Hi Kat,
Yes, Dogs can get AS too. You can imagine my surprise when her vet diagnosed her. Eric and I looked at each other as if to say " did we just hear that right" Then I explained to the vet that AS is what I had and he said that he has seen cases where an animal takes on their owners illness, but it is rare. He also said he sees alot of arthritis, and although he does see cases of AS, he doesn't it see too often and only in certain breeds.
We tried everything to keep her comfortable, but she started having too many complications and I couldn't bear to see her suffer anymore. I know too well what the pain is like and I had the ability to take her out of the pain (even though the vet said she didn't have much time left anyway), so I did what I thought was the most humane thing to do, as hard as it was for me.
My sister called me that night and said that Tia loved me so much that she tried to take some of my pain upon herself, but unfortunately it was too much for her. You can imagine how the tears fell that night and weeks afterwards.
I am not a crier, but when it comes to my animals it's a different story.
I was a member of KA when all this happened and when Tia was first diagnosed. She was special to everyone here then, especially because most people, including myself, never heard of dogs or any animal for that matter having AS. There was some discussion about making her our mascot, but nothing ever became of it. I was told to add her story to our members stories and I wrote it and send it to KA.org, but for some reason it was never added. That's why I chose to keep her as my sig pic for so long.
Actually, I feel kind of bad for changing my sig pic, because she was like a member here and I felt like she belonged, and this was my way of keeping her memory going. She was such a special dog anyway, but after her diagnosis I realized she was even more so very special.
What can I say...I am a big animal lover (especially dogs) and I know they have so much more to offer than some people think. It bothers me to hear someone say "its just a dog"
After what I have been through with mine...I know there is no such thing.
Anyway, now you know that dogs can get AS. If your ever interested in reading Tia's story, let me know and I'll PM it to you.

Hugs to you,
Lisa
Hugs,
Lisa