Latest / Under The Fur / Ned’s Rescue Story: Training, Trust and Recovery with Lindsay
Transcript
- speaker-0: Hello and welcome to another edition of Under the Fur. And I'm really happy today to have, ⁓ who was a client, but is a lovely friend of mine, Lindsay. And she's gonna come and share her story about Ned. Moved here from Zimbabwe 20 years ago and picked up this beautiful rescue dog called Ned about three years ago. And he has a really interesting story, let's say. speaker-1: Which we are gonna say speaker-0: today. so let's just jump in. Okay. When did you get him? Where did he come from? speaker-1: So we got him from a prison. speaker-0: Like you do. How do you get a dog from a prison? And what has he done to be in there? speaker-1: So he'd been trained to be a drug sniffing dog. Okay. And I had just gone through like a big fertility journey that didn't sadly work out. And I decided I was going to take some time off work. So I had resigned from my job and someone that I worked with knew of Ned and knew that he was in kennels. And would I be interested in taking him on? Cause we had decided we were going to get a dog. And we grew up with dogs. We'd always had Labradors growing up in Zimbabwe. David had also Labradors growing up in South Africa. So we went to go and see, said Dog. And he had been in kennels for quite a while. Not in prison anymore. And he hadn't quite fitted into the prison environment. So he had been trained and he did exceptionally well in his training. But I think the prison environment just didn't work for him very well. speaker-0: gonna do that. So not in prison anymore. They sucked. speaker-1: him so that he got sacked. And he had been in kennels for quite a while when we got him, when we went to go and visit him. So we weren't planning on getting him immediately. However, the kennels that he was in couldn't keep him any longer. So we saw him on the Thursday and we collected him on the Monday. And immediately we could tell he was very high energy. speaker-0: Yes. speaker-1: Very high. Yes. So our first walk with him was a bit of a disaster. We had him on a long line and he almost pulled Dave, my partner, into the river. We lived near the river and Dave is six foot four. he's a big guy. speaker-0: to be pulled over. because this center of gravity is too high. speaker-1: ⁓ so he was literally, looked and we were like, this dog needs help. So we immediately got hold of a trainer. Yeah. and we went for training and we'd had, because I wasn't, because I was giving up work, we'd had quite a gap. We would booked a whole load of holidays and, and we had had, we'd lined up people who could help look after a dog if we got a dog, but the dog that we got. wasn't conducive to the people we had lined up. So, ⁓ we actually put them in a training camp for three weeks. And I think the biggest thing out of the training camp was they trained us to handle him. we did a lot of training with him and, know, I had to learn how to literally hold him. There were times when he had pulled sort of the lead so hard that we had like. speaker-0: in the speaker-1: big cuts and he's super strong. mean, you've seen when we come into your clinic, can pull the stuff when he's excited to see something. speaker-0: What was he pulling for? that he was excited to see Star? speaker-1: He's excited, he's got a very high pay drive. Apparently he likes to praise sometimes. speaker-0: We'll get to that. speaker-1: He's got a big prayer drive and he gets hyper fixated on things. So I think if he was human, there's a potential diagnosis of ADHD. speaker-0: My son. speaker-1: So we did the training camp and the first trainer that we had got originally had also recommended the physio that you use, Lucy. Yes. And we just want to check because he was incredibly nervous of the outside world. It's like everything scared him. Yeah. And I'm not sure how long he had been left in kennels for. And for a dog, I think with quite an active brain, he's a clever dog. Yeah. speaker-0: is so clever and his, I remember one of the first things when he came to see me was he could smell a treat anywhere. the smallest treat in that room. was pinpoint could find it. speaker-1: that you've got a toy anywhere. He'll find. So he is, he requires a lot of mental stimulation. So it's not just exercise we have to do with them. We have to do mental training as well. we met Lucy. put him on a series of physio treatments and she quickly picked up that potentially what was causing a lot of his nervousness that was that he was in pain. speaker-0: His brain is very active. speaker-1: and she recommended for us to come and see you and to do PRP treatment. Yes. ⁓ which really helped him. Yeah. Like it's incredible what that's done. I'm so grateful. speaker-0: I'm grateful to meet him even though he's in my naughty books currently. speaker-1: just spent a lot of time with you in the last year and a half. speaker-0: