Mallory dipped her paws in the atlantic

I know we have some Mallory fans out there so I thought i would do a trip report even though we did not go to the Fort. This is not live we got back yesterday. Let's start with some history.

We have been RVing now for a year. We have bascially only been to Fort Wilderness, except for a few stop overs on the way to Disney and two shake down trips. I love been in my RV, but I was not sure if it was because I was also at Disney. I have always loved Disney, been many times before we had the RV and expect to go lots more now that we have the RV. We wanted to try something else, but wanted to find something as good as the Fort. A few things came up and we decided we would head to Hilton Head Island Motorcoach Resort. There are two campgrounds on HHI. One is the the RV Harbor and Marina park which is not as close to the beach but has a marina and allows trailers as well as motorhomes. The other is the one we stayed at. It is a mile to the beach, on the bike trails, no marina access, and only allows motorhomes. This was also the first time either Bert or myself has been there.

We left on Sat May 9, the hope was that it would take 6 hours or less to get there. We had a few issues and it took us 6 hours to get there. The main issue was a construction detour as the ramp from I16 to I95N was closed. The second issue once we were off the highway but trying to get to the resort, was the Patriot Brake System failed. We had bells going off and had no idea what was going on with no where to stop. We pulled off to the side of the road and checked it out. Seems with all the bumping around the system got loose and basically went off line. Our fear was that it was engaging the break on the Rav while we were towing. Thankfully it was not so we set it back up and off we went.

The resort is gorgeous with lots of huge trees. It gave great shade and made it possible to walk the dogs at any time because even in the heat we had shade. The CG was pretty large so we had no problem getting long enough walks for the dogs and it was flat.

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Here is one walking around you can see all the trees. It is great for shade but might not be for your satellite dish.

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We finished Saturday by cooking burgers on our new Weber Grill 1000. Well it might be the 1100, needless to say it worked great. Spent the evening hanging out with the dogs and walking around the campground.

Sunday was Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day everyone. I started my day with Bert making pancakes and bacon for breakfast. We walked the dogs in the morning and then we were going to explore on our bikes.

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First we went to the beach. It was hot and it was crowded. We left quickly and decided we needed a piece of Disney. We headed to Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort DVC property. It is the disboards so here are some pics. The property is in Shelter Cove and is near a marina for water sports, but seemed a bit far from the beach.

Here is the pool. We bought a magnet from the resort store.

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This was out front the check in building, obviously I loved it.

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We biked about 15 miles. Came back and headed to dinner at Red Fish. It was ok. Bert's meal was better than mine. He had yellow fin tuna, and i had scallops over a lobster mac and cheese. It sounded really good but i think it was too heavy for me. I am sure the heat and the bike ride had me looking for sushi over heavy mac and cheese.

We had decided that the dogs would go to the beach on Monday morning early to avoid heat and crowds. Plus it would allow us lots of parking closer to the beach. I did not want Mallory to have to walk too far as I wanted her to walk on the beach.

Kris,

It looks like a beautiful place to stay. The dogs look happy too.

I had a business friend who had exclusive territory which included Hilton Head. I visited him while on a business trip and I felt like he was very fortunate there so I know it's a really nice place.

Hate to hear, though, that my little Aliner popup would not be welcome in this RV park.

Where do you want to go next?

Bama Ed

That place looks really nice. Like Ed, hate my Jayco isn't welcome.

Dogs are looking good. When Mallory gonna be tree'n some more squirrels?

Tiggerdad, the critter of choice at HHI was the toads. The dogs kept trying to catch them.

I did want to post a few pics of the dogs hitting the beach for the first time.

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They were excited going out. When it came to the water they were not so sure.

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Mal on I on the beach.

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By Friday Mal had the routine down. Here she is ready to go to the beach

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One of Yeti all tuckered out on our last night.

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We had a great time. We spent one day at Savannah. Lots of great history, we walked all the squares. Another day we did a food tour and we also spent some time on the water in a kayak. We really loved the kayak. We are going to look into doing it here in atlanta.

Bama Ed, our next trip is to Lake Lure, NC for 4th of July. Only a short weekend but looking forward to it. I think we will be on the TN side of the Smokies in Sept. Our trip for Disney is booked for the end of Nov. We will be there 10 days, arriving Nov 14 and leaving Nov 26 on Thanksgiving day.

