Hi….. I’m Suki I’m 5 months old and it’s been quite a 5 months! I’m now at my 4th home. My second family did not work out and Jacky sent me to stay with Margot and Neil (which was amazing fun) while she looked for a new family. Now she found it and I’m here!
There’s me, two other 4-legs (Bella and Digit) and four 2-legs (David, Heather, Ben and Jessie). I’ve been here a month now and my two new friends seemed a bit confused at first. I now know that they often have other 4-legged visitors but they don’t stay more than a day or two. It took them a while to realise I’m not a visitor! Continue reading “My Story By Suki (Aged 5 months)”→
Theo came to me back in 2012 having recently had a plate and 13 pins fitted in his left femur to fix a break that we believe was caused by previous owners. He did well post surgery and I took him to many months of hydrotherapy to help him rebuild his hind limb muscle, and in doing so, found a whole new career for myself! However, I was aware that an injury in one limb can often have an impact on other limbs, often the diagonal one so this is something I have always kept an eye on.
Theo
In 2017 I noticed that Theo would occasionally appear a bit lame on his right fore but at the time, I was lucky to have a friend who decided to become a Galen Myotherapist and asked if she could use Theo as her ‘case study dog’ whilst she completed her studies. This fortnightly treatment really helped him keep this in check and be more comfortable. Galen Myotherapy (www.galenmyotherapy.co.uk) is a branch of massage therapy which promotes health and treats chronic muscular pain in dogs through unique massage techniques and exercise management. Theo revelled in his treatments and I could see a huge difference in him the day after a session. We continued with this plus diet management and hydrotherapy with mum for several years as the limp was sporadic and managed.
Unsurprisingly the limp became more and more frequent and started to bounce between both fore limbs. I was working my way through a variety of pain management options with my primary care vet for about 18 months and trying to manage the condition which I suspected was Elbow Dysplasia but i also was fully aware of the minimal treatment options for this condition. Continue reading “Theo’s Rehab by Emily McMahon”→
I am writing my message for the winter edition of the Link on Remembrance Sunday whilst listening to an online service from my parish church. What a strange year it has been and continues to be as
Richard Best
we start another four weeks of restrictions in the hope of some normality for Christmas, I would normally be walking through the village with a great multitude of children from Scouting and Guiding all neatly washed and pressed and keen to impress the members of the British Legion who always come to say thank you to the children for attending at the end of the parade. This year the British Legion will visit us at our virtual cub scout meeting on Zoom which although it has enabled us to continue in some form is not the same as meeting face to face. The children have struggled with the loss of contact with friends and relatives particularly grandparents and they in turn have struggled without hugs and cuddles from their grandchildren. I was waiting to meet a friend for an Autumn walk at Wisley Gardens recently and it was like watching the opening scenes from the film ‘Love Actually’ but with friends meeting and exchanging awkward air kisses and gestures of embrace rather than touching until a toddler noticed his Grandma and Grandpa walking over and rushed for a big hug.
Welcome you find me in a reflective mood after a family bereavement puzzling over the nature of love. The scientist within me views love as a combination of chemical reactions; Testosterone and Oestrogen drive the need for reproduction and the “love at first sight” reaction, subsequently dopamine and serotonin provide the warm sense of attraction that fuels the first few months of a relationship and subsequently oxytocin and vasopressin govern the long term attachment of partners and the all important parent-infant bond. As what we think of as ‘ourself’ is just a mass of synapses, electrical cables with multiple junctions these neurotransmitter chemicals are responsible for all our emotions and in particular the emotion we term love.Continue reading “Chairman’s Letter”→
There’s me, two other 4-legs (Bella and Digit) and four 2-legs (David, Heather, Ben and Jessie). I’ve been here a month now and my two new friends seemed a bit confused at first. I now know that they often have other 4-legged visitors but they don’t stay more than a day or two. It took them a while to realise I’m not a visitor!