Yeah. And I've seen a change in him. I remember when he first came, he was really nervous of coming in and being touched. And then I think we realized just cause he was painful. ⁓ and we did the PRP in his shoulder. You did so much physio with him and like so much work. And now he is excited to come in and I love it. Like, love that he comes in and gives me a cuddle now. Whereas he used to come in and be like, don't touch me. Stay away. over there. speaker-1: It's true. And now he goes up to like all your staff. He gets so excited. Literally when I walk in from the car park, he gets this big grin on his face. He's like, I'm going to my second home. They have treats and toys. speaker-0: Absolutely. ⁓ speaker-1: so we slowly, slowly started essentially integrating them into society. Yeah. So we slowly started taking him to restaurants just for like a short coffee, just to get him used to being in the outside world. And the one day we were sitting there and he loves kids. Like kids are his best. If you could go out to a baby or little kids, he absolutely adores them. ⁓ and we were sitting there and these two little boys came up to us and they were like. Can we say hi to your dog? We've just lost our Labrador. He's a black Labrador across Irish water spaniel. Really odd mix. I don't know if that's normal. So he has like a slight... That is so... So these two kids came up to us and the mom came across and said is it okay? And we're like, yeah, sure, no problem. And we were just telling her a bit about his story and that we were looking for another trainer and she recommended a lady called Jodi at Canine Campus, ⁓ who was really good with sort of nervous dogs. So we took her down to Canine, took him down to Canine campus and it was amazing. We got out of the car and she took one look at him and suddenly he just like started behaving. I was like, uh-oh. speaker-0: How did you do that? speaker-1: was like like mental to let me think that. He just sat next to her. And so I went for about three months and she would give me exercises to do with him. And then she would watch and I would walk around the small field with him and just consistently keep up the training. And I think it's paid off. Like three years down the line, he is a different dog to the dog that we originally got. speaker-0: amazing now like he's off the lead isn't he? Didn't he win we had that local dog show didn't he win the best sausage catcher? speaker-1: So he came second in sausage catching but won the best trick. speaker-0: That's it. Yes. Yes. I was like, definitely has a title. He has a title. Yeah. he's just, he's actually one of the best behaved dogs out there. And like behavior isn't everything. I like, I like them to be wild or whatever, but it's more about he's relaxed enough to be that way and to be obsolete and to be around other dogs. And he's way better behaved than my dog. You've seen my dog. speaker-1: is it? Yeah, that's Love you speaker-0: Yeah, I love her, but she's a wild beast. speaker-1: But it took a really long time to get him to that point. Like he used to do those walks in Hearst Park. And we would bring him along just so that he slowly got used to He used to hump everyone, which is a bit... But yeah, we just slowly, we really had to consistently build his confidence up. And it is so sweet now, because as you know, he's been in surgery a vast amount over the past year and a half. And he's got a couple of little doggy friends that come to our gate, because our gate backs onto the park. So he's got the dogs come and check up on him now and they lick each other through the fence. yeah, you would never have thought that three years ago. speaker-0: No, definitely not. And he's enjoying it now. He's enjoying the interaction. so before we get onto why he's but currently in bad books, how did it impact your life? Like I said, you love him to bits and he's like an amazing dog for you, but that sounds like a lot worse and it can be stressful. speaker-1: Yeah. So he is, he is a lot of work. He's not a dog that you can take for an hour's walk and he'll sleep for the rest of the day. There is no chance. No matter what you've done, there has been no chance. So he does. He's taken up a huge amount of time. ⁓ It's got easier now, because when we first got him, we couldn't leave him. He just wouldn't settle at home. So we had to also slowly build that up. And the more that he got used to the fact that he wasn't leaving that environment anytime soon. The more he now just goes upstairs and goes to sleep and then comes back. But it has been, yeah, it's been a long journey to get there. We had to cancel holidays. We had to do a lot of training in the beginning because my mom had a little dog called Josie and we just wanted to make sure, because we'd seen that he could react to dogs. So we did like a whole series of training with that to slowly introduce them. And that was over. period of time before