Votive offering, painted on wood, perhaps southern Germany, or northern Italy, 1839. Ex-voto â eyes, silver, 5 x 12 cm, 1836, Josip (Joseph) Haller (probably a Croat), Diocesan Museum, Zagreb, foto: Dr. Daniiel Herceg, 1998. Votives in gold and silver bought to buy grace in heaven.
Degenerative Myelopathy (DM) is a fatal, neurodegenerative disease characterized by a general lack of coordination of muscle movements in the pelvic limbs. Dogs affected slowly lose control and function of their hind limbs. DM is a condition that progresses slowly and typically affects dogs 8 years of age or older.
In DM, the spinal cord begins to deteriorate, and the fibers that carry the signals from the brain to the legs disintegrate. Dogs with DM slowly develop weakness in their back legs and eventually lose control of them. Degenerative myelopathy is not a painful disease, but dogs with DM eventually lose their mobility. There is currently no definitive test for DM until after a dog has died.