Spike Update: Giving up is not an option...

A sad Spike

The good news is that as each week passes. Spike’s hind legs are definitely getting stronger.  As the muscles around his joints develop, his ability to jump and propel himself around the house and garden improves. 

In his quest for human attention he has become very confident standing on his hind legs whilst trying to sneak a cuddle with any human that says hello to him.  I even caught him “leaping” onto our bed the other day – oh yes, he has also started challenging the house rules – as he rapidly moves into the “teenager” phase of his life….

He weighs nearly 24 kg and has a lovely luxurious coat and sparkling blue eyes.  He eats well, loves to play and tries his best to tease the big boys at least twice per day.  He is tenacious, refusing to give up on things that matter to him – to chase the last butterflies of the summer, retrieve his toy from another husky, be cuddled by a human….

Last weekend for the first time we took all four Huskies to a parkrun event.  Spike loved meeting so many people and had a great time, he even got to sample some rather yummy homemade cake in celebration of a friend running their 1000^th race – yes 1000 races, how impressive is that!  I wonder if Kez and Kroi told him about the good old days at parkrun, when we ran together as a team and had so much fun racing against the clock…    

A happy Spike

The bad news is that most days he is lame on both his front legs.  He needs to be carried to bed at night and when he falls asleep he does not stir until I arise in the morning to take the others running.  Some days are worse than others.  Today is a bad day.  He is clearly in a lot of pain and is struggling to move around the house.  Each time he rises from a laying down position his front legs refuse to move properly and he shuffles/ stumbles across the room. 

When I see him like this, I fear the worst.

But then I compare his situation with mine.  More often than not when I stand up, I limp.  The pain in my ankle and my toe causes me to move my body in an awkward way.  It soon eases and by the time I have my trainers and running clothes on, I am ready to run.  The stiffness subsides and I can move “normally”.  The pain may return momentarily when I land awkwardly on the ground or stand on a stone, but it does not stop me doing what I love, I just grit my teeth and adapt my movement accordingly.  I have learned to manage pain and it does not stop me running or enjoying a very high quality of life.  I don’t see Spike accepting a lesser life just because he sometimes feels pain.

Sometimes I need to take painkillers and sometimes Spike needs some help with pain relief, but neither of us will ever be dependent upon it….

Watching him suffer today has helped me make an important decision regarding my future.  I was in denial about proposed surgery to ease the pain in my foot and a worsening condition.  The prospect of a very long recovery and no running for 6 weeks too much to bear.

One day Spike may need surgery.  How can I make the decision to go ahead with surgical intervention for Spike it if I refuse to accept surgical help for me?

In the meantime, we will both continue to do all that we can, and if we linger each time we rise… well that just gives us more time to dream about where we are going…..

Spike update: The husky that always smiles

The smiling husky

Spike is definitely responding well to his hydrotherapy sessions and the personal training plan that I have adapted for him…

He loves his twice weekly trips to Top Dog Hydrotherapy where he gets to splash in water, eat treats and have the undivided attention of all the people in the room!  I don’t like the 4am starts that I have to endure in order for him to make his after work appointments but his happiness and improvement makes it all worthwhile.

Happy husky preparing for his hydro therapy

Sometimes I do wonder if our house is the best place for a disabled puppy to live as he undergoes intense therapy and is supposed to have restricted exercise….
Our family home is a hive of activity, with two full time working and running humans and a pack of huskies.   There is always something happening and it is rare for us to “just sit down”.  We refuse to confine Spike to cage rest as we know the impact that will have on his mental well-being.  As a result Spike can dash around to his heart’s content, get up to mischief and generally live the life of a “normal” puppy…

In action at Top Dog Hydrotherapy

And why should he not do that?  Yes he has physical impairments that restrict his ability, but he knows that.  He knows his limits and when he has reached them he stops.  He may limp for a while and he may be a little stiff every time he rises, but he is happy and that is what matters most.  This little dude wants to run and wants to have fun and I will not refuse him that.

Spike’s circumstances are not far from my own – I was once told I would be a cripple by the age of 30 and that I should not even attempt to run further than a mile….  I guess representing Great Britain twice in ultra distance events has proven that sometimes triumph can be achieved against adversity and the human body and mind is actually a lot stronger than some people believe.

