12/12/2023
Hops was my lovely 3 legged dog, who in the last year of his life had a buggy so that we could go on more walks & do more things with eachother. The buggy was more for me than him, as he'd always sat down on walks from a young age if he felt he hadn't had enough fuss, & with chronic arthritis I couldn't carry him anymore. It did help him though and we went on far longer walks we would have struggled with, & day trips out we couldn't have done without bugs & he loved being Captain Hops in his bugs, watching the world. He did so much in those 10 months, camping trips, holiday in a caravan, day at Llanelli Pride, went to Cardiff for shopping, dinner, pub to see a drag act & a night in a posh hotel, loads of trips to Bailey's cafe, plus lots of other walks.
Hops suddenly had to be PTS at the beginning of December 23, when nerves in his back leg on the same side as his missing one went. As we had bugs, he had a long lasting painkiller & I was able to take him out one last time to his favourite places, & for others to say goodbye. He went to Bailey's cafe in Carmarthen & my aunties caravan site. He knew exactly where he was going because he was pushing up to look out of the window. When we got there we walked along the river & took some pictures including one in the same place we had our 1st picture. It meant he had the best possible last day I could have given him, which is a comfort to me, and I know he enjoyed.
Hops was always helping others, right up to when he crossed the rainbow bridge. He'd helped me deal with agoraphobia & panic attacks; he worked as a therapy dog with Carmartheshire Therapy Dogs on the stroke ward at Glangwili, & went to the children's ward on Christmas Eve in 2019 & helped many others in his life when they needed some comfort. On return to the vets another dog was having to be put to sleep & I said to one of Poppy's owners that Hops' was an older dog & would take Poppy over the bridge with him. He brought comfort to Poppy's owners as well.
So, I don't want Hops to stop helping others, & one way he can, is by loaning his buggy to others who need it so they can do the things he was able to do. His buggy can be borrowed for an elderly dog to try out before buying one; by a dog needing some recuperation time after an operation; or as an emergency for a dog who has to be put to sleep but is able to have a long lasting painkiller to go to their favourite place one last time if the vet agrees. For dogs being PTS there will be a cushion, blanket, heat pad, paw print kit, treats & water etc so that everything is there & owners don't need to think of anything at the stressful time. I live town centre so I can either drop the buggy off at Carmarthen Vets, to your home or if I'm unable to, it can be collected from me. Loan of Hops' buggy is free, however if you are able to, a donation to Animal Rescue Cymru and/or Carmarthenshire Therapy Dogs in Hops' name would be lovely. I adopted Hops from ARC in 2013. I would appreciate it, if you feel able to, if you could add a pic of your dog in bugs to the album as part of Hops Legacy, as it will bring me comfort to see him still helping others, but absolutely no obligation to do so. I can either add you as a contributor so you can put your own comment on the photo, or you can message me, & I'll put the picture up. Hops' buggy is suitable for dogs up to 10kg.
