The Spikes of Life

Spike in the early days

When Spike first entered our life as a pathetic and very underweight puppy in April 2013 he had been severely neglected and abused.  Our job as his foster home for SHCGB Welfare was to rehabilitate him and help him find a wonderful home.  We were a temporary home and transitional place on his journey of life. 

We helped him gain weight, grow a fabulous coat of plush fur and watched his personality grow and shine.  As he grew in body and mind we dreamed of finding him the perfect forever home that would allow his personality to fully shine.

Big Spike smiles

Sadly fate has not been kind to Spike and the combination of his ancestry and the extreme neglect in the formative months of his life resulted in a body that is very broken.  When we learned of the full extent of his disabilities and the prognosis for life we chose to adopt him and made a vow to give him the best life that we could.  As long as Spike smiled we would know that were fulfilling our vow to him.

In January this year, after his last CT scan when the full extent of his elbow dysplasia was confirmed, we were told to expect Spike to live for 6 – 9 months.  We are now near the end of September and he is still with us, but his condition has deteriorated and last week we feared the worst.

Last Sunday Spike ruptured his cruciate ligament and has walked (or hopped) on three legs since then.  This is putting huge strain on his other hind leg and both forelegs.  Not good news for a dog that has severe elbow dysplasia and hip dysplasia.

Doing what he loves best

Prior to the cruciate injury (sustained when he stumbled in a pothole yards from home), Spike had started showing extreme lameness in his front right leg (arm).  His ability to exercise had reduced and he was smiling less.  But in true Husky style, Spike found other ways to entertain his active mind and hedgehog hunting became a nightly activity.  He would head off outside every evening and wait for the hedgehog to enter our garden….

One of Spike's friends

Normally they arrived around 2am and Spike would greet the hedgehog with a crescendo of barking.  That was the cue for Ian and me to leap out of bed and rescue the hedgehog.  So far we have rescued and relocated three hedgehogs, much to the disappointment of Spike who still longingly looks at the fence line each night looking for his spikey friends.  No hedgehogs have entered our garden since Spike injured his cruciate, but we still have the special “hedgehog holding pen” just in case….   

It is very interesting watching Spike manage his pain and see how much he still smiles even though it hurts so much.  I find it especially humbling as I too have to manage daily pain in two of my joints. I am grumpy, miserable and having been unable to run for over two months I am really struggling to cope with normal life.  I refuse to take drugs and pretend that I can continue without an operation, ignore it and it may go away…

Meanwhile we give Spike drugs to make life easier for him and when surgery is suggested, we accept that it must happen and somehow we will find the time and money to manage.

Thankfully Spike has the most amazing sponsor and supporter.  Thanks to the North Pole Marathon Spike can have the operation required to repair his cruciate ligament.  There is only one surgical option available to him because of his elbow problems and it is very expensive.  It is called TPLO, if you would like to know more about the procedure please do have a look.

Without the help that the North Pole Marathon have provided, Spike would not be able to have this surgery which for him is life-saving.  Without this invaluable help Spike would not be able to continue smiling, something that we dream of continuing for the foreseeable future.

Dreams are what propel us into action and I am someone that dreams a lot.  I once had a dream that Spike and I would run together on top of the World.  Two beings with broken bodies brought together by their love of running and doing it on one of the most amazing places on this Planet.

Whatever the future holds for Spike or for me, neither of us is ready to give up running.  Spike will have his operation tomorrow and my surgery will follow in the coming weeks.

With Ian’s help and support and the support of people like you, combined with our joint determination to run I know that Spike and me will once again run together.  We may never actually run on top of the World, but in our hearts we will.

The best bit about being injured.....

Yes, I can still drink beer....

Okay, truth be known, there is no such thing as “best bits” about being injured.  There are no best bits, it sucks.

And being disabled is so much harder to manage than just being injured.  The fact that I cannot presently run is the least of my worries.  At the moment I cannot lead a “normal” life.  I cannot do the things that I previously took for granted and that is pretty hard to accept.

I used to run up and down stairs; walk from room to room without hesitation; jump in the car and drive to the shops; exercise the dogs; walk around people with anonymity; be able to wear whatever I wanted…. The list goes on, but I guess you get my drift.

