Noodle and Soba the wobbly sisters
These two sisters were born with a neurological disorder called cerebellar hypoplasia, which affects their fine motor skills and balance. So they wobble when they walk, and sometimes they flop over. .. but they are two of the happiest little dogs you can imagine.
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Images open in a pop-up window
They came to us from a Humane Society in Iowa. The shelter staff had named these Collie mix puppies Wobbles and Noodle. Now, we already have a cat named Wobbles, and we learned long ago that it's really confusing having two animals with the same name. (It's hard enough keeping 80 names straight as it is!)
Thus we needed a name for the puppy-formerly-known-as-Wobbles. Since her sister was named Noodle, we considered Spaghetti, Rigatoni, Fettuccine, and. .. well, you can see why we settled on Soba, an Asian noodle.
Soba is more coordinated than her sister and walks more easily. Even so, she often seems like she is floating in space sometimes – all four legs are running in place but each is off the ground, so she doesn't actually go anywhere. (We've studied this and still aren't sure how she does it.) But then all of a sudden she makes contact with the ground, and off she goes! She can get anywhere she wants to go, it just takes a little longer.
Noodle is more challenged and has less control starting and stopping her forward motion. Once Noodle gets to her feet – itself a struggle – she will shoot off like a rocket, but only get about 10 feet before losing her balance and tumbling. Sometimes it can make us wince to see this. But all we have to do is pick her up and she'll have a big smile on her face -- “See how far I got that time?!” – and she'll give us a big lick out of pure joy.
And that's what is so remarkable about these two girls. As difficult as it is for them to get around, they enjoy every minute of their lives. They love to roughhouse with each other, and after a romp, they'll lie on their cots, snoozing in the sun. Every morning when we let them out of their cottage, they are eager to greet the new day. What more can we ask than that?
To see video of Soba walking, click here.
Posted July 2007