Spike is not human, but in my experience huskies are much stronger and much more determined than us humans….

It has been very emotional recently for Ian and I, all in relation to Spike and whether we are doing the right thing for him.  

Brentwood Station - where the angels found Spike

Ian visited the place where Spike was rescued and we found the people responsible for saving his life.  We owe them so much gratitude for what they did when so many other people would just have walked on by and the result would be that Spike would not have lived beyond the age of six months…

Knowing what we now know has made Ian and I even more determined to ensure that Spike has the life he deserves.  A puppy abandoned by humans, neglected and close to death, he refuses to dislike humans.  He loves people and he loves life, even though he has just reason to hate and to distrust humans.

So, long story short, while Spike remains in our care he will live life as we do.  If he wants to run the wall of death around the garden he can.  When I take him out and he wants to break into a run, I am not going to stop him.

While Spike lives with us and we are responsible for making decisions for him, we will make them based on his happiness.  And to him running = happiness.  Well he is a husky after all!

And why am I confident that our approach is the best approach?
Because Spike is proving to us that what we are doing is working, he is getting better and stronger each and every week.

No doubt I will continue to question my ability to cope with the situation in the coming weeks and months.  Question whether I am doing the right thing by letting Spike live by my convictions.  But each and every time I do I will look to Spike for guidance – if he is happy then I know that what I am doing is right. 

I am a dreamer and as I work towards one of my ultimate dreams, Spike will continue to pursue his own destiny with guidance from us.  I would love for him to join me in this dream and there is a big part of me that believes he will.

No matter what the future holds I know that Kobi would be proud and my promise to him is one step closer to being fulfilled….

(Photos courtesy of tzruns and me....)

Spike update: the water baby husky

It is amazing the difference a week can make. 

Last week Spike had been really struggling and I was so concerned about him that I pulled out of my dream race for 2013.  I did not want to leave him while I went chasing a dream that could wait for another day.

This week has seen a huge improvement in his condition, so much so that I am now creating new dreams and they involve running a very special even with Spike some way in the future….

The water baby...

We have not given Spike any medication since Monday and he also had his first hydrotherapy session.  The two are not directly related, just coincidence.   

The objective of the hydrotherapy is to improve the muscle development and movement of his joints without the stresses when performed on land.  On land as Spike moves a shockwave effect is created that travels up each limb and gets absorbed by his bones, tendons and ligaments.  Whilst these stresses are necessary to maintain healthy strong bones in Spike’s case it can make his condition worse.  Suffering from hip and elbow dysplasia has caused Spike to adopt “wonky” movement in all four legs, from hobbling to a bunny hopping style of gait.

Spike went to Top Dog Hydrotherapy this week to begin the process of teaching his body to walk and run properly.  Spike loves playing water and so we were pretty confident that he would take to the aquatic treadmill very easily.  He did and over the coming weeks he will be returning there twice per week.

The water treadmil

The aquatic treadmill has glass sides, which allow assessment of all movement, gait and stride length.  The water level and speed can be adjusted very easily, allowing various flexion and extension of the joints and limbs.

Watching Spike on the treadmill was fascinating.  Feeling very unstable he initially walked very wide, but as he gained confidence he moved his legs inwards and was soon walking almost “normally” as the water level increased.  He was clearly comfortable with the situation, or perhaps it was the tasty treats on offer that helped him feel relaxed and chilled!

Speaking of treats, I had a very interesting experience with Spike and food this week.  In nearly two decades of living with huskies, I have never used food as a reward for anything that I ask the huskies to do.  They all are trained purely by voice command and their only reward is praise.  None are motivated by food and will happily leave food in preference for a run with me…  Praise as reward has worked exceptionally well for me, but I decided to try a different approach with Spike, who is a very food motivated dog….

On our solo excursions from the house I took food with me to see how Spike would respond.  Long story short, we now have a very obedient dog that will sit, stay and walk to heel, all for food….  A lot of work is still required, but it would appear that using food as training is an easy option for this dog!!

Dreams propel us into action....

