Oliver's twist - update

Who can forget Oliver? We featured him on this blog a little while ago and in Dogs Today magazine's October edition. This three-year-old Springer-Patterdale cross suffered an extremely painful spiral fracture to his hind leg. Out-of-work owner Darren Puttock sold his car and his computer to pay Oliver's vet bills, but when there were serious complications the vet bills spiraled out of all control and Darren had nothing left to sell. 

Thankfully Oliver’s break is nearly healed, but unfortunately he is still having to make regular trips to the vets, visiting three or four times a week.

 

Although he is able to put weight on his leg, this is proving a double-edged sword. As Oliver can now move his limb, his wounds keep reopening, meaning they have to be treated often.

Also, with Oliver bearing weight on his leg, his bone has broken through the skin where he lost the pads on his paw, which sadly cannot be dressed.

Oliver’s owner Darren remains positive, however, and very much hopes that with the continued help of generous dog lovers, his best friend will soon be back to full health. 

Oliver and Darren would like to thank everyone who has responded to Oliver's Just Giving page. "Thanks for your messages of support and donations, you guys and girls are amazing, thank you so much. Oliver & Darren."

If anyone is able to help Darren and Oliver in this final phase of his treatment please click on the link to his Just Giving page. They are still short of what is needed to get this lovely dog back on all four of his feet!

Storm is under the weather

Two-year-old Storm has been diagnosed with a life-threatening heart defect. His owner, pensioner Rita Lynch, fears she will lose her companion forever unless he has an expensive operation she simply cannot afford.

The white German Shepherd was taken ill in early August and diagnosed with a heart condition by vets, but the full extent of his problem was not realised until a referral to the Queen Mother Hospital in Hertfordshire. Storm has suffered a heart defect undetected since birth, called patent ductus arteriosus.

The ductus arteriosus is a blood vessel that should close shortly after birth. In dogs with the condition the vessel remains open, causing abnormal blood flow though the heart and lungs. Unfortunately, Storm was also diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, or an irregular heartbeat.

Rita said, “I was very shocked to hear of Storm’s diagnosis as he showed no signs of being ill; he was so active and would never rest. Storm is being treated with tablets at the moment but these will not make his condition better – he will deteriorate within a year.”

Storm’s young life will sadly be cut short without an operation to close the blood vessel causing the problems.

The operation costs £3,500 – an expense Rita’s pension will not cover, especially considering she has already paid £700 towards the initial consultation fees, with some support from her family. Tailwaggers Club Trust has donated £750 towards Storm’s operation; now Rita is appealing for help from fellow dog lovers and would be hugely grateful for any donation – no matter how small – that they could manage. 

Rita explained, “Storm is my friend as well as my pet, as he knows when I am not very well myself and lays by my side or puts his head on my lap. He came to me at seven weeks old and what a little pickle he was, but I loved him for it. He has grown into a beautiful dog and I don’t want to lose him – it would destroy me.”

Update

I have some very sad news to pass on. Storm has died very suddenly at home, possibly of a blood clot. Rita's son attempted the kiss of life, but nothing could be done. Rita is obviously devastated, but she still asked us to thank everyone for their help and support. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with Rita and her family at this terribly sad time.
Beverley

Oliver's poorly paw

In June, Oliver, a Springer-Patterdale cross, suffered an extremely painful spiral fracture to his hind leg. The unfortunate three-year-old’s owner, Darren Puttock, is self-employed in the building trade, and with no work available at the moment, is appealing for help with his dog’s vet bills.
Darren explained how the accident happened: “When I got a treat out, Oliver jumped up and his back legs went from under him. As he came down he put out his rear leg to stop himself from falling on his back, and landed in a twisting motion, with all his weight on one leg.”
Oliver was referred to a specialist, who planned to pin the broken bone, but this was not possible due to the severe corkscrew-type break. It was subsequently decided that Oliver should wear a plaster cast.
Unfortunately, Oliver’s leg became gangrenous. Sadly, this has led to Oliver losing the pads and smallest digit on his paw.
These complications to an already unpleasant injury mean that rather than a cast, Oliver wears a bandage that is changed weekly so his wounds can be cleaned. To date Darren has paid £2,200 towards his dog’s recovery, generating the money by selling his car and laptop. Oliver’s treatment is likely to continue for another eight weeks and could cost a further £2,400. Darren is extremely grateful to Tailwaggers for donating £300 and would welcome any further donations to help his dog back on to all four paws.
Darren said, “Oliver was such a active dog: he could run up to 10 miles a day, loved swimming and was constantly playing and socialising. He has a great temperament, is well behaved and loves everyone.
“Oliver has always been there for me during tough times, and it would mean the world to me if he could regain his full fitness.”

