About Another New Normal

In 2015, author Miriam Valere unexpectedly took on the care of two Pembroke Welsh Corgis when a family member divorced and could no longer care for the dogs. Little did she know how much her life was going to change because of adding these dogs to her family.

In late summer 2016, Sassy started to walk "funny" -- she would not correct the placement of her right hind foot, sometimes her paw would knuckle, and her toenails were wearing down unevenly. Something was obviously wrong--but Sassy didn't seem to be in any pain. After some research, Miriam learned about degenerative myelopathy (DM), the canine equivalent to ALS. DM is a genetic condition that slowly causes paralysis, and leads to organ and respiratory failure in the dog. Sassy received the presumptive diagnosis in December 2016 and lived until January 2019 with this disease.

The journey that Miriam took caring for Sassy led to the writing of this book. As Miriam connected with others caring for dogs with DM, she heard similar comments of "am I crazy to feel this way?", "I don't know what to expect, what's going to happen next?", "how do I know when it is time to set my dog free?", or "I feel so guilty, so overwhelmed, I don't know what to do."  She realized that while there was some information available on how to physically care for a dog with DM--there was no guide available to help someone cope with the emotional side of this disease--and that was something so many people struggled with.  While the experience Miriam had with Sassy was their unique journey together, she has found that many people ask similar questions and express similar emotions when they are going through their DM journey. 

This book chronicles the experiences of the author, and it is her hope that it will resonate with others embarking on this path, and spread awareness about this preventable disease.