Spike's Christmas Dreams come true...

Spike's Christmas dream list

We have been an active foster family for several husky rescue organisations.  Our own pack of Siberian Huskies has welcomed several huskies and helped them on their way to a happy future.  Each foster dog has given us something special.  Our experience with one dog in particular left a lasting memory with us all and my time shared with him has helped me to pursue an almost forgotten dream with renewed determination.

Kobi: learning to fly without wings

Kobi had been very badly treated before he came into our lives.  Underweight, flea ridden and absolutely petrified of all human beings he had clearly been traumatised by what he experienced as a very young puppy.  I felt a connection to him the first time I looked into his eyes and believed that I could help him…..

During our short time together I taught him how to love and trust a human being and in return he helped show me that the seemingly impossible can be made possible.

Sadly Kobi is no longer with us as the damage done to him before he was rescued was too severe.   As he fell asleep in my arms for the last time I promised him that our experience together would leave a lasting legacy.  I have remained true to that promise.....

Spike when he was first found

Spike was found hiding under a tarpaulin in Brentwood railway station in April this year.  Dangerously underweight and covered in mange his future did not look good.  But thanks to the kind actions of a local family and their friend he was rescued and then taken into care by Siberian Husky Club of GB Welfare. 

We became his foster family on 22^nd April and our objective was to help him gain weight, grow fur and then find him a family that would adopt him and give him happiness for the rest of his life.

Spike rapidly gained weight and soon grew a luxurious husky fur coat.  His eyes shone with health and happiness and his great character and personality shone through.  However we became more and more concerned about certain aspects of his behaviour and his conformation.  He loved to run and bounce around but he struggled to do it and frequently appeared to be in extreme pain.  As time passed we feared the worst.

Sadly our worst fears were confirmed.  Spike has hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, a deformed jaw plus other little issues that we keep discovering as time passes.

However, Spike refuses to accept that any of his “disabilities” should restrain him.  He has an amazing personality and determination to succeed in all that he does.  He loves to run and when we watch him run freely we can easily forget that he has any disabilities.  But then we watch him try to rise from a sleeping position or hobble around the house and are harshly reminded of his daily struggle with pain.  He accepts all that life harshly throws at him and does all that he can to live a normal life each and every day.

We do not know what the future holds for Spike, but if he could write a Christmas wish list I believe I know what it would be.  And this year with the help of a very special Christmas Angel his dreams are about the come true….

The Christmas Angel

It was the night before Christmas.  The last gift had been lovingly wrapped and placed beneath the tree, the lights dimmed and sleepy huskies ushered from the room.  The mince pie and carrot were placed beside the fireplace along with the glass of milk.  A visitor was expected, but no one had foreseen who would visit and what was about to happen….

As the humans climbed the stairs to bed, the huskies settled in their bedroom, but one little husky puppy felt restless and struggled to settle.  All day he had sensed something different in the house.  He did not understand what it meant and sleep did not provide the answers….

As the husky puppy wandered around the kitchen, there was suddenly a bright flash which startled him and he scampered into the corner.  When he turned around, he realised that he was not alone.  In front of him stood a husky with fur the colour of the sun and eyes that sparkled brightly.  The husky with fur the colour of the sun carried something upon his back, something that looked a lot like the bird fur that the husky puppy frequently played with…..

The husky puppy was not scared as there was something about this husky that made him instantly feel at ease.  “Who are you?” he asked of the stranger.

“I am the Christmas Angel” replied the husky with fur the colour of the sun.  “I travelled from afar because someone very special called for me.  She needs my help because she wants to give you an amazing gift, but she is scared and knows she needs the help of others”

The husky puppy was confused, but he wanted to know more as he sensed that the stranger was good and that he spoke the truth.  “What is the gift that you speak of and why does she want me to have it?”

The Christmas Angel smiled and as he did, his eyes sparkled….. “All your questions will be answered this night, but first you must come on a journey with me”

 “I cannot run far without stopping and sometimes I have to lie down as my legs hurt” said the puppy with a forlorn look upon his face.

“I will help you” replied the Christmas Angel.  And with that he did a little twirl and the husky puppy was suddenly on top of his back, between the bird fur, which was warm and snuggly.  “Hold on” he said and suddenly the bird fur grew very big and moved swiftly back and forth.

“Wow” said the husky puppy “you have wings like a bird!”

And with that, the Christmas Angel leapt high into the night sky and soon they were soaring above the twinkling Christmas lights of the sleeping village.

They flew across the world as the husky puppy gazed in wonder at everything on the ground far below and in the sky around him.  The stars twinkled in the night sky and the city lights below them cast light and shadows that were fascinating to watch. 

The Christmas Angel suddenly swooped down and landed in front of a barn where a donkey was standing.  People were wondering in and out of the barn doors carrying little gifts which they were placing beside a manger in the corner of the barn.  In the manger was a sleeping baby.

“We cannot go in there” said the Christmas Angel “you are looking at a vision from the past.  Many people in the modern world have long forgotten about the birth of this special baby and they celebrate something they either fear or do not understand.  I bring you here so that you know why tomorrow is a special day – it is a celebration of this child’s birth day.  It can also be a day of magic if you believe…”

The Christmas Angel once again took to the skies as the people below continued to smile sweetly upon the child asleep in the manger.

There was darkness beneath them as they flew across the sea and then bright whiteness.  The Christmas Angel suddenly dropped from the sky and landed on the whiteness.  It was cold but very beautiful and the husky puppy was entranced by the sight and smell of it.  He wanted to leap into it and dig deep beneath the surface, but the Christmas Angel stopped him.

