Rejoice rejoice...
You
may have read about Kai, the WSD, recently on Agilitynet and The Agility Forum. Shortly after
turning 18 months, he lost his front leg in a car accident. That's not stopped him from doing
the agility that he loves. He's even part of a team of three-legged display team now. His owner
Gemma Fisher is very proud of what he's achieved and has written up his inspiring story.
A black faced dog puppy was born on a farm on 8 July 2004.
Friends who had a puppy from the previous litter which was the same mating, put me in touch
with the breeder who lived in a local hillside village. Kiera, my friend's dog and this pup's
full sister had such a sweet, loving temperament that I decided that a puppy from this litter
was meant to be. I collected my boy just after his six week birthday and named him Kai, which
means ‘rejoice.'
With
no prestigious pedigree this dog puppy was not a good choice on paper. Raised in a barn rather
than a home, he had a lot to learn when he entered his new life with me. Always a bold, good
natured pup, Kai took everything in his stride and has grown into a handsome and intelligent
dog that is a joy to work. Initially puppy classes moved on into the KC Good Citizen award
scheme, where he passed his Silver award in June 2005. We even tried our hand at shepherding
which he showed some aptitude for, but my real goals for him were in the agility world.
Kai began light agility training at ten months old, and really
enjoyed this new game right from the outset. Bold, inquisitive and lively, he was easy to
train. The building blocks of our basic obedience were solid and stood us in good stead. Some
considered me over-fussy with the details with which I trained him, keen to perfect every small
error. He never minded, and was always eager to try again for me – something that I carefully
nurtured. In my mind, the best dogs shine because the relationship with their handler is built
on mutual trust and understanding.
The summer of 2005 passed in a warm haze of indoor and outdoor
agility lessons. Work days were never such a chore when training time with him was at the end
of them. As we moved into the Autumn time, our off-season agility league kicked in and towards
the festive season I ran him as reserve in a match. I was looking forward to the Christmas
break where I could spend more time with him and I could plan our show schedule for the coming
year as Postcard from Heaven, his KC registered name, turned 18 months old at the beginning of
December. And then it happened...
The accident
Two days after Christmas we were preparing to join the rest of our agility club for
our festive dog walk. I can vividly remember how handsome he looked as he pranced about around
the car. I wanted to share this with my boyfriend who lived next door to us, and I walked round
with Kai next to me off the lead. The road was quiet as it was a Bank Holiday. Kai would always
go ahead of me straight to my boyfriend's front door. However that morning he saw a cat for the
first time since we had lived there, on the opposite side of the road. A 4 x 4 vehicle was
driving past as he sped into the road after the cat. Before he made it to the other side he was
knocked down.
Sadly I don't ever think I will forget the details of that day,
or his screams as the pain shot through him. They are as vivid as the hand in front of my face.
He ran away from the road, trying to escape the pain, whilst I called to him to steady and then
wait for me. I am ever grateful that he trusted me enough to stop and help him. Our close
friends and neighbours rushed out of their homes in their nightwear to assist me, with tea
towels to stem the flow of blood that seemed to be pouring out of him. I was able to bundle him
up into the back of my car, whilst giving directions about forewarning the vets of our imminent
arrival. My previous experience in veterinary nursing kept my surprisingly calm and Kai,
although clearly shocky, was doing okay.
Once we arrived at the veterinary hospital I had strong ideas
about staying with him, but they had equally firm views about me leaving him in their care. I
did what was best for him and didn't argue, and let them carry him away. Once out of my sight,
I vaguely remember my legs buckling and the tears then taking over.
On the road to recovery
The vet treating Kai believed that his wounds were too severe to be healed and had
recommended amputation as the only option. That was certainly the easiest option, but I felt
Kai deserved to have the other options explored. The next day I drove Kai to Vale Vet's Dursley
hospital to see Carol Wright who is a soft tissue specialist. She was excellent and I trusted
her from the first meeting. She was initially optimistic about his chances and I drove away
with peace stealing through me.
Sadly
this was not to last. Once she had had a chance to examine his injuries thoroughly we spoke
again. Although the bones in his right leg were unbroken, being dragged along the road had
shredded his tendons too far apart. The options were to try and save the leg with the
likelihood that it would never regain movement and most likely need amputating in the future,
or to amputate immediately. Carol recommended the latter for Kai's benefit. On Thursday, 29
December 2005 his damaged front right leg was removed.
That whole week I was lost in misery and I missed him terribly. I was frightened and so
dreadfully ashamed of what I had done to my special dog, and my very best friend. My family and
friends were wonderful and rallied around me, knowing just how big and important a part of my
life he is. Our agility club was shocked by the news, as were the agility community as a whole.
I poured out my story on the main agility forum and was comforted and supported by the messages
and emails that were returned.
Through Kai's accident I have made contact with people that I may never have met. A week
immediately after the accident we visited Sarah Fisher who worked on both him and me with the
Tellington Touch technique. She was amazed not to find his body wracked with shock, but just
this lovely sweet natured boy wondering what this lady wanted to do with him. I think perhaps
she helped me as much if not more than him, and unlocked some of the tension both in my body
and in my heart.