they would be in the same house together. And earlier on this year, had to sadly put Josie down. She's very young, but she got lymphoma. ⁓ And I was almost like he knew that he wasn't going to see her again. Cause he like, as we went to, as he went to go say goodbye to her, he gave her like little licks and he lay next to her. And then when my mom came back, he was just like, I'm not leaving your side. We were going everywhere together. You're going to the loo? I'm coming with you. But he has had like a big impact. So. I couldn't go back to work because we didn't have anyone that could handle looking after him. So I did a training course. trained myself to become, well, I didn't train myself. I joined a training course to become a life coach. So I did a consciousness training course and started working with clients. So slowly built up, slowly I'm building up something different and yeah. And Dave said to, he's gone to site with Dave. So Dave works in construction and it's quite amazing. speaker-0: He fixed my doll for me. He's so sweet. That so nice of him. He's like, that's broken. I'm going to fix that for you. Fine. I'll take it. speaker-1: Hello. We have spent a long time. Yeah. then you had to save our dogs. So, yeah, he just had a, yeah, an exceptionally unlucky year last year, I think. Yes. So that also impacted, cause as he had started to get better and as we'd started to have more freedom, he then decided to jump into the river. Standard issue. He loves the water. He would swim for days if he could. and luckily where he jumped in, there was a broken glass bottle. So that cut, I don't know which tendon it was, it was quite a crucial take. speaker-0: Yeah, so it's part of the gastrocnemius, your calf muscle here that does a lot of work with the foot, the tendons at the bottom, he managed to cut through that. speaker-1: So that was an 18 week recovery period I think. Yes. speaker-0: So what happened was I was actually not in the clinic that day, naughty, he didn't even wait for me, but Ellie was there who is fortunately an amazing vet, but in her early days, so she's just over two years qualified now. And the bit I knew about was, I think I was at the park with my kids, me and she's like, Vanessa, I thought I was doing a stitch up and I can see tendons that have been cut. speaker-1: cheek. speaker-0: and it's Ned and I was like, ⁓ God, we need to get this back together because he's not a dog that can't have his legs working. So she's like, it's fine. I know I'm doing it. Just wanted you to hold my hand. was like, okay, perfect. Right. We did this. I was on video call with her. I don't know if you knew this. Yeah. So we're on video call and she stitched the tendons back together really well. ⁓ Thankfully, because it's quite hard. It's quite difficult. The stitches don't hold it. speaker-1: Because I think the tendon had jumped all the way. speaker-0: Yes. She had to find the ends and match them up and stitch them back together. And so that probably actually was the easy bit because then you had, I think we told you at the time, 12 weeks rehab of keeping that leg pretty immobile, know, for those to stick back together and him to be able to run again. I guess, yeah, you must know you couldn't walk him. speaker-1: couldn't walk him. wouldn't stay in like, like Lucy suggested that we build a pen for him. Yes. And he decided, ⁓ no, I'm just going to climb over the pen. And I was like, ⁓ no, don't think that's meant to happen. So we had to, barricaded all our couches. We barricaded some of our windows so he couldn't jump up and see who was walking outside. So we lived in a prison all that period of time. ⁓ and then we slowly, slowly had to. speaker-0: That's weird. speaker-1: Introduce exercise like the most exciting time for him was coming to the red station for checkups. Bandage change. There was like a little bit of a competition who could do the best bandage the fastest. You still went on that. speaker-0: Yes! speaker-1: I was like, whipped it off and did it in reception. was like, yeah, so quickly. speaker-0: ⁓ Have a gravy bone. speaker-1: So then he recovered from that and we had got him to a stage where he's running off lead again. And he ran off into some bushes, which he does. So we have to play like hide and seek with him. So you hide a ball somewhere and then he's got to go find it. Like that seems to tire him out a bit. And he was in the bush for a little bit longer. We weren't sure why at that stage. And sort of about three days later, I think I phoned you and said, he's like super lethargic. He's eating a lot of grass. There must be something wrong. And we brought him back in again. And I'll let you tell that. speaker-0: Yes. So, I can't remember which one you saw first, but, ⁓ was some x-rays done and, ⁓ we were very suspicious that he might have an obstruction because Ned is a very high energy dog. And I think he saw one of the girls on the weekend