One of our long-time supporters Val Brown writes about the joys of having a rescue dog and making up for the years of abuse she had suffered as well as learning first hand about the benefits of holistic veterinary care alongside her inspirational dog Annie.
18th May 2016: An SOS to the dog warden
A call came through that a lady had found an abandoned dog in her local woods. She had noticed a black dog curled up amongst the trees and undergrowth. The dog’s eyes were closed, dry and crusted. On trying to pick her up, the dog grumbled at the lady and was shaking with fear. As they were such a long way from their car, she put the frightened dog in her toddler’s bike trailer. She took the dog home but was desperate to get her some treatment. The local vet suggested she contact the dog warden for the area where she had been found. I was that dog warden!
She couldn’t even stand
On arrival at the house, the dog was lying on a blanket unable to stand. I thought she looked like a black lab-type crossbreed. The poor thing couldn’t stand without support and was severely emaciated. Despite being a fully grown adult dog she only weighed 12.7 kilos – she was later to make 37 kilos.
Between us, we wrapped the dog in a blanket and I gently placed her into my van before going straight to our contracted vet to get her checked over.
Flappy tabs
Fearing the worst – I thought she wouldn’t survive – I sat on the floor chatting to the dog whilst the vet ran blood tests. Even in such a state there appeared to be a spark of character in those eyes. Her ears were moving at angles as I talked to her. I called her flappy tabs as she was obviously listening to my ramblings and taking it all in. Resting her head on my legs you could see she was relaxing a little at being safe from harm.
The initial tests were good which was a relief. There followed a discussion with the vet about treatment and a brief conversation with my boss regarding the council’s responsibility for the welfare of the dog and funding for her veterinary care. The RSPCA was also contacted and since there was no known owner and no microchip, they noted she was lodged with the dog warden and said a duty officer would call back to discuss things.
What happens when a dog falls between the cracks?
My major concern was what would happen when or if she recovered after being on a drip. A busy rescue may not be able to give her the time and attention she needed and after her seven days were up, she could have legally been PTS.
There are certain responsibilities with stray and abandoned dogs so I had to make sure we had legally taken every avenue we could to find her owner. I also had to establish whether the RSPCA were interested in her case or would take on the responsibility to rehome her, being an abandoned dog. It was agreed with the RSPCA duty officer she would stay with the council.
Should we….. shouldn’t we……
Suffice to say there were numerous discussions over the weekend with my husband, daughter and son-in-law on the future of the abandoned dog. I called the vet on Monday morning eager to hear how she was. They gave me a positive report and said they had named her Annie. I organised to collect her and she came home to be ‘fostered’ by me. I contacted someone my daughter had fostered a dog for who dealt with rescues – she said she could always help with finding a suitable home once Annie was in better health.
I remember that day first day Annie was with us thinking OMG what do I do to make her better? I’d had plenty of experience with dogs through owning, showing, breeding the odd litter and my own pet dogs but never with a dog in such an awful state of health. She was so thin and delicate. Would she even survive?
Failed fostering!
Needless to say, we had all fallen in love with Annie so she was going nowhere! And so began a miraculous journey with her as part of the family. And the discovery of how powerful integrated veterinary care can be.
The conventional vets and staff at Minster Vets in Fernwood were really good at helping with her convalescence and the vet nurse had recommended a convalescent wet food for her delicate stomach during her first months of recovery. We followed their guidelines as her digestion was so delicate that the slightest deviation caused havoc.
A certain thief introduces herself to raw food!!
Funny though, after a few months of tinned food I made the mistake of leaving my shopping from the butchers (prime fillet steak, best mince, pork steaks, etc ) on the kitchen top. My neighbour – who had seen how thin Annie had been -shouted to me to find out how she was doing. As we were nattering I suddenly remembered the meat! On dashing back into the kitchen I saw discarded paper everywhere and no meat, well apart from the bacon, sausages and black pudding that Annie hadn’t had time to demolish!
