Charlie (17 votes)
Charlie is ten years old and has spent her life helping others. She's been in films, on TV and in a music video for the Proclaimers. Nothing is ever too much to ask of her, she is gentle, kind, and a joy to live with. She visits schools, hospitals and does re-enactments with the other hounds, but she goes that extra mile to get the most attention, love and fusses.
If we need the chickens or ducks watched over (in case Mr Fox pays a visit) she will happily sit with them and . . . well, she will lay down in the grass and sleep whilst they mull around her!
She lives her life with a smile and so everyone who sees her smiles too. She is a hit at our local nursing home and she now is older (in relative terms) than any of the residents.
She is pictured at a re-enactment in Scotland.
Peri (12 votes)
Peri had a reaction to his puppy vaccines, which made his immune system overactive. This has caused extreme allergies, and his immune system can go into "overdrive" where his temperature rises and he collapses. He has had three major collapses where we have nearly lost him, and he has fought back bravely each time.
The high temperatures caused the adrenal glands to be damaged, meaning he cannot produce cortisol, which controls the stress levels. He wanted to go out, but stress would override and he just couldn’t cope. Until his diagnosis, sometimes even a walk to the other side of the farm, or a five minute trip in the van caused extreme stress, which made him hyperventilate.
He started to bolt in situations he used to be happy with. After treatment, we had to again work on his confidence levels, and let him know he could cope. He went on to pass his KC Good Citizen bronze test in the middle of a championship showground, and then went on to get second place in the IW Good Citizen class at Crufts.
He is so special.
Bimbo (11 votes)
Nimbus, known to his friends as Bimbo, was born amazing. He was sadly diagnosed with liver shunt at seven weeks of age and we operated at ten weeks.
It was a very long recovery which meant being separated from the other hounds in the home to make sure he healed. Keeping a ten week old puppy still with 22 stitches in his abdomen was not easy for him. Luckily the operation was successful and he began to mix with the other hounds again.
Despite the successful liver shunt operation, he then required an upper tooth extraction and caps placed onto his lower canines to help his overshot jaw and the damage this had caused to the soft palette. Under anaesthetic they discovered a large amount of damage to his soft palette which was related to trauma from his teeth. He then required a second anaesthetic to create a divot in his jawbone to encourage the teeth to move away from the soft palette to prevent further damage. This was all done before the age of 18 months.
Despite all this he was a happy and joyful puppy that loved life and people. He began going to the local residential home and has enjoyed helping residents eat their biscuits or just given them a kiss and a cuddle. Bimbo is now four years old and he has also recovered from lump removals on his hind legs that had begun to upset him. The position of the lumps and the process again meant he was under strict rest. Last year he was also diagnosed with AF and more recently a leak.
Does he care ? No, he loves everyone and loves him.