and she was like, we're not sure. Let's try some treatment and see how he is. And then I remember walking in and I think Dave was there with him. And I took one look at him and I was like, something is wrong with Ned. Like he had, he has this look on his face. I actually call it foreign body face. I've seen this before. These dogs, look at you and they're like, we've done something. We've eaten something. There's something wrong with me. And they kind of like these sad eyes looking up at you. And I think it was one of the only times he didn't get up and come and greet me. And I just said, I need him in. we need him in. yes, a few x-rays and tests later. And the thing is we didn't know he had eaten anything. You guys are so careful with him. We were like, no, he can't possibly have an obstruction. And the x-rays did not show the obstruction, which was frustrating. So we were like, do we operate? Do we not? It's a huge decision. It's a huge operation. And finally you said, we're going in. He's not right. Ned is not right. We've got to go and look. So we did operate and he had chewed up somebody's ball. I don't think it was even the ball that you had for him. ⁓ Somebody else's ball and it had fragmented and very much obstructed his intestines. So we removed them. Being Ned, wasn't a straightforward surgery. The guts were not happy at all. He came home for a couple of days, I think. speaker-1: He stayed with you a couple of days and I think, you know, that's like testament to your team because Callum stayed with him a couple of nights. He did. You had to sleep over. at the stage, I think he stayed like two or three nights. Yeah. And I think his, grandfather was at end of life as well. And he was still fitting that in. I mean, I wish I could go to a doctor where I got that sort of. speaker-0: Yeah. This is, see, this is why I love my team. They they will bring a picnic blanket and they lie next to the patient and they stay with them overnight. Cause we don't actually have overnight team facilities. So, ⁓ we're just like, can, who can say tonight? Who can, and, ⁓ Callum literally was like, my granddad is dying. I'm going to go and see him and then we're to come back and stay with Ned. Yeah. speaker-1: And then when he did that, some of your other team said they would stay for a little bit and then someone else went off to get extra antibiotics for him. Yes. Like it was all out of working hours. Yeah. ⁓ speaker-0: Yeah, they're amazing team. They really, really are in it for the pets. You know, you can see it. And then unfortunately it wasn't straightforward for Ned. And ⁓ again, I came in to check him and I was like, ⁓ he's not right. So I remember calling you and I was like, Lindsay, I need to go back in. I'm not happy. I think he might have peritonitis. So we did go back in and he did have peritonitis and he had his abdomen washed out. ⁓ his bloods weren't right and I said he needs to stay in. And I don't remember how I worded it to you, but I was like, would you like to come and spend some time with him? speaker-1: see him for a bit it might be a good idea. Yes. I was like ⁓ he is really good. speaker-0: He's really sick and I probably should have in the name of clarity, but I didn't share the odds of survival of peritonitis with you, but it was very much 50 50 for him. And I remember me and Callum were there. I don't even know what time of day it was. It was like a Sunday or whatever. So he had had his abdomen washed out. We had had him in intensive care on drips and IV antibiotics and everything. speaker-1: on a Sunday night. speaker-0: ⁓ And I was just like, I'm still not quite happy with him, Callum, let's test him. We took a little bit of fluid and I think our eyes were getting blurry at this point. We stared at the microscope so long, I had to phone a friend because I said, I realized I was too close to him, right? So I was like, I think I love him too much. I can't make this decision. So then Callum calls a friend. I call a friend. was like, just look at these slides. Do we open or not? And then we ended up speaking to the lovely vets at the Royal Vet. college. and I was like, this is embarrassing. I'm like 18 years experienced vet and I can't make the decision on Ned. Do I open or not? Because I'm too close to him. And they said, so we talked it through and I was like, he's eating now. He looks brighter. So we said, no, we don't need to. And thank God we didn't need to go back in. then, ⁓ from there, then I remember he said again, better and better. And every time I called you, was like, is he eating? speaker-1: Is he finally... speaker-0: Is he fine? And you're like, he's fine, he's fine. then we're back and forth, back and forth. So yeah. speaker-1: think one of the nicest things you guys did for us is during that time we were able to go and sit with him for ages, bring in different food, try him on different things, take him out for walks. He's scared