At the moment I hobble around in a CAM walking boot with crutches or a walking stick to help me along the way.  It is very noticeable that I am “not normal” and it has amazed me how this condition affects those around me.  Some people go out of their way to help me while others appear to regard me as an inconvenience that may get in their way and ruthlessly cut me up.  And then there are those that are just downright rude, obnoxious and treat me like I have the Ebola Virus….

I found myself in the middle of a shop today close to tears as a result of the frustration that I am feeling and the rudeness of several members of the public.  I wanted to stand there and scream out that I was still ME.  But it would have fallen on deaf ears and they would have possibly questioned my sanity and whether I perhaps needed some help…..

I am still "ME|", I promise!!!

And then I suddenly thought of all the people out there that struggle to cope with injury or ailment within their minds.  My situation is very visual as I have a huge “moon boot” type thing on my lower leg and crutches to lean upon.  There are others that silently suffer while others around them struggle to know what to do.  Should they be sympathetic; tough; or indifferent?  How does one manage a situation when they see a loved one suffering from an illness hidden deep inside?

There are no miracle cures to injury or illness, whether it is in the mind or in the body.  The recovery process is long and it is slow, but it is not without reward.  The light at the end of the tunnel can be a very bright light, but boy is there a deep darkness to wade through before one reaches that light!

A very special walking stick

The majority of people in this world are wonderful examples of humanity.  Sympathetic and helpful while accepting of those that are in a vulnerable position and need some help.

And now for the best bit….

Minutes after I nearly broke down in tears today I met a very old man walking with a stick that had the head of a Labrador dog engraved on the top of it.  As our eyes met, he smiled at me with my crutches and “moon boot” and told me that not so long ago he had two sticks and now he only needed one.  No matter how bad it appears to be, there is always hope.  Hope and a belief that the future is very bright indeed J

Broken dreams.. or just temporal displacement?

Just a flesh wound... Let's go running!!

When I was 13 years old I sustained an injury that ultimately would help me to live dreams beyond my wildest aspirations and also live nightmares beyond my wildest fears….

As a result of the injury I learned how to manage extreme pain.  I also taught myself to never give up and when it hurts dig deeper.  Conventional advice is that when you feel pain, stop.  If I stopped every time I felt pain then I would never leave my bed.  I would just lie there and feel sorry for myself.  But that is not who I am.  Rightly or wrongly I do not stop when I feel pain and my body just has to manage the decision that my mind has made. 

This strategy has worked well for me for most of my life.  Without it I would not have achieved all that I have, both professionally and personally.  I would never have run ultras, represented Great Britain at World Championship events and I certainly would have never run a mile in 4 minutes and 13 seconds.

But sometimes I get it wrong.

After almost a lifetime of managing the pain and weakness in my left ankle, my right foot started objecting with a vengeance just over one year ago.  I was referred to a brilliant consultant who wanted to help me alleviate the “new” pain by fitting nuts and bolts in my right foot.  He wanted to help the foot that had coped with the strain of compensating for a poorly left ankle across thousands of miles.  I considered the options, the prognosis and the consequences of undergoing the surgery.

The best we got, so far...

While this was going on I commenced my sub 4 minute mile quest in earnest.  Knowing that Spike was running out of time I became focussed on achieving the seemingly impossible while he could be a part of the team.  Regularly running sub 4:20s on an undulating and semi technical course we were very close and the next step was to find a fast course and “go for it”.  Then I sustained a relatively minor injury to my left knee that changed my bio mechanics and affected my running style.  As I tried to adapt to my new running style the pain in my “good” foot increased and I tried to ignore it and run through the pain.

And then nearly four weeks ago the pain suddenly intensified and I found myself unable to fully weight bear.  Running ground to a halt and walking became a strange hobbling gait trying to avoid any pressure on my big toe.  I contacted the doctor and he confidently prescribed drugs to allow me to “continue a normal life”.  I do not like taking drugs, but was so desperate to ease the pain that I agreed and to my delight, they did indeed help make the pain more manageable and limping became easier.   But there were a few consequences of taking the drugs and I chose to stop taking them.  I also did not feel comfortable trying to ignore the fact that something “bad” was clearly happening in my foot.  Instead I opted for a combination of crutches and heavy limping to try and maintain a “normal” life.  