We are very proud of the positive adaptation to his challenges of the past week, but Spike has many times reminded us of his fragility and the struggles that he faces on a daily basis. 

His tenacity, my dreams and the support of his growing band of fans will triumph over adversity. 

(Illustration and photographs courtesy of Melissa Simm, and tzruns)

The determined mind of a husky…..

Watching Spike cope with his disabilities is a good reminder to me about how to deal with problems and managing pain.

Today I had to cope with a very painful experience and rather than avoid it and wait for another day, (which I nearly did) I thought of Spike and confronted it head on.  Yes it did hurt and did make me cry but it actually turned out to be not quite as painful as I had feared….

Spike never complains or gets grumpy when it hurts or he struggles to do something.  He quite simply either just gets on with what he was doing or takes a split second to reassess the situation and then try a different approach.  If he falls over then he gets straight back up again, with a big husky grin on his face.  He limps and hobbles, but does not halt or postpone his mission.  He is not going to let his hurty legs get in the way of the toy that happens to be at the bottom of the garden being protected by another husky…. 

Colin Caterpillar lives at the top of the stairs

It is hard for this husky puppy to negotiate flights of stairs and when he first arrived he was unable to walk up them without human assistance.  His very weak and fragile body just did not have the strength, even though his little mind wanted to follow the humans…  His curiosity and desire to explore the upstairs world eventually drove him to develop several techniques to negotiate them.

The first technique was to “throw” his body up at full speed, the momentum hopefully being enough to get him to the top.  All the strength came from his front legs and a lot of the time this technique worked and he was able to reach the top.  On the occasions when it didn’t work he would either turn around and try again, or wait until we reached him and helped him up the last few steps.

As he gained weight and started developing muscles, Spike’s success rate using this technique was around 90%.

And as his back legs grew stronger, the momentum required was reduced and he started being able to half run and half walk, sometimes having a little rest before continuing.

In the early days of Spike living with us, watching him going down the stairs was very scary.  We would try and make sure one of us was at the bottom, ready to catch him if he stumbled.  He never did and he learned very quickly to run down stairs relatively easily.  I have noticed that he finds going down stairs and running down hills much easier than going up – rather like us humans!

Here I come....

We made a decision when we first fostered Spike to give him the same freedom and privileges that our own huskies have, which includes free roaming in the house while we are home.  The only exception being that he slept in a large cage overnight.  None of our huskies have ever needed to be crate trained, but as Spike is a foster dog and to make it easier for Spike’s future owners we decided to maintain his crate training.   He has always been exceptionally well behaved overnight taking himself off to bed when he feels sleepy usually taking a few toys with him.

In the past week we have relaxed this rule and not closed the crate door, at the same time we also decided that we are not going to “wrap him in cotton wool” – he will learn about life and coping with his disabilities with as few restraints as is practical.  Spike immediately decided that the landing at the top of the stairs was going to become his new bed.  He scrambled upstairs when we went to bed and remained in that same spot all night until 4:30 am and when I get up to go running with Kez and Kroi.

Last night before around 9pm we noticed that Spike was missing.  He was not in the living room with us, or in the garden, or even in his crate with all his favourite toys….

We soon found him.  Sound asleep upstairs on the landing.  Not only had he managed to open the bottom stair-gate that had been closed while we were out during the day, but he had managed to tip toe upstairs without us hearing a sound.  No clambering or scrambling, more like a stealth move that a panther would be proud of!

Now he has perfected this technique, I wonder if his next personal challenge will be able to lift his leg (the way boy huskies do when passing all trees, stones, lampposts etc….) without falling over…

Nose digging is not a suitable alternative to running...

Nose digging?
Apparently what one does to dissipate excess energy....

This week has been a very emotional week.  Facing the reality of Spike’s disabilities has reminded me of my own weaknesses.  The ankle that causes me to limp every day and the toe joint that suffers as a result.  But I will never complain.   I refuse to accept that pain should restrict me or stop me doing what I love.  It would appear that Spike also has this same philosophy as he never complains and is determined to run, each and every day – us humans tell him no, he defies us!