of the dark. And yeah, it really felt like a home from home. Like a personalized extra service, which I don't think you get everywhere. speaker-0: Bye. I'd like to, it's one of reasons I opened my own clinic. So I like that. And I want, it's like that whole, you know, whole family approach, isn't it? Everyone can help. we were getting tired because we had him in for a long time and we were working the day as well. So actually for us to be able to have you in to sit with him and to feed him and take him for a walk as well, that allows us to regenerate and do the medical side. And it's so important for him. He wants his mom and he wants his dad. doesn't like if my child went into hospital, you're damn right. I'm by the bedside. If Phoenix is in hospital, well, I'm on a camp bed next to her as well. Like it's so important for everybody to be involved and to know what's going on. speaker-1: really think it helped him to settle a bit as well, because he is fearful about not being, like he's really come to trust Dave and I. It took a while to get it to that point. I mean, when we first got him, you couldn't go anywhere near his feet, his nails, back legs, nothing. He was like petrified. Whereas now, like even this morning, I was like running my fingers down the wound that he's currently. speaker-0: Yes. Got it? Yes. Which we're gonna get to as well. speaker-1: He's just lying there with his tail wagging underneath. speaker-0: Yeah. And one of the things I liked about him, so he went through that surgery, two surgeries, we were changing IV lines on him, everything. And I can see in his eyes, he has trust now for us. So then I thought, ⁓ God, I don't want to go back to him being nervous now of being the vets and that he's gone through this, but like, absolutely not. He still loves us. I'm so happy. He still loves us. speaker-1: Sometimes when we come in and you've got the consult rooms at the bottom and then you've got the surgery at the top, you'll kind of just like go to the door where you go up the stairs to the surgery like, I know what's up there. They think something that I can go and sniff. ⁓ speaker-0: Yeah, he's really happy to come up. So how is it? ⁓ It's, it is kind of blurry for me. realized afterwards it was a stressful time for me and for Callum. And we said after it like, that was, that was hard. was like, that was hard. If we had lost him, I, that would have really like affected all of us. And then I think, how are you? are you? How are you? We're hoping like you had to go home and sleep at night without him then. speaker-1: So I think again, like you or Callum would send us a couple of texts throughout the night. So that gave us peace of mind. ⁓ And we did have full trust in you. And I think because there was no, there was so much evidence that you guys really looked at every possible option. Like there was no, ⁓ you know, he's not going to come back from this. You tried. everything you possibly could. And yeah, I had a gut feeling he would come through it because he is quite an incredible dog. These things happen to him and then he heals. You have a death wish, but you do tend to heal. He's still quite like your life. ⁓ So yeah, it was a really scary time. Like it was scary. And you kind of feel responsible also like speaker-0: Yes. Let go. speaker-1: What if I hadn't left him in the bush for so long or I should have like been watching him more intently. Had I done something wrong? And you guys never like we've been in a lot with the needs of the various little moments, but I've never felt judged when I've come in. It's like. speaker-0: I even think of that part. No, and this thing is like he's a dog. He's going to be happy kept on a lead and not allowed to explore and things. speaker-1: He does random stuff. And when he runs, like when he's fit and he can run, it's the most incredible thing in the world. He runs like galloping horses. You can literally hear him, coming through. And he loves it. And I know that he's got joint issues, so I know that he's not meant to exercise to that point. And we've kind of rationalized it as for him to have a good life. Be it that he may have a shorter life, he may not, but... I feel it's important that he enjoys it as much as... speaker-0: Absolutely. You could, you just balance it. And the thing is you're doing everything you do the physical firm. You've done the regenerative. We've given those joints everything they need to heal and to be okay. speaker-1: And they have built up more. Like that PRP was amazing for him because we did it in his hips as well. And his back legs are definitely stronger. Like you can see by the way he walks. I mean, I've learned more about dogs than I ever thought. I've been in a vet. ⁓ speaker-0: thought I would. Yeah. So he came through that surgery and then I sat him down and we had a word and I said, Ned, I never want to see you on an operating table again. And he looked me in the