Yes, beer does work better than prescription drugs

I was given a CAM Walker Boot by a good friend and suddenly I could sort of walk again!  In my world it was Heaven.

The pain eased a little, but then quite literally overnight the location of the pain changed.  I woke up at 2 am to visit the bathroom one morning and as I stepped out of bed the pain intensified, this time on the top of my foot near the ankle joint.

I contacted the Doctor again and he arranged to see me.  His diagnosis was overcompensation injury caused by limping.  A change in prescription drugs and he would see me in a month’s time…. 

       

But the pain was still there and two weeks ago it suddenly intensified furthermore.  I contacted the doctor and he told me to persevere with the drugs and if it did not improve in a week he would arrange an x-ray.

2 days later and unable to manage the pain any longer, I called the Doctor again and he agreed to refer me for an x-ray at A&E in order to rule out a fracture.

Sadly the second part did not happen.  Two fractures were confirmed on the x-ray: one in the big toe joint and one in the shaft of the second metatarsal, near to the top.

Crutches & boots, my new World for now..

The Hospital Doctor wanted to put all of my lower leg in cast, I was almost tempted to agree to a pretty red and black one, but then I remembered the consequences of wearing a cast for a long time…..

Ian helped me convince the Doctor at the Hospital that I could wear my CAM Walking Boot and crutches instead of a permanent cast.  We produced a good team effort argument and she agreed to our proposal and signed me over to the care of the Orthopaedic Consultant that knows me and wants to help.

Any why was I so desperate to have a removable cast?  In the past three weeks I have discovered the wonderful delights of aqua jogging and water therapy for pain relief.  Spike inspired me to give it a go and it works.  It helps with pain management and I can also exert myself without causing damage to any part of my body.  OK not strictly true as I do forget to hold my breath every now and again and it hurts my nose when a wave of water goes up it!

I will not lie or pretend that my current situation is easy to cope with.  I cannot walk without fear; drive; work normally; exercise the dogs or even go to the bathroom without having to plan for it.  Do I crawl, limp or strap on my boot?  Everything has to be managed differently and it is extremely frustrating.  Ian is working so hard to help and it is difficult for me to accept this as he already has way too much to manage, but I guess that is why team work is so important.  Without his help my World would be a very dark place.  The dogs have also been amazing.  They know something is wrong and two of them have become extremely protective over me.  After thousands of miles of running together they both know me very well and it is comforting to see how they respond when I am suddenly incapacitated and struggle to give them their basic needs.   

I do not know what the future holds for me from a running perspective.  I have always known that I was on borrowed time when I learned of the extent of the damage within my ankle and I have certainly already borrowed more than was due to me!!  This latest setback may be impossible to overcome in the way that I want to.  But whatever the future holds I make one promise to myself.  I will never give up on my dreams, well not the important ones anyway.

(Photos and motivation with grateful thanks to Ian J Berry)

Spike: The Real Life Weeble...

Its official, Spike is a real life Weeble. ….

He wobbles but he never falls over he just bounces back with a smile and makes the most of life.

A couple of weeks ago we feared for Spike’s future as his condition worsened and we made the decision to give him regular pain medication.  He responded well to the experimental doses, proving that he needs our help to keep him happy.  While this makes me sad as I consider the implications of long term drug use on such a young dog, we made a vow to give this boy a happy forever after and we will remain true to that promise.

C'mon Krofti, I have found a really cool path..

We have continued to allow him to run when he wants to, which to be honest is most days!  Not long distances, just enough to keep him happy and make him feel like a husky.

In the past 6 months all attention has been on his elbows.  The lameness and severe stiffening upon rising has been very noticeable in his forelegs and the inability to bend them normally quite obvious.  We have been so aware of his elbow dysplasia that we almost forgot about the fact that he also has hip dysplasia.