It would appear that this husky and I have a few things in common.  Quite simply we refuse to give up on what we love… 

Anyway, pain and I have a very symbiotic relationship, the more it hurts the deeper I dig and the more inspired I become…. Dreams are created and “dreams are what propel us into action”, well they certainly give me the preverbal kick up the butt anyway…..  Not sure if a husky can be inspired, and if he could I am sure his dreams would be something like “actually catching the deer that ran in front of me” or “running free without the constraints of a human”.

It was with these thoughts in my mind that I started making plans for Spike and I this week.  As we received confirmation of his “disabilities” I started creating dreams....

Spike has hip dysplaysia and probable elbow dysplaysia.  He wants to run but is not allowed to run.  I have half an ankle joint and was told to never run more than a mile.  Well I think the exact words were “you will never run a marathon, but you might manage to run a mile”.   Well, does anyone want to take a guess at how many miles I have run since then?  And while you are playing the game, do you want to guess how quickly I can run one of “these miles” – husky assisted of course!

Anyone that knows me well will know where I am going with this writing…. Spike and I are about to go on a mission and we are about to defy the odds.  Watch this space as one very determined husky and his human helper are going to prove that there are always exceptions to the rule(s).  Dreams will always find a way to win, if you truly believe and are not afraid of hard work and determination, plus a lot of help from some amazing people…

Thank you – those amazing people that are helping Spike are helping us to give him what I believe he deserves.  He wants to run, and he will run.  It is that simple.

Spike's new life: the first step

Dear All,

Firstly I would like to thank you all for taking the time to read this letter.
I hope you are all well and had a good weekend.

On Friday I asked for help for our foster puppy Spike and have been astounded with the responses.  It has rekindled my faith in humanity and I thank you all for that.  In the present day world that we live in it is not easy to ask people to hand over their hard earned money over to a cause that they have no direct control over.

From a financial perspective we were not prepared for the overwhelming responses and offers of help that we received and did not know what the best way would be for people to donate towards Spike's expenses.

We are not a registered charity and if we asked people to donate to a charity we could not guarantee that all donations would be attributed directly to Spike.

There has been an offer to pay for all Spike's immediate veterinary bills, an amazing and very generous offer indeed.

Spike is now booked in for his x-rays on Tuesday, at which point we will hopefully know exactly what we will need to do to give Spike the best future possible.  We intend to do all that it takes to give him the quality of life that he deserves, for the rest of his life.

If you are happy to donate towards these costs, we would be extremely grateful.  We have set up a PayPal account for Spike - spike@huskiesrunning.co.uk.

We have also set up a Facebook page for people to follow Spike's progress and will also share all the costs incurred in helping him, so you know exactly where your money is going.

Thank you kindly for any help and support you can offer.

I have a dream that one day Spike will run as a husky should run and one day we will run a marathon together.  I was once told I would never run further than one mile and I have much less attitude and determination than a husky....
 This will involve more than just veterinary treatment, there will be hydrotherapy sessions and special supplements and toys to keep him entertained on the days when he needs to "rest".  He is a husky and huskies do not cope well with restricted exercise.

I am a dream chaser and this is one dream that I would like to catch...

Sandra xx

The Spike update: our life with a foster puppy...

It has been a while since I spoke in detail about Spike, our latest foster husky puppy.  He has now been living with us for four months and so much has happened in that time.

Spike!!

He has grown from a scrawny, bald 6 month-old puppy weighing less than 9kg, to a very hairy teenage husky weighing nearly 22kg!

He still loves people and remains the cuddliest husky I have ever known.

He loves food, all food and eats food quicker than Usain Bolt can run 100 metres.

He loves all toys, but destroys none.

He steals apples from the orchard… and then shares them with the gravel in our backyard.

He barks – that will be the “non-husky” part of him…

He has been on holiday with us and loved it. He got to swim in the lake, play with the children and watch humans run up and down a mountain, then drink beer and eat pizza.

Playing with a toy

He has started learning how to swim.

He still chases butterflies.

He loves to play with Kroi, Kez and Krofti – oh yeah, he even has the old boy won over…

He has never stolen anything, destroyed anything or even broken a “rule”…. Well perhaps that is not entirely true as he may have “bent” a few….

However, it has not been all good news.

