deb_l222
Well-Known Member
My vet posted on Facebook this morning that it has been 25 years today since he opened his practice. In September of the same year (1995) I was introduced to my first rescue springer spaniel and the rest, as they say, is history
Alan (the vet) was recommended to me via springer rescue and I've been a client of his ever since!! This bonkers fact got me reminiscing a bit and I've dug out a few photos of the boy himself, Boston. I've also included Bonnie terrier - she was around first and I was looking for a pal for her
Boston was a baptism of fire, when it came to springers. He was a complex soul who suffered from dreadful agoraphobia in the early days. He had never walked on grass when I got him. When rescue went to pick him up, they were told he was living in a porch. Turns out he was living in a PORCHES!! His owners had an old porches on the drive and he had lived in the car for most of his life, hence the agoraphobia.
He was prone to panic attacks (for want of a better word). If something spooked or scared him, or he was tired he would suddenly freeze and start to shake. Almost a seizure but not a real seizure. Medically, he had just about everything wrong with his heart that he could possibly have. Enlarged heart, cardio myopathy, murmur, mitral valve regurgitation. My vet used him a couple of times to teach students about dicky tickers - he was fab at the vets. Unfortunately he reacted badly to every heart medication under the sun, so he didn't have any medication. He died a ridiculous death and had a heart attack on a walk. Luckily we weren't too far from home but 22kg of dead weight is quite a lot to carry quarter of a mile, especially when you have three other dogs in tow. He somehow managed to get to 14 years of age, which was nothing short of a miracle.
There have been many, many dogs come and gone since but Boston started it all with the springers and rescue. One day I will write a book
Piccies are photos of proper photographs (nothing digital back then) so not that brilliant, sorry.
I would have been 25 or so in this piccie
Handsome Boston
Bonnie was just a legend
Alan (the vet) was recommended to me via springer rescue and I've been a client of his ever since!! This bonkers fact got me reminiscing a bit and I've dug out a few photos of the boy himself, Boston. I've also included Bonnie terrier - she was around first and I was looking for a pal for her
Boston was a baptism of fire, when it came to springers. He was a complex soul who suffered from dreadful agoraphobia in the early days. He had never walked on grass when I got him. When rescue went to pick him up, they were told he was living in a porch. Turns out he was living in a PORCHES!! His owners had an old porches on the drive and he had lived in the car for most of his life, hence the agoraphobia.
He was prone to panic attacks (for want of a better word). If something spooked or scared him, or he was tired he would suddenly freeze and start to shake. Almost a seizure but not a real seizure. Medically, he had just about everything wrong with his heart that he could possibly have. Enlarged heart, cardio myopathy, murmur, mitral valve regurgitation. My vet used him a couple of times to teach students about dicky tickers - he was fab at the vets. Unfortunately he reacted badly to every heart medication under the sun, so he didn't have any medication. He died a ridiculous death and had a heart attack on a walk. Luckily we weren't too far from home but 22kg of dead weight is quite a lot to carry quarter of a mile, especially when you have three other dogs in tow. He somehow managed to get to 14 years of age, which was nothing short of a miracle.
There have been many, many dogs come and gone since but Boston started it all with the springers and rescue. One day I will write a book
Piccies are photos of proper photographs (nothing digital back then) so not that brilliant, sorry.
I would have been 25 or so in this piccie
Handsome Boston
Bonnie was just a legend