eyes and he's just kind of went, I have a gravy bone now? So obviously he had his gravy bone, but we had an agreement until last week, until last week when he came back in. speaker-1: Until next time, speaker-0: Not right. Not right. right. speaker-1: The good thing this time for me from the experience before, I knew far quicker that there was something wrong because he had been fairly sedate on his walk. So he still wanted to swim that day. But he'd been, he acted like a normal dog. Like, no, no, no, there's something wrong here. And I phoned Kate. speaker-0: proceeded. I'm so bored of this. speaker-1: And said, should I bring him in? At that stage he hadn't thrown up. And she's like, well, because of what happened before, bring him in. Yes. So I did. And he then vomited before I brought him in. A lot of grass. ⁓ And Ellie took a look at him and at that stage his temperature was fine. And she felt his belly and couldn't find anything. And she said, I think we need to x-ray him. So was like, okay, cool. And you were luckily in. Like we've timed it well. You are often. speaker-0: Yeah, I was there. I was around. ⁓ speaker-1: So yeah, they knew. speaker-0: And we found a bunch of bones. ⁓ gosh. Yeah. So this time as well, again, we were on the fence because he didn't have an obstructive pattern on his X-ray, but he had a bunch of bones. So I was like, right, we're going to give this a few hours and I'm going to repeat the X-ray and I'm going to see if they've moved. And then we're going to decide, obviously they hadn't moved. So I had a look with the ultrasound and I was like, they're in the stomach. They're going nowhere. He's looking worse. barely was in pain. had sad eyes. Sorry, I just called you. I don't think I said more than five words ⁓ to I need to go in and you went, I trust you do what you need to do. And I was like, okay, fine. So we opened him up and we found a whole bunch of very sharp bones just sitting in his stomach. Luckily they hadn't pierced. They were on their way to, but they hadn't. ⁓ Yeah, they were causing him pain. So we literally ⁓ were scooping them out for like 30 minutes. There was so much in there. And then we were all taking bets like what is it? Which I still think we don't know. I was like, he's gone in the bushes and he's just eaten something. But it was a lot of something. And I was like, this is the power of a Labrador. They will eat a whole carcass in like three minutes. speaker-1: He speaker-0: it'll be gone, maybe even less. And he swallowed it down and he just couldn't pass it. So he is in my bad books. I love him to bits. like, obviously I'm very glad you were fine, Ned, but you were in my bad books because you promised me that you wouldn't eat anymore stuff in the bushes. speaker-1: It's not like he doesn't get fed an exceptional diet today. speaker-0: Exactly! He's had the best life and the best food and like, I saw this at gravy bone supply for him at my clinic and he decided to eat some stinky old carcass. speaker-1: BEST Thank God we found it earlier this time. speaker-0: Yeah, this is the thing. I think we learned, didn't we? We were like straight away, he's not right. Get on the table, even though you're banned. speaker-1: Yeah. He's exceptionally strong, like he seems to a strong constitution. When you see what you took out of him, that morning he shouldn't have been time. ⁓ speaker-0: Yes. I kept the ball for you last time. No, I think we threw it in the bin. was gross. speaker-1: But he had wanted to swim, he had wanted to run, he just wasn't running with the intensity that I know that he can run. speaker-0: Yes. Yeah. This is a Labrador thing. ⁓ and it's something I've taught my younger vets. They do not show pain as you think they would. And they are the number one offenders for eating things that get stuck in their stomachs. Like any dog with a Labrador in them and, ⁓ or a golden retriever or like that, those dogs, ⁓ you'll palpate their stomachs. and they'll be in a lot of pain. And all you'll see is like a little flick of the eye or like just a lot of eyebrow going up. And that's it. They're not going to bark at you, growl at you. They're not gonna hide away. That is illitiate. They will stand there with a painful abdomen while you're pushing your fingers in, trying to feel it. And you'll just get the tiniest reaction, if anything at all. speaker-1: We're just like, how do you diagnose things like that? speaker-0: just learn it as you, that's what I've, I had to learn. I was really fortunate. had amazing vets teach me as a younger vet and they taught me these things. ⁓ and they were like, yeah, this breed won't show that those signs. So you know, ⁓ you, what you'll have is exactly what Ned chose. Not quite right. Little bit lethargic, not reaching top speeds on his run, but he'll still. Yes. Yeah. So that's it. And that's enough of a suspicion for me to do an x-ray. speaker-1: to me. Like I just, find it