This week while walking with him, he suddenly refused to weight bear on his left hind.  Clearly in pain he tried to carry that leg for the duration of the walk.  I started panicking as I suddenly remember the x-rays of his hips, taken long before we knew of his elbow problem.  If he was suddenly down to only having one leg that worked then the future for Spike was bleak.  The “Spike Smile” would not be around for much longer.

As I watched him struggle with his hind leg, I remembered the day I first realised he had a problem with his front legs.  I remember the precise place where it happened and the fear I felt then.

A very relaxed Spike having acupuncture

But Spike is like no other that I have ever known.  As I panicked he just did what he does best, just gets on with making the most out of life.

One thing I should mention is that Spike has the best vet ever looking after him, a vet that I have the utmost respect for and trust implicitly.  She trusts us to make the best ethical decisions for him while helping us understand his physical condition and helping him in every medical way possible.  She also performs acupuncture on him and his best friend Krofti.  Although Spike tries to pull out the little needles, I know he always feels better after a session, as does Krofti (our 14 year old Siberian Husky).  Clearly it is helping them both and I am very grateful.  It has taken me a lifetime to find a vet that I feel this way about and I have met many in my lifetime of sharing my life with animals from hamsters and huskies to horses and hedgehogs!

After the hip scare I did not allow Spike to run for a couple of days and he started looking depressed.  He had an acupuncture session and full physical check without any negative repercussions.

So I decided to let him run again with Kroi.  When Kroi and Spike run together you can guarantee that it will be fast and furious……

And it was. 

Waiting patiently for the next run...

Kroi set the pace and Spike happily followed.  I huffed and puffed and tried to keep up, which is not very easy when your training partners are keen to run sub4 minute mile pace and you are worried about personal injury!  Following my recent injury I have lost my confidence and pain is currently restricting my ability.  Clearly Spike is not concerned about either of those points!!

So while Spike is a Weeble that wobbled but did not fall, I am a defective Weeble that is temporarily on the floor….

(Photos thanks to Ian J Berry)

Chasing dreams with Spike...

Dear Spike,

Did you know that there is a beer that has been created with someone like you in mind?  I found this beer the other day and the description on the label of this bottle of beer had a very profound effect on me.  I stood reading the label thinking of you and the tears rolled down my face.

For as long as I can remember, I have always had an exceptional bond with every animal I have ever lived or worked with.  Rabbits, ducks, chickens, ponies and Siberian Huskies I have always had a very deep connection built on trust, understanding and respect of how that being lives, what it loves what it hates.  Knowing what motivates them has allowed me to do things with them that have taken me beyond my wildest dreams.

I believed that I could not connect with you because I did not understand you.  That you live in a world far removed from mine and while our life together in the husky and human family is harmonious, no special bond exists. 

I recently started fearing that by trying to include you in one of my extreme dreams I was trying to turn you into something that you are not.  Ask you to do something that perhaps you were not capable of.  And so, induced by fear of your ability and my ability, I stopped trying.  I started believing the worst and that both our physical impairments were declining such that some dreams would never be…..

I wondered around for a few days with my mind in a dark place.  I felt guilt about what I was asking you to do and felt sadness for myself as I acknowledged the situation regarding my ankle.  The mind demons came out to play and I let them chase away the little angels of my mind.

I tried to rationalize and not give up completely, perhaps there was still hope.

As long as my mind could cope with my own pain, I could still train towards my dream but without you in the dream team. Giving up on dreams is always very hard, and while I tried to change the dream and pursue it without you, the inspiration to do so lessened, my heart felt heavy and my wings dampened.

       

As I continued training I became aware of a change in you.  Your eyes lost their sparkle and your enthusiasm each day dropped, you struggled to eat and no longer looked like you were enjoying life.  You still ran, but not with the same energy or determination.  You interacted less with the other members of the dream team and your attention seeking behavior became worse.  I did not see that at the time, I just heard yappy barking that continued until I got cross and then you continued some more.  But the reality was that you were desperate for my attention and when you barked and I responded you dashed off with a smile on your face.  The back chatting was just the same, fighting for my attention in the way you know best.    