I was dreading the repercussions from this and expected an awful few days of a sore tummy not to mention the mess to clear up! Well, there was nothing of the sort. She was absolutely fine which made me think that a progression to raw might be a good idea. However, this was met with horror by the vet nurse when I discussed changing her diet who said whatever you choose do not look at the ‘dangerous raw food!’ It should be said that with the support and good advice from places like the Raw Feeding Veterinary Society, raw food is a safe and healthy option, and it’s a species-appropriate diet for a dog.
Raw begins to help
Annie had been suffering from constant ear problems. She’d had a scan that showed there were some issues resulting from her neglect that we couldn’t change. Steroid drops and ear flushes every six months didn’t seem to be improving things. However, her general health seemed good and her weight was gradually increasing on raw food. She was no longer wolfing her food down like a starving animal but was eating at a slower rate, chewing her food, and had become generally calmer when eating. She also loved her occasional raw treat and raw bones to chew. We just needed to be selective in what we gave her as her teeth had been damaged and badly worn during her years of neglect.
Referral to a holistic vet
Some months after getting Annie I attended a seminar by vet Dr. Nick Thompson at one of our local dog training clubs. I discussed Annie’s problems with Nick and we decided a referral would be a good idea. The only issue with that was he was in Bath over four hours away! Having had a positive experience previously with my Bernese who had been referred to Chris Day (another holistic vet) I decided she deserved the chance and an appointment was made.
I was so impressed with Nick during his assessment and amazed at the depth and breadth of information he needed to know. He was so relaxed, watching Annie nosey about in his office, taking notes of all the information on what we knew about her and the issues we had experienced, including her overall character, how she reacted to things, her environment, other animals, people and much more. Integrated vets (conventional vets with additional qualifications in complementary and alternative treaments) such as Nick consider each animal as a whole and treat them as an individual.
A plan of action was drawn up with an update booked for a week later. Nick also recommended another holistic vet who was a bit nearer to me. Our next consult was therefore with Dr Brendan Clarke of Towerwood Vets in Bradford. This was still a long journey and reflected the general scarcity of holistic vets in the UK. (Over the years it made me determined to help change the situation.)
Annie enjoyed her visit to Brendan and he was so laid back, taking in everything about her history. He checked her ears in particular and liaised with Nick regarding her treatment plan. This was to be truly integrative and involved a combination of homeopathic remedies and conventional treatment together with dietary changes. Amongst other things, the issues with her ears improved on this new regime.
Benefits of a collaboration between local and holistic vets
For the next few years, we regularly visited our local vets. Annie loved seeing the staff who’d helped her get over the awful first years of her life during those initial weeks she was with us. They all loved her and she was spoilt every time we visited. We also had regular visits to Brendan.
A new vet arrived in our local practice who was really interested in the transformation we had seen in Annie from using a combination of conventional healthcare, homeopathy, chiropractic treatments, hydrotherapy, and so on. Overall we had an excellent team to support Annie in her continued recovery.
Her years with us
From May 2016 to July 2021 Annie was cared for by a loving family and an amazing team which included a mixture of:
- Conventional vets
- Holistic vets
- A specialist conventional vet
- Hydrotherapists
- Physiotherapists
- A Mctimoney chiropractor
- A massage therapist
We didn’t know her age when we got her, she was possibly 8-years-old, but we experienced five years of amazing experiences with our beautiful rescue dog. The following are just a few of her tales!
Training
She was reactive to other dogs after being attacked by a local dog not long after she came to live with us, so this restricted where we could take her. Attending the Gnasher Club in Lincoln with the very experienced trainer Paddy Driscoll, we had some interesting times working with other reactive dogs. This led to some positive changes although Annie still had her likes and dislikes with other dogs!
Bed and breakfast adventures
During holiday stays with my daughter she had a whale of a time with her three sprocker spaniels and only one spat over the tennis ball. During visits to the secure playing area, she would attempt to get three tennis balls in her mouth and didn’t want to share with the spaniels! However, they were too quick for her and she often had to make do with just one ball and a squeaky toy!
