Dogsey

My story: I would say to anyone who think a dog is just a dog, he or she is NOT. To a dog, you are their mother, father, brother and sister and will protect you and your family with everything they have whether they die doing so. They accept you without question and it doesn't matter if you are rich, poor, crippled, blind, etc. All they ever see is that you are their world! I would never have been considered a dog lover until I was one day introduced to an unwanted little one-year-old West Highland Terrier called Benji. Although I was very reluctant to take ownership of a dog, my partner at the time was very keen to do so and I agreed to go along with the idea, albeit with some initial misgivings. From the first moment I saw Benji, everything changed: he immediately came to me, forming an instant bond and for the next eleven years he hardly left my side. This little Westie went with me everywhere, from work to home and no matter how many changes, both good and bad, which were to take place in my life, I look back now and realise that he was the one thing that remained true and faithful to me. In the end, I finally had to let him go after a long battle with cancer. My one regret is that when he was being put to sleep by the vet, I was unable to stay with him in his last moments. Not a single day passes by that I still don’t think of him and regret my choice of not staying by his side during his final moments. From my first ever best friend and to the present day I have always been, always will be a dog owner. Even bona fide cat lovers can't fail to be moved by the unique loyalty and love shown by a dog to their owners. It's not easy to think of your best friend as an amputee, but that was the exact position in which I found myself when another of my dogs (a Newfoundland name Quincy) who was only one and a half years old, was diagnosed with a simple cruciate injury. After what seemed a routine operation, his wound refused to heal and deteriorated continuously over a period of three months. After countless journeys to the veterinary practice that originally carried out the operation on Quincy, I took him to the main veterinary hospital in the UK. You can imagine my shock when I was told that he had contracted MRSA. After a further 3 months as an inpatient, I was told that the best solution was to put my little Quincy to sleep, as the MRSA had now started to spread. I insisted that they try amputation, which they felt was pointless, as the MRSA may have spread past the point where the amputation was to be done. Thinking with my heart, I insisted. I decided immediately to build a specially adapted swimming pool for my dog as I was in a fortunate position at the time in the sense that I had the space to build this pool. I should point out at this stage that Quincy, having benefited immeasurably from the therapeutic qualities of the pool, is now 11 years old and swims once a week. He is not on any medication nor can he catch a rabbit – although he gives it a good try every time he’s on one of his walks in the country. Once the pool was built, I decided to offer the use of it free of charge to a number of animal charities including the RSPCA and Battersea dog home. Soon, I also started getting some regular paying customers. Over the last nine years I have helped to treat so many dogs with various aliments, ranging from arthritis, cruicate ligament injuries, hip maladies, dysplahasia, spinal problems, old age, CDRM, lameness and lots more. The services I offer also help to prevent bowed legs from occurring within the large breed puppies. It was in the early part of 2011 that I had eight swims booked in for the day. Four of these dogs were German Shepherds and all four suffered from CDRM. It was here that I came up with the idea of a support aid designed to help your best friend walk by way of a harness that is securely attached to both you and your dog. In medicine it is commonly know that when one drug is created, it is often the case where the drug helps other aliments and conditions, as was the case with this harness. It was originally intended solely for the purpose of helping dogs who suffered from CDRM, however, it also ended up helping lots of other conditions ranging from, lameness, curicate ligament injuries, hip and elbow dysplahasia, spinal problems, old age, CDRM, arthritis, spinal problems, helping to avoid bowed legs occurring and lots more. Having now been swimming dogs for 9 years, I had always felt that life jackets could be much better designed so as an extra, I have added the floatation element to the harness. I have always said that even if you have a fit and healthy dog and you plan to allow your dog to swim in the a lake or stream, you should always have your dog wear a life jacket. Dogs have a natural instinct to swim but sometimes the waves or other water dangers could cause a dog to encounter problems and go underwater. Going to the ocean, lake or river for a day is a fun family adventure. Young children wear life jackets in the water due to not having the strength to swim well or for a long time. A dog needs to be treated the same way because when around water, a dog will get very excited and want to swim all day. Swimming is very tiring on a dog which is just one of many reasons why you should always have a life jacket if you intend to allow your dog to swim. I hope you enjoyed reading this. Please let me know what you think by contacting dogaid@live.co.uk. If you would like to see Quincy and read his story, please visit his website on www.hydrofordogs.co.uk.

My Interests

working with dogs