We decided that your condition must be deteriorating and that daily pain medication was now the next step.  Your almost instant response to the first dose of medicine was completely unexpected and the resultant destruction of several lengths of hosepipe and numerous manic dashes around the house had us believe that the pain relief was working and we had a solution.

We continued for several days and it was clear that you had more energy, but still your eyes were not sparkling.  We still ran little easy runs together, but something was definitely still missing.

And that is when I found myself in the beer aisle of Waitrose…

 

As I read the words on the bottle of beer and thought of you, a crescendo of activity occurred deep inside my mind and body.  I don’t need to understand your behavior; I just need to accept that you do what you do because you want to.  You led a very different life before we met; a life of pain and suffering and close to death when you were rescued.  Perhaps sometimes you do things just because you are happy to be alive.  You clearly love being around people and love doing things that are fun.  And what if I had got it wrong and I was contributing to your sadness by giving up on you and not allowing you to be part of the dream team?  What if you also have dreams….. 

If you did not want to run, then you would not.  The pain in my ankle is probably comparable with the pain that you feel in your elbows and yet I have no plans to stop running any time soon.  To deprive me of running would deprive me of access to my innermost soul.

I hugged the beer bottle as I carried it to the car, a very special beer that was inspiring me to think deeply about you and about me…

As I drove home, I started thinking about the reason why our relationship is so different from the relationship that I have with the other huskies.  I have known them since they were born.  I have watched them grow from suckling puppies into adult dogs, taught them right from wrong and shared my world with them.  We have run thousands of miles together and laughed and cried together.  We have shared some awful experiences and we have shared some glorious experiences.  They have never been short of food or love, and from the day they arrive on the planet they were destined to spend the rest of their lives with me.  We will never know all that you endured before you were rescued and when you arrived here the plan was always to make you better and then send you onwards to another home for the rest of your life.

But fate threw you a cruel blow.  As the extent of your disabilities became clear, we knew that you would ultimately spend the rest of your life with us.  I did not realize how much this decision would impact our lives and I am ashamed to say that sometimes we have struggled and sometimes I feel as if you are a visiting dog and not one of the pack.  I do not trust you as I trust the others, but it is not your fault that this fog hangs over your head.  One day I will tell you the story about a very special little dog. He and I started writing a magical fairytale, but sadly it never reached the “happy ever after” ending that I dreamt of.  However the storybook has remained open ever since and his legacy is what brought you into our lives.

As I drove home I made a vow to return to the story book and bring this fairytale to an end with the most beautiful and happy ever after….    

 

The next morning I allowed you to run with Kroi and your happiness said it all.  You were tired from the sheer efforts of the run but you looked happy and since then when you have run with Kez or with Kroi you have shouted with excitement before the start and smiled every step that you have run.  I will ignore the naughty parts about trying to shoulder charge Kez.  You were not blessed with a working ethic, running is purely about having fun for you and that is ok.  We don’t need to run ultras together, we can just have fun! 

I don’t need to understand, I just need to accept you for and be inspired by your outlook on life.  The simple things in life give you pleasure: a fluttering butterfly; a leaf blowing in the wind or a splash of water.  We sprint for no reason that I can understand and we stop for no reason that I understand, but you do.  You sometimes appear to chase nothingness, motivated by some internal force that only you are aware of.

This week I was reminded just how motivated you are when it comes to racing bikes, trains and other mechanical inventions, probably more so than a deer or a rabbit!  The speed you took off at when the stranger on a bike appeared on the bridle way in front of us was nothing short of spectacular.  I did not try to stop you, just tried to keep up and try to reduce the tension on the line between your harness and mine.  As we neared the river I was sure that you would stop as I believed that water was your first love.  You did not stop, but flew past both fords at breakneck speed.  I smiled a lot on that run as you were clearly having great fun and I was very much not in control of that situation!   

This week you ran again in the dream team, for a full mile.  Not only was it your fastest ever mile, it was also mine.  Together we achieved something that neither of us had ever done before and so very close to the dream Sub 4 minute mile. 

Thank you Spike, you have inspired me to believe again.  With the help of our friends you and I can together write the most beautiful fairytale that will leave a lasting legacy for others to follow.

