When a 9-year-old dog named Daisy started experiencing what appeared to be respiratory problems last summer, it turned out to be much worse than an infection or seasonal allergies. The Jones family’s beloved dog was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called myasthenia gravis. Their vet believes that disease is most likely what led to a condition known as megaesophagus, or an enlarged esophagus.
In the past, that diagnosis may as well have been a death sentence. But experts have learned more about the condition in recent years, leading to a set of guidelines for owners to help keep the condition under control. During feeding times, for example, keeping the dog in a vertical position makes it easier for food and water to travel down the esophagus to the stomach.
Megaesophagus requires so many modifications, many pet owners may decide it’s better to have their dog put to sleep. But not Grace and Doug Jones and their four children. After all, Daisy had given them the best years of her life — didn’t they owe it to her to ensure her golden years were as comfortable as possible?
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The Joneses adopted Daisy when she was about a year old when someone brought her by the Dollar Tree where daughter Sarah worked at the time, saying she needed a good home.
Daisy was immediately swept into the family’s loving arms and spent the ensuing years accompanying her active family on their outings, from hiking, swimming, and other outdoor activities in and around their home in Dayton, Nevada.
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When the family learned she had megaesophagus, they could easily have gone out and purchased a Bailey chair, specifically designed for that condition. Instead, dad Doug and son Brian decided to put their woodworking skills to use, pouring all their love for Daisy into a beautifully hand-crafted highchair made just for her.
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And whatever concerns the family had that Daisy might not take too well to this new mealtime routine were almost immediately vanquished. She not only hops up in the chair herself, but figured out how to pull down the tray on her own!
“We laughed in awe because she’s so smart,” Grace Jones said. “Surprised she got in the chair by herself, but even more so that she pulled down the tray and was ready to eat.”
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“I couldn’t never train my husky to sit in a chair like that she would starve herself before figuring it out,”one person commented on Reddit.
Their hard work has certainly paid off. Daisy loves her new chair and, with her disorder under control, she’s still as active as ever!
“We just try to work around her disability,”Doug says.
There’s an oft-repeated quote about relationships between humans and dogs: “He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.”This artfully designed piece of handiwork is nothing if not symbolic of this family’s love and devotion.
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