Chilling with the Huskies Running team on holiday

A home was chosen for Spike, a “forever” home where Spike would live for the rest of his life.  We were optimistic that it would be exactly that…..
Sadly within 2 days Spike was back with us.
The chosen home were not able to cope with a happy, bouncy husky puppy wanting to learn about the world and where he fitted in it….

Before we considered other potential homes for him we decided to return to the vet to discuss the weakness in his hind legs.  A problem we have been concerned about since the day we met him.  It has improved immensely, but remains “not right”.

Long story short, this poor little puppy has hipdysplasia.  So much now makes sense with this diagnosis.  He has developed phenomenal pulling power in his forequarters, compensation for the weak hindquarters.  He refuses to accept his “weakness” and just gets on with life and makes the most of what he has.

Me, on the other hand struggled to cope with this revelation.  I had spent so long gently exercising him and then running very slowly and very short distances with him.  Watching his strength develop as quickly as his love of running I started dreaming of us running together…. One day adding him to the two brothers’ Huskies Running team and running a very, very fast mile together….

I solve problems by running.   I achieve all that I do with huskies through running.  Together we learn about life and understand each other.  Running is what we do and we do it well.  It had never entered my mind that running could potentially be detrimental to a husky.

Spike cannot run just now.  One day in the future Spike will be able to run again, but not until he is fully grown.  With the right rehabilitation and care he has a brilliant future ahead of him as a pet dog.  He will never be able to run in the way that well-bred Siberian Huskies can, never run ultra marathons for fun or run forever and a day.  Well if you believe the experts then he never will, but did a doctor not once tell me that I was a cripple and would never run again?  “Never” is such a very long time and what do these experts really know about the ultra-running mind and body of human and husky….

With his friends, during "Spikey Ultra"

So as we came to terms with Spike’s condition we considered his future.  His exercise needs to be restricted, which outside of our house and garden is easily controllable.  However our huskies do not know a life of restricted exercise.  They can gallop around to their hearts’ content any time of day or night and our large garden has become a husky “running track” to rival the Olympic Stadium.  We cannot completely change their lives for the needs of one husky.  Spike loves to play with our youngest husky and when together they are very competitive with each other.

We decided that Spike’s best option would be to go into long term foster care with foster carers more ale to provide for his immediate physical needs.  Unless an adopter came forward that was happy to help Spike through his adolescence. 

That was just over one week ago.  Things have now changed.

Last week Spike collapsed whilst out walking and I feared the worst.  I thought that his hips were worse than we thought and that the pain was just too much for him to cope with.  However as he regained his composure and started walking I could clearly see that it was his front legs that were causing him pain.

He appeared to recover very quickly and by evening was dashing around the garden with Kroi, but it was clear to see that he was lame, just not obvious which leg was the problem.

Thoughts of elbow dysplasia sprung to mind, if he has hip dysplasia then potentially he could have it in his elbows as well.  Since day one I have dropped hints about where I think his genes come from as I do not believe he is full Siberian Husky.  My first guess was German Shepherd, for so many reasons both physical and behavioural….

Closely monitoring Spike over the past week, we have seen him gallop around, oblivious to any pain and we have seen him struggling to walk on three legs, or even walk properly on any leg for that matter.

He visited the vet this evening with Spike, a vet that I trust implicitly.  I have spent my entire life searching for such a vet.  Now is not the time to give reasons why I have reason to not respect or trust vets, but I could give you so many…..  Please just believe me when I say that I trust what he says…

He spent a very long time with Spike today.  He gave Spike a very thorough examination and there were only two points when Spike reacted, showing clearly that he was in pain.

Our vet believes that Spike has panosteitis, PANO for short.  German Shepherd owners know about it even though it is very rare.  The only way of confirming this diagnosis is by x-ray.
If it is confirmed as panosteitis then it can be treated and Spike will have the future that he deserves.

And this is where we need your help.  I know that if I contact the welfare organisation there will be no hesitation is agreeing to have Spike x-rayed.  I also know that SHCGB welfare do not have a lot of money to fund every request that comes their way….

So now I am going to be very blunt.  We want to help Spike in every way possible and we need financial funding in order to do this.  Love will only help him so much…

Ian and I do not ask for much from others, but we are about to, for Spike.