Sandra xx

The trouble with Spike and I....

Running with the team

I love to run and Spike loves to run and if life was straightforward then this would never be a problem and we would run together forever….

Sadly life is not that straightforward and as a result of certain events in our past lives, both of us have some chronic issues that cause us significant pain and psychological problems on a daily basis.  But please do read on because this is a happy story….

In the early days of life with us

However, before we start all the happy stuff, I would like to make a confession.  I have not always been Spike’s biggest fan and have found him a very difficult dog to work with.  When we agreed to adopt him I made a commitment that I am determined to fulfil.  Life with Spike is fun but it is also very stressful.  He has psychological issues that I struggle to manage as I don’t understand them.  I don’t know what drives him and it is very hard to know if the decision that I make for him is the best one.  With every other dog that I have lived with I have never had to make such decisions, they make them for me and I just do as they ask.  When we are out running and they suddenly run by my side or turn their head to me I know they are not happy and I do what must be done.  I don’t have this relationship with Spike and have to guess when enough is enough.  When we run together he sets the pace I just follow along…  I don’t understand why he chases his tail and attacks sweeping brushes.  I don’t know why he shouts and screeches so much or why he loves strangers so much, but perhaps the reality is that I don’t need to understand, I just need to accept that he does.

Our first official sub 5 minute mile in Poole

It is no secret that I have had a dream to run a Sub 4 minute mile for a very long time.  Siberian Husky assisted mile I must add as the current word record for a female to run a mile is 4 minutes and 12 seconds! 

I would love to run 3:59 with Spike for a great number of reasons, but I genuinely do not know if he is capable of sustaining that speed for a full mile and recently I completely gave up on the dream where he was part of the team.  Although I had been training with him, I decided to drop him from the team and concentrate on running with the two brother huskies instead.  The result was that I got faster and the bond between the two brother huskies and I deepened.  When running at the speeds we have been training at the relationship between human and dog(s) gets stronger with each run.  Frequently during those training sessions I am running well under sub 4 minute mile pace, attached to two dogs capable of pulling 6 times their own weigh with ease.  I weigh just over 50kg and they both weigh around 25kg, you do not need to be a mathematician to work out what that means….

Basically I am relying on trust when I run at speed with them.  I need to know that together we can react as a team to any situation thrown at us – whether it is a rabbit in danger of losing its life, an off lead dog, hole in ground etc.  Trust is something that Spike and I together have yet to master.

A happy Spike

So opting for the easy option I chose to progress my Sub 4 minute mile training with Kez and Kroi.  The result was that my times got quicker, but Spike started becoming depressed.  Although he was still running most days he was no longer part of the main team and his behaviour changed.  For a while we just assumed that it was a sign that his condition was worsening and his running days were almost over.  In January we were forewarned that his life expectancy would be 6-9 months and 4 months later it was sort of expected.

I guess Spike refuses to accept this diagnosis, a bit like me and my ankle situation…..

As I said earlier, we made a commitment when we agreed to adopt him.  We would give him the best life possible and keep him happy for as long as possible.  He was clearly not happy and was getting really upset when I went off running with the others.  So we decided to give him another chance. 

The plan was simple, I would run him with Kroi on a one mile route and if he could keep up without showing any signs of distress then we would bring him back into the “Dream Team”….

And so at 4:15 am one day this week we dragged ourselves out of bed and headed over to the trail that we have been practising on lately.  Ian set off down the trail with Kez and I waited with Spike and Kroi.  After 2 minutes I said “let’s go” and off they went.  First quarter of a mile is uphill, but we covered it in 1 minute and 1 second.  Then a further ascent and two blind 90 degree turns to cope with before the final 1/3 of a mile which includes a gentle decline.  The two turns slowed us down dramatically, but as we exited the second I could see Ian and Kez and knew that we were going to catch them before the one mile point.  I then had to make the decision as to try and overtake which would slow us down considerably or just stop when we reached them.