If you can contribute anything towards Oliver's treatment please click the Just Giving appeal box to the right of this story or click here

Can you help Phoebe?

At the age of just nine months, Phoebe, a Labrador, has been diagnosed with hip dysplasia in both hips. The crippling condition is particularly severe in her right hip, leaving the pup incapable of living her young life to the full.
Phil Henderson purchased Phoebe in December 2009. He thought he’d done everything right – he found a Kennel Club Breeder, met Phoebe’s mum and was given both parents’ pedigrees. Unfortunately, while the sire had been hip scored, the dam hadn’t.
He said, “Phoebe’s HD affects her life in every way: she can’t go for walks longer than 10 or 15 minutes three times a day, and I can’t let her jump up, because of the strain it puts on her back legs. Imagine a nine-month-old Labrador not being able to go out whenever she wants to, it’s frustrating for me and I can’t imagine how she feels, not being able to play with other dogs in the park, which she loved.”
Phil spent his last £300 on Phoebe’s X-rays and has now been informed that it will cost £8,000 for a specialist to repair her hips. He had insured Phoebe, but unfortunately didn’t realise it was limited to emergency cover only. He has now taken out new insurance, but Phoebe’s HD is classed as a pre-existing condition.
Because Phil is disabled and unable to work, he is appealing for donations to help change Phoebe’s life. He said, “I would love for Phoebe to have the operation so she can have a normal dog’s life, and we can do the things that we should be doing now: walks, playing, swimming, all the things she craves, but sadly, it’s not possible at the moment.”
If you would like to donate to help fund this operation please see the JustGiving appeal highlighted to the right of this post.

KC Charitable Trust donation

Tailwaggers Club Trust was very pleased to recently receive a £5,000 donation from the Kennel Club Charitable Trust.
Tailwaggers also receives many referred cases from the KC and struggles to help all the people with unexpected vet bills.
Tailwaggers recently received a referral for a struggling pet owner on DLA benefits who had bought a KC reg Labrador pup that has developed severe HD and needs a very expensive operation. The bill for this surgery is predicted to be £8,000. We are investigating the case, but the chap had bought pet insurance without understanding the small print and sadly found when he wasn't covered for anything other than emergencies.
Tailwaggers is very grateful for all donations and works very hard to help as many people as possible. While the donation from the KC Charitable Trust is very gratefully received we do still need your help to raise funds. Increasingly often Tailwaggers is the only charity people can turn to for help.

This thank you letter made us smile

Percy, the cat had been involved in a traffic accident and faced being PTS. He's all better now thanks to an operation to mend his broken jaw.

Help them home

Pet Passport confusion left a family heartbroken and deeply stressed. The credit crunch had hit them hard and they needed to make a swift return from Bulgaria after their business failed.

Mr and Mrs Chamberlain, from Epsom, Surrey, have struggled to pay the kennelling fees for their dogs, Clio, a two year old Boxer, and Chanel, a year old American Cocker Spaniel.

On the 17 January the couple discovered their dogs could not enter the UK under the Pet Travel Scheme because they hadn’t had a blood test proving their rabies vaccine had worked – despite being assured by a vet in Bulgaria that all the documentation was in order.

Mrs Chamberlain said, “Here our nightmare started. The only option we had was to contact a quarantine kennel in the UK to arrange entry for our girls.”

Understanding the couple’s unfortunate situation, the quarantine kennels kindly reduced the bill from £5,400 to £3,600. Mr and Mrs Chamberlain planned to find work and save £500 a month, but a week after returning to the UK, they discovered that Clio was pregnant. She gave birth at the kennels and the couple were forced to sell her pups to help pay the bill.

Mrs Chamberlain continued, “Without work and money our family started to suffer. The stress has made my husband unwell; now he is on strong medicine and I am caring for him every hour of the day, so now I cannot look for a job either.”

After hearing of their plight, Ann Podmore at Home Counties Boxer Welfare has sympathetically offered to settle the couple’s bill on their behalf, so Clio and Chanel can be released from kennels without delay. With the generous owners of the quarantine kennels reducing it by a further £2,400 and Mr and Mrs Chamberlain paying £1,300, the final fee was £1,053.13.

If you can make a donation to help repay the money Home Counties Boxer Welfare has advanced, please visit www.justgiving.com or send a cheque payable to ‘Tailwaggers Club Trust’ c/o Dogs Today at our usual address.