Enjoy

Glad to hear you guys have such a good camping lineup this year. Currently we are at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, AL. We r there through May 31st then returning July 6-12. Disney is October 9-18. We are looking at maybe Gatlinburg in December.

Awww, they are so sweet and love the dogs.

Love your dogs! I am unfamiliar with Mallory but would love to hear her story and how she got her wheels if you don't mind sharing

Hi weeniecat,

I love sharing my Mallory story.

We picked up Mallory from a rescue organization in Jan 2008. We had an older dog at the time, Bear and i had no idea how sick he was. At that time Mallory was full grown but still CRAZY. We guessed her age about 2. She went through 2 remote controls, before she taught us to put them in the drawer. Bear went to the rainbow bridge in March 2008. With my crazy Mallory after a few months of greiving, we deciced it was time for another large dog to play with Mallory. We got Yeti in June 2008. He was very different from Mallory. He did have a home, but then spent a lot of time out in the GA Mountains roaming around. He was by far our most grateful rescue dog. He was also older than mallory we think about 4 or 5. The two really enjoy each other. They play together and protect eachother. Mallory used to run with me on the weekends. It was my job to run the crazy out of her.

Fast forward to July 2013, I could hear her nail dragging on the kitchen floor. It was faint but i heard it. I thought she was shuffling her feet. I asked my hubby and he did not hear it. Then in August, he was hearing it. I would also see Mal occassionally stumble. We went to the vet, i assumed her knee was bothering her. She used to play really hard with Yeti, lots of running up and down stairs sliding across floors, etc. The vet did not think much was wrong and gave us some rimadyl. By the end of the month I knew something was not right. I went back to our vet and said i wanted a referral to Auburn University. This is where Bear had TPLO surgery done. I thought that is what i was in for. In Sep, just before our big family vacation on a cruise to Alaska for my parent's 50th anniversary, we saw the orthopedic doctor at Auburn. She did some checking and then did the paw flip. You put the paw the wrong way on the ground and the dog will correct it instantly. Well Mal, did not flip it instantly. It took her a couple seconds but then she did. I have to say I immediately started crying. I knew it meant Degenerative Mylopathy. The vet tried to tell me it could be other things, like a tumor, but we would need to consult with Nuerology. We set up an appointment for after the cruise.

At the end of Sep, Mal had every test imaginable at Auburn. The MRI revealed nothing. That left the DM diagnosis. The best thing we could do for her was get her in therapy and keep her as strong as possible. DM is similar to ALS in humans. The mylon sheath along the spine degenerates and leaves the person/dog paralyzed. it usually starts at the back of the spine and will move up until the front legs are down as well as their ability to swallow and breath.

Starting in Oct 2013, Mal went to therapy. We did land exercises and under water treadmill. She got a walk every day. i had to keep her strong. We had to put booties on her back feet because they would drag on the ground and cause her quicks to bleed.

In Jan 2014, we took a quick trip to disney for the marathon. i left the dogs with my mom as usual, but Mallory needed a lot of help going up and down the stairs. It was the last time my mom could look after her. Also at this point mallory was only doing underwater treadmill therapy, land therapy was not working as we had to hold up her backend to much. She could not walk without assistance. We use a Help Em Up Harness.

At the end of Feb 2014, we had Mallory fitted for a cart. She was still able to stand but needed constant help. We really should have done the cart fitting at the beginning of Jan. At this time my hubby was also traveling for work. Usually home on the weekends but i was doing all the care and working myself. Back to the story, one week after the cart fitting, and two weeks before i was getting the cart. Mal went completely down in the back end. Again more tears on my part as it was very difficult for me to move her around. She was still had muscle on her back end (that has since gone away). I had no idea how i was going to care for her. I just hoped that once we got the cart it would be easier.

About March 15, 2014 we got the cart. Oh boy was it a lifesaver. She took to it right away. I think she wanted to walk with her yeti. In Jan and feb, i was having to walk them seperately with no hubby around and mallory needing so much help it was impossible for me to take them together.

In May 2014, i really wanted to go to Disney for the flower and garden festival. Our last trip in Jan was extremely short because my mom had mal. I am used to my vacations. I started looking at vacation homes in orlando to rent. I knew I had to bring Mallory with us. That turned into me then looking at renting an RV and driving it from Atlanta to Disney. I started looking on the camping board and then i found that places will deliver an RV to the Fort. We rented from My RV Hotel and Mallory got her first trip to Disney. We did not bring Yeti. He stayed with Grammie.

