| Extended: | Annabelle came to us via a rescue centre. She was rescued by a lady who had found her living in very poor conditions, she had taken her in with good intentions but sadly couldn’t cope with Annabelle’s serious health problems. Annabelle was then handed over to a local rescue centre that we help foster for. She was small and frail and in such poor condition no one could determine how old she was. Her blackened skin was peeling of in strips, she had very bent legs, a restricting windpipe which was giving her breathing problems, a heart condition and the most enormous swollen tummy. Her skin quickly responded to treatment and she was prescribed various medications for the other conditions as it was felt that any form of operation was too risky due to the restriction with her windpipe. Despite all these problems she was a happy little dog, still full of mischief even though she was only expected to live a couple of months. It was decided that she should spend whatever time she had left in the comfort of foster care along with our resident dog Toby. Gradually her tummy went down and with gentle walks her legs started to become stronger and straighten. With fortnightly, then monthly visits to the vets, which she enjoyed as she received loads of attention, her will and determination surprised us all as after a few months she could run round the house playing with her toys and loved burying her biscuits in the garden. Annabelle lived happily for another two years with the help of both conventional and homeopathic treatment. She was then diagnosed with inoperable nose cancer which made it difficult for her to breath through her nose when trying to sleep. She learnt to put her paw in her mouth to prop it open thus enabling her to breathe more easily and sleep peacefully. A clever and determined little girl right to the end. We could never have imagined that those couple of months would have had turned into two and a half years! |