“No, you are not yet ready to run here.  We are where everyone aspires to be and one must be ready before they are allowed this privilege”

“Where are we?” asked the husky puppy, “What is so special about this place?”

“We are on top of the world” replied the Christmas Angel.  “Imagine what it would feel like to run on top of the world…” And with that, he flapped his wings and they were flying across the world once again.

They arrived in front of a house with a very big garden and inside the house were a little family playing with their little pack of dogs.  All of them were smiling and laughing at the youngest dog that was rapidly dashing from room to room with a big fluffy toy in his mouth.

Spike with his forever pack

“Can I play with them?  Please.” asked the husky puppy.  “They look so happy and friendly and it would be great to be part of a family and fun to play with a fluffy toy”

The Christmas Angel smiled and swiftly flapped his wings.  “Not yet” was the reply.  “I have more to show you”….

They travelled to many places and saw a great many things.  There was a glistening silver trophy, a harness with the puppy’s name upon it and bits of paper that also had the puppy’s name on them.

They flew above a big building where lots of un-well dogs were being treated by special vets.  The poorly dogs went in one end of the building unhappy and in pain and came out the other end of the building all bouncy and happy.

Finally they returned to the house where all the other huskies slept and the Christmas Angel gently folded his wings as the husky puppy jumped onto the ground.

“Thank you” said the husky puppy as he was a very polite dog and was grateful for the experience he has just had with the Christmas Angel.

The Christmas Angel smiled at him and looked towards the little bit of paper that the husky puppy had lovingly carried throughout their journey.  It was his dream list….

Dear Father Christmas,

Please, for Christmas may I ask for…

1.       A family all of my own that I can live with forever

2.       Big strong legs that don’t hurt so I can run like the big boy huskies

3.       My own fluffy toy that big boy huskies don’t steal from me

Spike

Dreaming of fluffy toys...

“When you wake tomorrow your dreams will start coming true” said the Christmas Angel.  “There is a family who are ready to adopt you and welcome you into their family forever.  A very special Veterinary is ready to use all his experience to make your legs better and underneath the Christmas tree in the corner is a present that I think you will like…”

The husky puppy was speechless (for once) and gazed in wonder at the Christmas Angel.

“I only ask for one thing in return” said the Christmas Angel “your dreams will be realised if you can make me one promise?”

He and I refuse to accept that we should not run...

The husky puppy nodded and tried to mumble some words, but only a soft woo, wooing noise could be heard.

The Christmas Angel smiled and echoing the “woo, woo” noise he said to the husky puppy “just be yourself, that is all I ask you to promise.  Always be yourself and that alone will provide an amazing gift to the one that wants to help you.  She will share your story and together you will inspire others to believe that the impossible is possible…. but maybe just tone down the barking a little as well as huskies are not supposed to bark!”   And with that there was a bright flash and the Christmas Angel was gone.

Tomorrow is another special day

The husky puppy was suddenly very sleepy.  He closed his eyes and fell fast asleep knowing that tomorrow was going to be a very special day…..

(Photos courtesy of the Coppin family and Ian J Berry)

Spike: against all odds he wants to run

Our foster husky Spike has been chronically lame in his front legs for nearly 4 months.  While his hind legs (hip dysplasia) have improved immensely through a combination of hydrotherapy, exercise and good nutrition his front leg lameness has progressively worsened.

This week we took Spike to Fitzpatrick Referrals to determine what is causing his lameness.  The consultant we met had already been given the full details of Spike’s medical history from our local vet who has treated him since April.  He also had the x-rays of all four limbs taken in August.

Long story short, Spike has degenerative joint disease in his elbows and without surgical intervention it will worsen.  Based on his deterioration in the past few months this means that if we do not act quickly Spike does not have a long term future.

The orthopaedic consultant was able to see the elbow joint abnormalities on the original x-rays.  How much it has worsened since then is presently a guess based on Spike’s behaviour and movement.

His elbow joints will continue to deteriorate and he will require more and more assisted pain relief.  There will come a time when his body will no longer be able to cope with the medication and the pain.

If we intervene with surgery then we can prolong his life and with careful rehabilitation he may go on to live a semi normal pet dog life.

Surgery is very expensive, between £4k and £15k and involves between 3-6 months of cage rest, which as you can imagine would be quite a challenge for a husky puppy.

As we do not know the extent of the damage within the joints, the corrective surgery and rehabilitation is an estimate within this spectrum.

Watching the big boy huskies run....

My immediate thought when told the news was that Spike should not run, full stop.  However, the consultant has advised us to continue doing exactly what we have been doing since Spike came to live with us.  The combination of hydrotherapy and controlled running is without a doubt helping him.  In general he is fit and healthy and the muscle development in his hind legs is helping his hip dysplasia.  If we reduce his exercise furthermore this will deteriorate and we risk a more rapid deterioration in his mental health and well-being.  This is good news as Spike loves to run and when he does not he becomes depressed and stressed. 

Happiness is...

Through all of this, Spike continues to smile when he can and run when he can.  I have no intention of denying him this basic right.

His condition is not dissimilar to the condition of my ankle joint prior to surgical intervention and look what happened there…. For those that do not know me I was advised to never run more than a mile and that I would be a cripple within 5 years…. I refused to accept this and since then have run nearly 100 marathons and ultra marathons and represented Scotland and Great Britain in international competitions.

Spike was born with deformed hip, elbow and jaw joints and his poor start in life has contributed to their deterioration.  It is highly likely that Spike has other health issues that will be discovered over time.

Realistically Spike will never run the way normal well-bred Siberian Huskies can, but he can still have a happy future that includes running - if we can find a way to manage his surgery and rehabilitation.

We have tough decisions to make in the coming days and we will make them with Spike’s best interests in our hearts and minds.