incredible to diagnose something that can't talk back to you. Actually, that's a bit sore there. Or yeah, maybe I did this. Like it's quite a skill. speaker-0: But I mean, we'll get it wrong sometimes. I always say to people like, I would rather us do an X-ray and maybe wrong than not X-ray and... Yeah, absolutely. So I'm like, obviously it's an annoying event because there's money involved. So you're like, you do a test and you have to charge money. And then it turns out the test was negative. like 99 % of people are like, no, that is fine. I wanted to know. And then some people would be like... speaker-1: something catastrophic happens. speaker-0: you charged me money for nothing and you're like, I got it wrong this time. I'm sorry, but. speaker-1: a lot of times you get it right. You know, had we left Ned the other day for maybe a day more, two days more, he would have had peritonitis again. I don't know if he would have come back from it this time. speaker-0: Yeah. I don't know if I would come back. Sorry to make this about me, but stressful. speaker-1: What is this? speaker-0: Honestly, Yeah. Well, how old is he now? Okay. He's about to grow out. Yeah. Okay. There's a risk age period. They stopped doing silly things at some point. speaker-1: He's fine. Let's see. Okay, Okay. Well, fingers crossed with him because he was, yeah, as two, was incredibly energetic and everyone said, yeah, he's going to slow down. He's going to slow down. And I'm like, when? ⁓ speaker-0: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I have the same with Phoenix. So she's like, what is she now? Four? Puppy like still. Completely puppy like. I love it. She's, I mean, she's a risk. She's a flight risk. I love it. She's so much energy. speaker-1: But. ⁓ And I think that is the thing. Like, yes, you go through these experiences and they are tough. And then I have moments where we'll take him down to my mom and my mom lives near the coast in Dorset and we'll let him on the beach and the joy, I mean, his tail doesn't just wag left to right. It does a full circle, like a full circle. And he'll jump in the water and he kind of surfs back on the waves. When he's fit and healthy, he lives his best life. speaker-0: Yeah, I might come with you one day and you there. you? It's incredible. speaker-1: Yeah. And we've also noticed like, because he was trained to sniff, if you throw, so we have balls that float and we'll throw them in the water because we try and limit ball throwing on land. Yes. Just because of his joints. he'll like fully fly through the air, belly flop, full pelt. And we once threw in a ball that didn't float. And we then discovered that this dog can actually hold its breath. speaker-0: like full. speaker-1: dive under the water and would not come out until he had found the ball. So he's literally swimming in a circle, holding his breath, submerging himself to the point that Dave was standing next to me and he was like, I don't have a costume on, I'm just going in. So he did, he had this whole crowd of people watching. I was like, ⁓ my God, this stuff. And we went in to get him because he was so fixated on the ball that it sunk. And I didn't know that he could hold, I didn't know dogs could hold their breath and like submerge themselves. Like I think it's so weird. It's weird, but he's done it. And if someone. speaker-0: I didn't superhero dog. think Ned could be one. speaker-1: And he is like incredibly strong. We took him camping and it was our first experience of camping with him. He was by this stage so much better. His confidence was there, blah, blah, blah. And we had him on a lead because the campsite required him to be on a lead and I needed to go to the facilities. So we were with another South African couple, really also tall South African guy. And he said, don't worry, I'll hold him. So I said, he is really strong. And people kind of look at you as if to say, yeah, whatever. ⁓ I'm a big tall man. I was like, okay, thank you very much. And I started walking to the toilets and I just heard this commotion behind me and Ned had pulled him off his chair through the camping table and bless him. He did not let go, but he just carried him on and I was like, you just, and he came and he sat with me and he was perfectly fine. speaker-0: Yeah. You You want to. Yeah. speaker-1: You just can't and mum. Okay, come on, we'll go together. Just come with me. But people don't, I don't know how he gets that strength. Like it's not, it seems like an, an incredible amount of strength. the size of the beast that he is. Yeah. Cause he looks quite lean a lot of the time. You wouldn't expect him to be as strong as he is. Yeah. he is. Yeah. speaker-0: to the toilet. dog Yeah. Especially I think when he's quite focused, he's like, I'm going to mum. speaker-1: It's going to stop me. Not a table, not a human, not a card. Just going to go straight through. Which he did also after... Was it