11/10/2023
Happy Birthday Poppy
(My favourite picture of her from years ago)
Today Poppy turns 12 which isn’t a bad age for a Springer but when you look at the fact that this is the twelfth birthday she’s had since she was diagnosed as a puppy with not one but two life threatening immune mediated diseases it’s amazing. When you look a bit closer and realise that she hasn’t had it easy at all and with over twenty relapses of these disease and other health problems she’s nearly died around 30 times it’s absolutely incredible she’s still with me.
I’m sure the number of relapses she’s had must be some kind of world record (this is absolutely no joke or flippant remark). Sadly, for a high percentage of dogs these diseases are fatal, and they appear in Spaniel breeds more than a lot of other breeds.
At least twice every year I write about Poppy and her journey which is always an emotional experience for me. The 31st of August, which is the anniversary of her diagnosis and the 11th of October, her birthday are the two dates I always aim to publish an article and put it out there. It’s usually about her, my struggles battling these two insidious diseases and the adventures we’ve been on. I often have an angle and this year it is slightly different. This year we are concentrating on the wonderful veterinary professionals, some of whom we are now firm friends with who have made her survival possible.
At the top of the list is our own vet Kathryn who owns and operates Albyn Veterinary Centre in Broxburn, Scotland. Kathryn and her husband Graham have managed to keep their practice an independent one, which is amazing when a huge number of vet practices are being taken over by large profit driven corporate organisations.
On the 31st of August 2012 I took Poppy in to see Kathryn as she had collapsed the night before and I was completely unaware just how gravely ill she was. Kathryn had qualified as a vet some 26 years previously and as a student at Glasgow University Veterinary School had seen a dog diagnosed with Immune Mediated Anaemia. It was this knowledge which gave her an inkling that Poppy potentially had one form of this disease.
That appointment is one etched into my memory for all the wrong reasons and I can remember her looking directly at me and advising that Poppy was seriously ill and that as she was insured the best chance, she had was an immediate referral to The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies.
That afternoon we met another amazing woman, Alison Ridyard and our relationship with a lot of vets and students at one of the world’s most advanced teaching hospitals began. That Friday night I stayed with my sister for support, and I spent most of the night crying. I felt I was losing her, and I couldn’t come to terms with this. Poppy had saved me from one of the most upsetting experiences of my adult life and here she was fighting for her own little life.
Over the coming weeks and months, we got to know a lot of the residents at the Dick, Scott Kilpatrick was one of the residents we spent a great deal of time getting to know and his compassion and drive made all the difference. Jasmin Paris was another resident of the Vet School we got to know well and recently she completed the ‘fun run’ section of the Barkley Marathons, regarded as one of the most challenging endurance ultra-marathons in the world and very few women have completed this. With vets who have the drive and commitment like Jasmin’s on our team Poppy and I stood a fighting chance.
Another vet we got to know well was Spela Bavcar, and I can recall meeting her again a few years ago when Poppy’s condition changed, and we needed the input of the vet school again. As we sat and talked in the waiting room Spela, who remembered Poppy well sat intently listening to me. As I rather matter-of-factly recounted the number of relapses and other health challenges Poppy had her eyes widened, and she exclaimed that it was amazing she was doing so well and that I had done an incredible job in supporting her all these years. I almost burst into tears! I never really thought about my involvement in Poppy’s survival, and I hadn’t until this point truly recognised the part I’d played in her story.
I then went on to explain my involvement in a worldwide support group which provides support and information to owners whose dogs suffer from these diseases. She had no idea there was anything out there like that and it was incredible that there was support to help people navigate through this awful disease. As owners we are equal partners in our dog’s treatment and recovery which is not something that should ever be underestimated.
Fortunately, our involvement with the Vet School has been only when we’ve really needed more input and for the best part it is working with Kathryn and her team to keep Poppy going and living her best life.
Veterinary nurses, I feel are often the unsung heroes and heroines of the veterinary world and the part they play is equally as important as the vets themselves. We are fortunate that we’ve worked with some amazing nurses and even with some of them moving onto different practices I’ve stayed in touch with many of them.
I couldn’t possibly thank all of the people who’ve been involved in Poppy’s care, but a few stand out. Way back when Poppy was diagnosed Chloe Stephen and Laura Edmonds were brilliant. I was almost in tears with them both many times and although this was more than a decade ago, we still remember the contribution they both made.
Shannon Beatson was another nurse who gave us a lot of encouragement and support a few years ago and she took in a Springer cross whose owner had sadly passed away. Not just that but Molly had been diagnosed with the same diseases Poppy had. Hopefully we were able to offer her encouragement and support through some of her journey and although Molly has now passed away, we won’t forget how Shannon helped us. I’m pleased to say she has been involved in our support group for a number of years now as well.
I was absolutely gutted when I learned that Ellie Tappenden, who had moved from her native Hampshire to Scotland was leaving the practice. I really don’t know how I’d have coped without her just getting things done for us and in such an expedient and caring manner. At least she only lives round the corner and perhaps blocking an isle in our local supermarket for an hour as we talked immune mediated diseases is perhaps not the best thing to do going forward.
I’ve had to miss a lot of people out for the sake on not writing a novel here but one friend who wasn’t directly involved in Poppy’s treatment but did make all the difference on that fate full day back in 2012 was Tessa Renton. She had qualified as a vet at the Dick vet just a few years prior and talking to her the night Poppy was diagnosed just put my mind a little bit more at ease. It enabled me to function and get Poppy the help she so desperately needed.
The veterinary profession is one that people get into not because the amazing high pay and great conditions but because they care and are passionate about animals. The pay isn’t anywhere near as good as other professions and unfortunately, they have an incredibly tough job and owners aren’t always that nice and pleasant.
Veterinary science is incredible and in the United Kingdom I feel we are often blissfully unaware of the true cost of our own medical care that some really do not appreciate just how much outstanding veterinary care costs.
The day I got Poppy I took out a lifetime cover insurance policy for her and it’s one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life. She has cost in the region of £50,000 over the last 12 years and although I’ve had to make many sacrifices for her, I wouldn’t trade anything in the world for these amazing years.
To every owner their dog is one in a million and I can say with a degree of certainty that through the power of the internet and my drive and passion for writing that she has touched many lives. I’m sure there are quite a few dogs around the world who are alive today because their owners took some inspiration from her story and didn’t give up on their dogs.
One situation I will never forget was talking to someone in the evening about their dog who was rapidly declining and if memory serves correct, I basically told her just to get in the car and drive to Glasgow Vet School. At the time I kind of doubted what I was saying but the messages over the following few days reassured me that I had given the best advice I could. Her dog was getting the best treatment available and made it.
None of this would have been possible without the veterinary professionals on our team. For that we are truly blessed and recently when one of my best friends told me that his eldest daughter, who is incredibly talented and intelligent young woman and won a full academic scholarship to the oldest public schools in the UK, wanted to be a vet and study at the Dick Vet I was absolutely over the moon.
We need good people to become vets and nurses and it is our place to support their work and make their lives just that bit better. The veterinary profession has a shockingly high su***de rate and that is something we must all work to change.
If by reading this piece you only do one thing, please make that you thank your vets and the nurses from the bottom of your heart, maybe hand in something nice to the practice and or a card to thank them. Your act can make all the difference and help somewhat to make things better.
NOT ONE MORE VET!
https://www.nomv.org