Kai became a regular at our vets Susan Yeo's surgery in Backwell for regular dressing changes
on his remaining front leg. Sue is our agility club's chairperson, a trainer as well as being a
wonderful vet. She has a fantastic team of nurses and receptionists who are equally wonderful.
Kai adores all of them! He treats the surgery as a home from home, and treats visits there as
special occasions.
Once Kai's wound on his remaining front leg had healed I was keen for him to start hydrotherapy
to help him exercise comfortably. An agility friend recommended Pam who runs Magic's
Hydrotherapy Pool, and I'm so glad I got in touch. At Magic's, owners are able to swim with
their dogs if they would like to although Pam is always in the pool in case of any
difficulties.
Initially
Kai thought the whole idea was very strange and didn't want to get in the pool with this
strange woman! Once I was in the pool too, he relaxed somewhat as he still trusted me as much
as he ever had. I'm certain having me there helped him, as during the first few sessions he
tired quickly and came to me in the pool to be held for a rest. Over the course of a few
sessions his confidence grew enormously and now when we arrive he runs straight to the entrance
to the pool, impatiently waiting for Pam to fit his life-jacket so he can jump straight in!
Pam noticed and very kindly mentioned that we were very in tune with each other – that it would
be easy to be too clingy and not let him swim too much, or equally be too blasé and let him
wear himself out. Somehow Kai and I get it spot on. It's instinctive and I can't explain it.
It's that 'knowing' that makes him so special to me, and what makes him such a joy to train.
One of the emails I sent out in the first few dark days after Kai's accident was an email
asking for help from Dogs Today magazine, one of my favourite publications. I wasn't
prepared to risk his health any further at that point, and firmly believed that agility was no
longer an option. However I knew, that once recovered he would need some sort of work to occupy
his mind – 18 month old collies aren't the sort to retire gracefully! They considered him
worthy of the ‘Good Boy Good Dog' award in their magazine which was a huge surprise. It was
lovely to think that other people considered him as special as I do.
It's amazing how your life can change so dramatically in such a relatively short space of time.
How everything you thought you knew and believed in can be thrown so completely upside down.
The accident made me question everything, and I was getting very despondent with the answers I
was coming up with. Losing the future that I had always planned with Kai was very like being
bereaved. At the moment I still have more memories with Kai on four legs than I do on three. Of
him in the woods with the sun shining through the bare tree branches, flashing on his coat,
muscles rippling as his strides ate up the ground beneath him. Mother Nature did an exceptional
job with him. He would dart around, twisting and weaving with an agility that took my breath
away on occasion. Just such a horrid waste of such glorious talent.
Time
to move on
His accident, the consequences, the series of events that led up to it, are never very far from
my mind. Guilt is a seriously heavy burden to carry, and it was stopping me from moving on. I
booked a consultation with Barbara Sykes who I'd read great things about, and visited her in
Yorkshire whilst on my way to an agility trainers training weekend. She made me put my guilt
and my dog directly in front of me and choose what was more important – the answer was, of
course, without question Kai. Tears, recriminations and ‘if onlys' are for people not dogs. I
have now accepted that my mistake led to his accident, full stop.
Kai dealt with his accident in the way that he deals with anything – with courage,
determination and indomitable spirit. No sooner was he up on his feet, then he wanted to walk
out of the surgery with me, and then out wanted to stretch his remaining legs in a trot. He
runs and plays with other dogs without worry or fear of injury, in the sheer delight of being
alive. I revised my decision to protect him from agility once he was back to free-running
exercise. I figured if he thought fallen trees in a wood didn't get in his way, who was I to?
Plus, the look on his face when I first took him back to see everybody at agility – I didn't
dare condemn him to a future without it! He will be subject to more and tear than he was
before, and he will develop arthritis probably much sooner than he would have done. But once
again I have two options – to wrap him in cotton wool and perhaps keep him for that bit longer.
Or to give him the freedom to be what he is, a young collie with not a care in the world. I
cannot choose to be selfish with all that has happened, so we're going for the latter option
again. When it comes to the time that I have to give him up to Rainbow Bridge, I want to be
sure that he has a lot of happy memories to take with him. Even in the relatively short time
that he has been my boy he has provided me with such a lot. I never realised when I named him,
just what a lot I would have to rejoice for.
As I say, I've rambled on a lot I'm afraid. Once I got started I needed to get it all down on
paper for myself as much as anything else. But if you'd like to add any of it, then do feel
free.
About
the author...
Gemma Fisher started agility with
her parents two terrier crosses Lucy and Toby four years ago. Kai joined her household with
agility in mind, and her most recent addition to the family is Ella, a 14 week old Border
Collie. She is a committee member and trainer at Severnside Dog Agility club, and also trains
her dogs with Hazel & Martin Tait and Lois Harris.
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