Mo Chridhe. She was named by her sponsor, the Gaelic term meaning ‘my sweetheart’ which to be honest is somewhat wasted on her. Mo has the mouth of an East End guttersnipe despite being born in Romania. She can swear pretty much in any language and takes offence to any remarks about her disability. She can chase a tennis ball at speeds matching Louis Hamilton’s F1 car and will stand up to bullies with the same enthusiasm as a MMA fighter.
Mo was found as a puppy by a busy intersection in Romania. She had no use of her back legs, I found out later on that this was most likely the cause of distemper, but had the will to survive. Looking back, it was this ‘so what’ personality that captured my heart and ultimately made me decide to adopt her. I had no idea about the challenges of having a disabled dog and without the support of the incredible Gail Milligan, I’m not sure I would have been able to cope with her needs. Gail was also instrumental in finding Tim Dale who custom made the ‘carts’ for both Mo and Coco. Like so many naive first time disabled owners, I thought I could find a specialist who could ‘fix’ her. I think I watched one too many TV programmes but suffice to say, I would never have put Mo through the pain and isolation of surgery just so I could feel virtuous. Any vet would tell you that she is in perfect health and that’s enough for me.
The most distressing thing about having a dog like Mo (and Coco) is that you cannot ‘make them better’ yet at the same time you have to realise that they don’t see disability or themselves being any different from others. My dogs didn’t see her disability either, that’s the thing about dogs – they don’t. They might find a pair of wheels attached to the backside of a new butt sniff a little odd but on the whole, a dog is a dog. Oddly enough, the only time Mo ever backed off from a dog is when she met one wearing a cone (the sort of post-neuter ones), she never could figure that impairment out. Luckily for me, Mo and Coco had a wonderful dog walker whose dogs took both under their care and no doubt taught Mo most of her swear words.
Mo doesn’t suffer fools but will show a deep and often, very affectionate, trust in those she considers part of her family. She loves to play rough with the other members of the pack and has a soft spot for our Coco, her decided partner. Now that she has the space to roam at Rouffiac she spends as much of the day outside, butt naked in her wheels giving a few verbals at the gate and ignoring any attempt by her mistress to bring her ‘to heel’. You can’t help but love this little rebel, her attitude towards her disability is a testament to our dogs’ abilities to accept things for what they are and to live life with what you have.
Widow plus woofs 