I opted for the overtake manoeuvre.... placing all my trust in Kroi to take us safely past and that Spike would happily follow.
As Kroi ran alongside his brother he looked over to him, made eye contact and started slowing down.  I took a very deep breath and told Kroi to “go on”, and he did.  He flew past Kez taking Spike and me with him.   I summoned all my physical strength and tried desperately to keep up and Spike ignored Kez and tried to obey me and Kroi.

With the Huskies Running team

It worked.  Our last ¼ mile was four minute mile pace precisely.  Our overall time was 4:21 but to finish at the pace we did I truly believe that a flat and straight course will easily help us lose us 10 seconds, but can it help with the rest?  I do not know the answer but I am willing to give it a go, with Spike…

And since this run Spike has started smiling again.  He is clearly not yet ready to give up running with his friends and I still believe I can live the dream J

Spike: The Special Husky

Spike the Special Husky

One year on, our “last ever foster Husky” has become an integral part of the Huskies Running team and has attracted a lot of fame thanks to his personality and determination to live life to the full.  He has severe physical problem, development problems and several other health issues that we keep on finding.  He feels pain every day of his life and yet he remains a happy a delightful little chap with a personality as big as his heart.

Week one

I don’t think I will ever forget the day I met Spike.  I expected a bald and very underweight, but cute blue eyed baby husky of about 3 months.  What actually arrived on our doorstep was a dog that looked a little bit like a husky crossed with a gremlin.  He had comically oversized ears that flapped when he moved and a strange shaped head disproportional in size to his very frail body.  Sparse fur covered his body and his tail looked more fitting for a rat than a husky.  He had huge paws and very weak hind legs that wobbled as he tried to walk.

But the one thing that I remember most of that first meeting was Spike’s smile.  Standing in front of me was a little dog badly treated and abandoned by humans, close to death when he was found and with absolutely no reason to trust or be happy to see a strange person peering at him through suspicious eyes.  He smiled back at me as I stood there trying to absorb the detail of his condition.   He smiled at Ian and he smiled at some people that happened to be walking past when he was led from the van that had brought him to our house.

With his Husky family

Spike has now been with us for nearly a year, he has grown into a beautiful swan and his smile remains.  He loves people and loves life, even when he struggles with pain he remains determined to enjoy life to the full.  The simple things in life give him great happiness and each and every day I learn something new about him and his attitude to life 

Our plan had been to foster him on behalf of SHCGB Welfare and when he was fit and healthy he would be adopted by a loving family.  “Just one more foster” had been my plea to Ian, “I promise it will only be for a few months…..”

Having fun

For those that do not know his story, we achieved the original objective and helped Spike grow a glorious husky fur coat and gain enough weight to achieve the honour of “heaviest dog in the household”.  We even found a family that wanted to adopt him.

But sadly my promise to Ian was broken and will remain broken forever and a day.  Spike will never leave us and will stay here until he breathes his last breath.  We have now adopted him and he lives permanently with us and our little pack of Siberian Huskies.  They all accepted him from day one and have taught him how to be a husky.  We have tried to teach him about life outside of a husky pack, but I think the reality is that he is teaching us more about what really is the best approach to life….

Spike is not a “normal” Husky.  The first 6 month of Spike’s life caused so much damage to his body that he will never be allowed to live the life a Husky should.  Spike has hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia and a deformed jaw and those are only the conditions that we have been able to accurately diagnose.  At times he struggles to walk or even get up from a sleeping position.  He should lead a sedentary and lazy life to reflect his condition.  And he has every right to be a grumpy boy with a negative attitude towards the human race and the problems that they have caused him.

But Spike is a dog.  He does not think like a human and he bears no grudges to anyone or anything.  He refuses to accept that he should not run or jump or bounce around.  It does not matter if it hurts him because he loves doing it and no one is ever going to convince him otherwise.  We have tried to restrict what he does, but he ignores us and will perform spectacular “walls of death” manoeuvres in the living room if we dare to tell him to take it easy…

Spike has taught me many things in the past year.  I now smile when I see fluttering leaves blowing in the wind as I think of Spike spending hours pouncing on them.  When I am out running and a train comes alongside I speed up, thinking of Spike and his fascination of chasing trains.  I sometimes splash in the puddles because I can and you should see what happens what a person on a bicycle dares to try and overtake me during a run….

