Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tauni Beckmann. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Tauni, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?
As a horse trainer, I’ve always studied how animals move, it tells us a lot about their comfort level and it’s important to “read” them… rewind the past several years, I noticed my corgi beginning to “step unevenly” on our walks…. I started going to numerous vets and specialists in an effort to help her but each one gave us a different “diagnosis” (some not completely relevant to our area of concern) fast forward to where we are now… it ended up being Degenerative Myelopathy aka “DM” (the canine version of ALS). “KC” the corgi had her own facebook group (this was very early on before it became so common) and we began sharing her experiences early on… people “followed” her as she adapted quickly to her wheelchair and loved seeing her go to hydrotherapy and her daily outings & from that we began getting people reaching out to us because she quickly became an inspiration to help them with their own pups who also had this disease.
With the loving & encouraging messages, we also began getting some messages warning us to “pipe down” and quit talking about this disease (it was from breeders that knowingly continue to breed dogs that carry both of the DM genetic markers). This disease IS 100% preventable if people breeding dogs would do the genetic testing prior to breeding and making ethical decisions in the best interest of the health of the pups but unfortunately greed tends to override good decision making so now we have this major problem that has been swept under the rug for years and without intention, KC was unveiling it without us even realizing that was happening.
We continued to share KC’s journey as we tackled each day from her pure & honest point of view… when she crossed the rainbow bridge people encouraged us to keep up “KC’s mission” to educate the world & continue to be the voice on behalf of the pups to BARK OUT LOUD! (ironic fact: dogs with “DM” eventually lose their voice as the disease moves up the spinal cord and compromises their diaphragm.)
In short, after years of teaching people how they can make their horse’s life more favorable and giving them the avenue to enhance their beautiful creature’s abilities through respect and understanding, I now know my “WHY” and my mission in life is to speak out for those that can’t.
Tauni, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Shade Out DM Foundation came about a bit “backwards” unlike most… The name was suggested by a friend who has had 3 corgis with DM and was instrumental in helping us know how to give the best care for our corgi as we took the DM journey. KC the corgi became known globally for her sunnies! (One day while we were swimming I put my sunglasses on her & snapped a quick pic & posted it on her facebook page & shortly after that people began mailing us sunglasses from all over the world so each day we would take a quick pic of her wearing a different pair of sunglasses)… That is the “Shade” reference for “Shade Out DM”.
We continued to raise awareness about DM after KC crossed the bridge on Oct.21, 2017 and began attending various pet events to raise awareness. That blossomed into more & more people reaching out for help and guidance and we identified that there is a large misunderstanding across the world on the professional level, people’s pups were being “diagnosed” with DM when in fact it’s not DM at all (i.e. the pup is far too young, etc.) or vice versa, they are being “diagnosed” and recommended for surgeries that actually all of the signs and symptoms lead to DM which a surgery won’t be successful etc. so we began attending Veterinary Conferences in hopes of providing Veterinarians, Vet Techs, Veterinary Staff, ER teams, Rehab therapists, etc with more information to help them be more equipped with the latest information regarding DM. It was at our first Vet Conference that several neurologists helped us identify that we are a support group too! “This is AMAZING because I have to diagnose this disease 7-8 times PER DAY and now I have somewhere I can point my clients to so they don’t have to take this DM journey alone!” He was right! We are a community! A community of like minded pawrents who all love our pups and would move mountains to help them have the best quality of life possible! In the ShadeOutDM support group on facebook, we do have veterinarians that have real first hand experience with DM as well as people that have taken the DM journey with several pups over the years… people that will lend compassionate emotional support as well as helpful suggestions at all hours 24/7 every day of the year (even on holidays) because they all care!
In short, Shade Out DM offers 4 main “services” (while all of it is operated solely on volunteerism)
1. Raise Awareness – to owners & veterinary professionals
2. Support Group – for those taking the journey or having lost their pup to this dreaded disease
3. KC’s Kruisers – a loaner wheelchair program for pups in need (see the website for more info)
4. RACE to ShadeOutDM – our annual RACE (virtual) is not only designed to help us raise awareness but it also offers owners an avenue for owners to memorialize and honor their pup as the brave DM Warrior that they are/were… it offers people a way to speak out on behalf of their own pup and to feel like they ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Caregiver anxiety is REAL! At the time of KC’s loss, I was pretty mixed up… of course I was sad and completely heartbroken but this was also different… As an animal lover, horse trainer & involved in horse rescue, I’ve experienced death enough to know what to expect and how to grieve but this time it was different… I didn’t know what was happening at the time but since then i’ve learned and I personally find it healing when I can help others. A few days after KC was gone, I began getting a scared feeling… like every time I went to the refridgerator (that’s where her food was kept), every time I passed by her fan in the hallway, etc. I couldn’t figure it out because I knew she was gone, I was at peace knowing that I honored her wishes (when we first learned that DM was the disease we were facing, I made a promise to her that we would only fight as long as SHE wanted to! While I knew it would be hard on my heart, I always put the well being of my animals first over my own feelings.) So why did I keep getting this scared feeling???… Finally, I learned that Caregiver anxiety is REAL! A lot of hospice workers get it and it’s when all of the normal routines come to a sudden STOP… For KC especially, my whole life was structured around KC’s every single need. With DM the pups get to where they can no longer reach their water bowl, they cannot regulate their own body temperature, some lose the ability to unrinate or deficate on their own so they need assistance by being “expressed”… so this becomes an even “stonger” connection that you develop, it’s beyond a regular medication schedule, it’s a deep “feel” for their every single need and for all of that to suddenly STOP it leaves the caregiver with an intense anxiety that takes a long time to retrain and accept a “new normal”. For myself, it took months, and that healing didn’t begin until I gave myself a new mission. That mission was to make Shade Out DM an official resource for others.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I think I covered this earlier but to add to it in further detail, I may have neglected to inform you that I am a leader of other organizations and have sat on the boards of other non-profit organizations over the years… most of them have been equine related… but I thought I was doing that in contribution to the equestrian world (which I was, but not to the degree that this has become). All in volunteer roles, I’ve learned how non-profits do or don’t become sustainable, seen the good will that people can achieve together as a community, and experienced the bond and unity that can be felt when people join hands to put their differences aside to support each other and “pull thru” natural disasters and difficult times. I am grateful for all of these experiences and impressed with the potential and ability that humanity can have in times of need and hope to contribute to molding our future generations to hopefully one day they too can experience the strength in a strong loving community.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://shadeoutdm.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shadeoutdm
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShadeOutDM/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shade-out-dm-a49876237/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/shadeoutdm
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbl8oivJCcaR69QCv8djMHQ
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shadeoutdm?
- Other: ShadeOutDM Support Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1505537596196731
Image Credits
Shade Out DM Foundation & our DM Warriors