Walkies on wheels!
There’s life in my old dog yet
Struggling on his 10-minute walk, my poor pooch Lomond couldn’t go any further. Lying down, he refused to budge. ‘Come on, boy,’ I coaxed. I patted him gently, hoping he’d get up.
After two big operations in the last two years, my 12-year-old golden retriever was dog tired.
He’d had a few seizures in the past, but his worst had been in March 2015, when he’d been stuck in a dream-like state, unable to focus.
I’d hurried him to the vet, who’d found his heart was racing at more than 200 beats a minute! So Lomond was rushed to an animal hospital in Glasgow, and I was told to go home and wait for a call.
At 10pm that night, the vet gave me the worst news.
‘Lomond is dying, Angela,’ she said. ‘I’m so sorry.’
I was hysterical. Lomond wasn’t just my dog – he was my family. I’d got him when he was just a pup, after losing my last dog Stanley.
Lomond had made me get out again, given me a purpose.
‘You have two options,’ the vet continued. ‘We put him down, or we operate.’
Turns out they’d found a poison in his body, and needed to act fast to find out what it was.
He might not survive surgery, but I had to give him a chance.
They found Lomond had a perforated ulcer, which had leaked into his body through a hole in his stomach.
He spent six days in critical care, where I visited him every day. He was hooked up to drips and drains, and I burst into tears every time I saw him.
But he still wagged his tail for me, and I prayed he’d be fine.
Thankfully, Lomond came home a week later. But, in September last year, he was diagnosed with laryngeal paralysis – a condition that affects breathing in dogs. It meant Lomond wasn’t getting enough oxygen.
After another op, he recovered – but it took its toll on him.
Before, Lomond loved our daily four-mile walks, but now he was down to half the amount, had to keep stopping.
How could I help him?
Inspiration came when a friend sent me a picture of an elderly dog in America being pulled in a cart by its owner. ‘We might be on to something!’ I told Lomond. Looking through the Sunday papers soon after, I found an ad for a garden cart. Perfect! Each side of the cart unhooks and lowers, so when Lomond gets tired on a walk, in he jumps! Now Lomond is famous in Wishaw. People stop for photos, and he gets waves and smiles. In fact, I’ve only had one negative comment. A man said, ‘Looks like it’s nearly time to put him down.’ I was furious. ‘You wouldn’t put down a person if they were too old and tired to walk,’ I replied. Being stuck at home is no life for a dog. Lomond’s wheels have given him a new leash of life!
Lomond wasn’t just my dog – he was my family