But the greatest thing that Spike is trying to teach me is patience.  Patience is not a virtue that I have been blessed with.  I understand the importance of it, but just choose to ignore it in a world where time is precious to me.  Having lived with Siberian Huskies for nearly twenty years and run thousands upon thousands of miles with them I have had the honour of entering their world and understanding how they view the world around them.  I have studied them for hours, watched how they assess situations, solve problems and interact within a pack.  I understand what motivates them, what drives them to perform certain behaviours and most importantly I trust them.  They can understand my body language instantly, sometimes without even looking at me!  Not sure how that works, I can only assume that there is a slight change in my tone of voice that they pick up on. 

If our running route includes a steep or potentially dangerous terrain, the two brother Sibes (Kez & Kroi) will instantly come and run by my side until we are back on safe terrain. They will then shoot forward and resume normal position of running 6- 8 feet in front of me – on our leisurely long runs I run the dogs on collar and long lead, which allows us all to run freely while retaining control and not endangering the local wildlife.

Spike thinks all hills should be descended at full speed and that the human should either keep up or drop his lead….

Joking aside, when we are running Spike generally does not listen to me.  He will follow and will copy the other dogs, but if I ask him to speed up or slow down he ignores me.  He runs quickly and I speed up to keep up with him, he slows down and so do I.  He controls the pace that we run at, not me!   Sometimes he will be trotting along sedately and then without warning break into a gallop for no apparent reason.  I now just try to “go with the flow” when this happens and try to imagine that we are chasing a polar bear or some other imaginary creature that Spike has suddenly “seen”.

When Spike suddenly stops running I stand and wait for him and then off we go again.  When he first did this I feared the worst and that he had pushed himself too far.  It has now happened on numerous occasions and with no apparent detriment to Spike.  I can offer no explanation for this behaviour other than that he just wants a little break to catch his breath and recover before his next little burst of explosive energy.  I have never known this of any Siberian Husky that I run with, they all naturally know how to pace themselves and will never stop, just slow down depending on temperature and terrain.

Where'd it go...??

Spike does not possess the problem solving ability of Siberian Huskies.  If something is different he does not know how to manage the situation.  Simple things that the other dogs accept and deal with cause him confusion and he requires either husky or human help.  Put his food bowl in a different location than usual and he is unsure what to do until you hand feed him or pretend to eat his dinner.  If there is an obstacle across the path (such as a twig) he stops dead.  He does not realise that he can either go over it or push past it. Instead he waits until I either show him or ask one of the other dogs to show him the best way to negotiate the obstacle.  This does mean I need to be constantly alert and try to view the world as Spike does, otherwise a dog stopping dead right in front of me could prove disastrous, especially while running at speed!  He also believes that if you see a deer in one location then you will always see a deer there.  Just wait long enough and they will appear…..  But make sure that you scream when the human tells you get a move on.  Only the other day he was so adamant that the deer he saw the previous evening were going to appear in exactly the same place that he completely missed two of them crossing directly in front of us less than 10 feet away!

I believe in dreams, it is what propels me forward when I am struggling.  I know that Spike does not have dreams in the way that I do, but I am sure that there is much that he would love to do, if only his body would allow him.  Spike will never be able to run long distances, will never run a marathon, so last Sunday Ian and I ran a marathon for him. 

I decided to run the London marathon knowing that I would struggle because of an injury that requires surgery, but I chose to run for Spike – run a marathon in his name.  It worked, we did it…. Hearing Spike’s name being shouted from the crowds drove me on when I wanted to stop.  Spike is not a quitter and neither am I and my pain is nothing compared with what he has had to cope with all his life.

Several years ago I was told that I would never run more than a mile because of a chronic ankle injury.  Several operations, nearly 100 marathons/ ultras and many dreams later I am still running and refusing to give up what I love.  Spike and I are very similar in that respect as we are both driven to do what we love.  I love to dream and I love to run, combine the two and miracles do happen.  And guess what, the long held dream to run a sub four minute mile with huskies is moving closer and closer and with Spike’s help I am determined to achieve that very special dream……