After the surgery which is very expensive $2400-$3000, she needs several months of physical therapy.

While doing the surgery, Dr Ducote’ was taking a piece of bone from Mini’s humerus (the bone in her upper front leg) for the bone graft and her bone fractured. Dr Ducote’ compared Mini’s bones to soft little toothpicks. Mini pulled through that surgery and had to have another one to stabilize her humerus so it would heal properly; they put 4 pins in it and a fixator on her. A fixator is like a brace on the outside of her leg, it helps support it to let it heal correctly.

Mini came home to her foster mom and is doing quite well considering what all this little one has been through. She is trying to stand and walk around. She is wobbly but she manages to get around.

She is also angry, she is tried of being poked, prodded, force fed, tired of not being able to walk, who could blame her, with all that she has been through in her short life.

Mini still has a long way to go, but she is now on the right road thanks to PMR, Dr Ducote’, the people at the veterinary hospital and everyone that has donated towards her surgery. The surgery to fix her neck alone was close to $3000.00. To date PMR has spent almost $4000 on this “Little Pocket Purse” Yorkie and we aren’t finished yet. Mini will be one of the most expensive dogs PMR has ever saved.

NORMAL DOGS NECK

Min's neck prior to surgery

Mini after surgery

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