In July 2014, we bought our rig so that we could take the dogs with us. Yeti and Mallory have been to the fort 5 times since then. This trip to HHI was the first time we really went somewhere new. I love the fort but i wanted to do something else.

I am pleased Mallory is still with us. We are getting close to two years since i noticed symptoms, typical life span is 18 months after diagnosis. However i think i noticed it sooner than most people, and she was a young dog at 7 so she was strong.

I have been doing trip reports since our May 2014 trip. You should be able to do a search and find them.

Here is a link to my last trip

http://www.disboards.com/threads/how-does-mallory-celebrate-spring-she-goes-to-the-fort.3392890/

Sorry for the long post. Love talking about my mallory

Our pets are very resilient, they seem to adapt to almost any adversity. I gotta say, it's tough reading along about her condition, but I think everyone loves reading about her adventures. What makes it all better is the picture of her with the tilted head looking at the water with that "what the heck is this" look on her face. Those are the moments that make it all worth it!

Garneska,

WOW!! thank you so much for telling me Mallory's story. You guys have had a rough time but sounds like you have found something that really works and makes a different and giving her the best time she can have.
I work for a mobile vet and we come across quite a few cases like this, where the dog has fallen in the back yard and can't get up, the bigger the dog the harder it is to help them around etc. I knew right away when you said she was dragging her paw where this was going. I am a big fan of the Help 'Em Up Harness! We actually have a client who donated her large one after her old rotty passed away a few years ago and we lend it out to clients who might need it.
The wheels have made such a difference for her! So exciting she can get around and is now vacationing- vacationing more than me it sounds like!
My boyfriend's parents have an old corgi- maybe 13 who is suffering from this as well. He is well over a year into his diagnosis. He is not the friendliest guy (I do love him though!) and it has made his care more challenging (not to mention he VERY overweight). He wasn't into anything with wheels (the dad is VERY handy and had built him a cart) but they are able to help him around with a sling and they did build him a sort of plank that he can slide along. It is now spreading to his front end so I don't think it will be too much longer for him. I find the hardest part of this disease is that their mind and personality are still there! So they otherwise seem 100% healthy.
Mallory's story is inspiring-it made me cry and smile all at the same time. I will definitely check out your trip reports!
Thanks again for sharing and give pets to Mal and Yeti from me!
~Weeniecat

Garneska,
Thanks for sharing the story with us. I was often wondering how things had played out to this point and now I know. It is always a treat for me to get to see your reports as my two daughters love seeing pictures of both of your dogs. My favorite is the one where she was staring down the squirrel who was perched in the pine tree...

What did you do with your dogs when you went to Disney Hilton Head, why is there a doghouse there in the pic do they allow pets there?? I love your photos and your story, so beautiful. We've been interested in trying one of the campgrounds on Hilton Head and would love to also spend time in Disney there, but we bring out dog. How far is the campground from the beach?

My kids always love the Mallory and Yeti photos. I also appreciate the peek at the Disney HHI Resort. Thanks!

tinkerdorabelle said:

What did you do with your dogs when you went to Disney Hilton Head, why is there a doghouse there in the pic do they allow pets there?? I love your photos and your story, so beautiful. We've been interested in trying one of the campgrounds on Hilton Head and would love to also spend time in Disney there, but we bring out dog. How far is the campground from the beach?

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We kept the dogs inside the rig while we were out. Granted most days we were only away about 4 hours at a time. The one day we went to Savannah we were gone a lot longer. I am not sure if they were good or bad but no one kicked us out. The disney resort had the dog house, i assume because it is part of the Disney Vacation Club, they do not allow dogs. I thought it was really cute though. To be honest there is not much Disney at Hilton Head, it is really just a resort. All the activities anyone can do. The campground we were at was Hilton Head Island Motorcoach Resort. As long as it is a class A, B, or C, you can stay there. It is close to the beach. Approximately 1 mile and on the bike trails. We typically biked to the beach except in the mornings with the dogs, then we took the car. In their prime i think the dogs could have walked to the beach, enjoyed it, and then walked back, but not now. The other resort which allows trailers is supposed to be nice as well and has marina access, but it is driving distance to the beach.

I am glad everyone enjoyed my mallory story. I know we have some fans so i like to post pictures. Mallory LOVES to meet people so I hope she gets to meet more of you.