Our constant companion
Annie was a constant companion for us with me finishing full-time work and my husband retiring. She was so well behaved and loved her (many!) beds, sleeping for hours. It was so nice to know that after an awful start to her life she was confident enough to sleep soundly and had become a happy relaxed family pet.
When I went back to work part-time and my husband’s health changed, Annie gave him a reason to get up. He would give Annie her lunchtime feed which she still had due to her earlier digestive problems. During the decent weather, they often sat outside in the garden enjoying the sunshine.
Getting older
As Annie aged there were obvious changes in her muscles and she was getting stiff. She had regular visits to Brendan to keep an eye on her health. She was suffering with teeth problems which resulted in some being removed. We did all we could to keep her pain-free. Her visits to the chiropractor helped with her stiffness. She wouldn’t relax for long enough at the chiropractor to have treatment and laser therapy. This prompted me to use the special discount voucher through the CAM4animals website to purchase my Photizo Vetcare light therapy machine to use on a regular basis. This helped further ease Annie’s aches and pains.
Annie’s last few weeks
On our last visit to Brendan, he showed concerns about some changes in her abdomen. A scan was booked for the following Tuesday. He told me who was on callout over the weekend and expressed his worries that all may not be well – it was obvious that Annie’s health was declining. In the next day or so she started to lose her balance when getting off her bed and her back legs were getting weaker. Speaking to the vet nurse on Saturday morning she said she would ring Brendan at home and get some advice. I had spoken to my local vet and they had provisionally booked a space for me that afternoon if I needed to use it. After a long discussion with Brendan, it was decided that Annie’s quality of life was deteriorating and I made the sad decision to take her to the vets later that day to be PTS. Brendan’s support was amazing as were the local vets during this time. Annie left this world in the same room she was treated the day I picked her up. She was in good hands and loved by everyone to the last.
Pet crematorium
As we’d previously had an unpleasant experience with a pet crematorium, my daughter suggested a local one that does individual cremations. Old Flatts Farm at Treeton near Rotherham has an amazing facility and gave Annie a dignified end to her life. Due to them being very busy we were able to take Annie straight there from the vets and they organised a visit for us to say goodbye a couple of days later. Her ashes now sit in a lovely wicker basket.
Inspirational Annie
Not only has Annie brought love and joy into our lives, she has also enabled me to find out about a whole new dimension of vet care. She is still inspiring me to learn more and encourage other animal owners to look at the amazing variety of options that are available.
Not only have I discovered some amazing vets and canine practitioners, I have found a network of supportive friends through my work with CAM4animals. I thank them all.
For anyone with a senior dog, the CAM4animals website has some really informative blogs with help and advice to follow. In fact, they have an amazing resource for any stage of your dog’s life. We certainly need more holistic vets coming through to help with an integrated approach to our animals’ health care and I shall continue to help and encourage that thanks to Annie.
Useful links
Photizo Red Light Therapy blogs
Special Offer on a Photizo Vetcare for CAM4animals supporters
Elderly dog blogs
Bereavement blogs: Living with Pet Bereavement and Pet Euthanasia in Lockdown
Raw feeding blogs
Old Flatts Farm Pet and Equine Crematorium
K9 Bodycare Canine MassageTherapy
Raw Feeding Veterinary Society
Paddy Driscoll dog trainer
Val Brown
Life long dog lover and former dog warden, Val has also been an active supporter of CAM4animals from the very beginning. She is passionate about integrated veterinary care and is instrumental in helping to inform animal lovers of our work through social media.
Disclaimer – Where blogs have been created by a guest author, CAM4Animals has reproduced this in good faith but cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies of information in it or any use you make of this information.
This blog may also contain an element of consumer opinion. Whilst CAM4animals welcomes positive recommendations for holistic healthcare products, we don’t necessarily endorse the product or the author’s opinion. We acknowledge that each animal is an individual and may react differently to the highlighted product/s. There may also be other products available that produce similarly positive results.
The veterinary Surgeon’s Act 1966 restricts the treatment of animals (usually other than your own*) by anyone other than a qualified vet. Always consult a veterinary surgeon if you are concerned about your animal’s health. *For full details visit the RCVS website