the tendon operation or the first stomach operation? I can't remember which one, but he had just been allowed to run again and Dave had thrown the ball for him and he slightly misjudged the angle and there was a metal park bench, like a big one that hasn't moved. It's been there. speaker-0: Going to mom speaker-1: on all of his walks and he just ran straight into the bench. ⁓ yes. And we had to bring him back in again because I was like, ⁓ my God, he's going to have like ripped out all his internal stitches like, ⁓ But he was OK. He just had that weird lump on his leg. That was. Yeah, he's had that. Yeah. And then he's also got a problem with his nails. So his nails. speaker-0: But yeah. He was talking to me on his side. ⁓ yeah, that's least of the problems. He needs regular manicures. speaker-1: Every time we come in for an operation, we're please can you cut his nails? But he is strong and fit and he's recovered so well from this operation so far. Like he thinks he can do anything now. So we really have been to. I know he is so cute. speaker-0: Yeah. I to put some pictures of him up on this. Maybe I'll make a Ned reel and I'll put it on my Instagram so everyone can go on the Instagram and have a look at the Ned reel. This is when he did this. This is when he did this. This is when he goes to the beach. speaker-1: We like put the He's an incredible dog. And he also gets into people's hearts somehow. There's something about him that just... He's got like a couple of places where we walk, because as I said, we live on a park and he knows who's going to give him treats. So he'll literally drag me to their gate and he'll sit there and wake up. I'm here now. I don't care if you've got anything else going on, I've come for my treats. And people really love him. speaker-0: Okay speaker-1: And I think it's, know, testament to Dave and I, because we, don't know how many people would have gone through the journey that we went through with them. speaker-0: Yeah, this is why I wanted you to come on actually, like apart from I love his medical stories, I'm forgiving him for this last one. But the main thing was like you change your life for him. And I think your life is very much revolves around. But at the same time, it sounds like he gave him to you at the right time and maybe he saved you and you saved him. speaker-1: Yeah, we. I so, like, if I look at it from a point of view that he gave me a sense of purpose. He's also shown me what love and kindness and compassion can do. Because the more we've loved him, the more that he has given back. And the more that he's not tried harder not to eat things in the bushes, but he has tried harder with like his few neuroses that he has. You can really see like consciously stops and goes, speaker-0: Yes. speaker-1: I don't want anything to happen. So, so he's given us that. He's also introduced us to a whole other bunch of people. Like your team, like if I see them walking in Hurst Park or Lucy being around. And even though he's probably humped most of them. Everyone comes up to him. So he has brought, he's brought us a lot of joy. And now when Josie passed away. speaker-0: Mistake. speaker-1: Like when my mom sees him, he goes so wiggly. he's still puppy-like in many ways. It's like he kind of grew up too fast. And now he's living some of his puppy fun time again. And he'll bring every toy he can find. Like toys are a big thing for him. So he has bought a lot. But we've really had to, like I've had to learn now where my self-care comes into it as well. Yeah. Because you can give and give and give. Yes. And you do have people saying, you know, it's not a child, It is a dog, but it's still a soul. And it's still someone that deserves to have a good life. But I've had to really slowly start. So now a separation anxiety is less. I've got to really make sure that I leave for a few hours. That I build up other things to do. And now, because we can take him away with us when he's not injured. Yeah. speaker-0: It's a... speaker-1: But now that we can do those 10 speaker-0: 14 days. speaker-1: He's a lot off the lead, I hope. But now we can start doing things like that and have some more adventures with him and do those sort of things. So we've had to find the balance, but it's a journey. I would definitely say like getting a rescue dog is a journey if you get one that has a few issues. But we've learned more. speaker-0: Patients as well. then the benefits afterwards. speaker-1: They do. And he is. He really loves us. And he is. He's quite funny sometimes. speaker-0: Honestly, thank you so much for coming on today and sharing the story. I think everyone's going to love hearing it. It's it's a roller coaster. It's emotional, but he's amazing. And I think you and Dave have been amazing with him and like, he's lucky to have found you as well as you're lucky to have have him. Thank you so much for coming up. speaker-1: Thank having me. Thank you.