Archived Documents 1st Quarter 2008

Update 31 March 2008...

Update 20 March 2008...

Freddie - It is with a very heavy heart that I have to tell you of the tragic death yesterday of our dear Freddie.  He had been here just 38 days, having arrived on February 10th with his brother Jack.

Freddie had been doing so well and I had no idea of what was to happen.  He was eating very well and although his back legs were very wobbly, he still managed to potter along the footpath with his brother to watch the rabbits playing in the fields. He was fascinated with everything he saw here after long years of misery in a solitary kennel with no stimulation or walks.  He only saw his brother during the short periods when he was let into a paddock area while the kennels were cleaned etc.  He so desperately deserved some joy and comfort and was such an affectionate boy.

On Monday 17th March Freddie started to sway precariously and behaved as if he was "drunk".  He seemed otherwise alright and not in pain so I initially hoped he would make a quick recovery but then he collapsed and was unable to get up.  We carried him to the car and drove to the veterinary hospital where he was given a blood test and examined prior to being admitted and put on a drip.  It was initially thought that he had suffered a spinal embolism, from which he would hopefully start to recover after a couple of days.  However on the morning of 19th March I received a call from Simon, the Head vet at the hospital to say that he had examined Freddie  thoroughly that morning and he was showing all the signs of having a brain tumour.  He said that we should not let him go on as he was in a bad way and there was now no hope of recovery.   So Jack and I set off for the hospital to say our final goodbye to his brother.  We spent a few minutes alone with Freddie and he raised his head a little to look at us so he knew that we were there.  Jack adored his brother and it was so very sad for both of us.  I felt it important that Jack should see his brother one last time to perhaps understand a little about what was happening so he would not be waiting for him to come home. 

Freddie did not suffer at all and just fell asleep quietly and without any fuss.  I told Jack we would see him again one day and Freddie would be well then and be able to play with him.  Jack is very sad and does not want to eat but he is getting lots of cuddles and hopefully given time he will learn to cope without his companion.  Life is so cruel to these dogs.  Freddie had everything snatched away just when he was able to enjoy his life.  Tailends is a very sad place at the moment but we have to try to carry on somehow.

Spring Appeal...

We know that many of you like to send gifts for the dogs or items to assist with the care of the hounds. However, on many occasions, the ever-increasing postage costs are more than the donated items value. Please be assured that we are always extremely grateful for every gift that we receive and we hope that this appeal will allow us to maximise your generosity. We have detailed what the various sums of money will provide, and if you feel that you would like to ‘buy’ a gift from the list below we would really appreciate of your donation. Please follow the link and download the 'Appeal Form' Thank you.

Update 8 March 2008...

Dolly - Little Dolly has been quite poorly lately. She made a brilliant recovery after being spayed to treat pyometria. She seemed completely back to normal but the following week she suddenly became unwell and was continually vomiting. She was taken to the vet on Tuesday 4th March where she was given two injections to stop the sickness and help her to improve. However she continued to decline and was admitted to the veterinary hospital on Wednesday, where she was given intensive care and placed on a drip. Blood tests showed high urea levels and raised lipase. Subsequent blood tests on Thursday and Friday showed marked improvement so she was allowed to come home on Friday afternoon. She is eating and wanting to go for walks but is still sleeping for long periods. We can only continue to monitor her and hope that she still has a little more time to enjoy her life here. We are aware that the mammary cancer could have spread to other organs but for now she is relaxed and pain free. She even took a biscuit from Kelvin (our postie) this morning and seemed to enjoy it.

Amos - I finally decided to have Amos castrated after much thought and worry. This was done on Friday 29th February and he has made a complete and immediate recovery. He was given a pre-op blood test, which was clear, and he was also kept on a drip throughout the procedure. He was very disturbed by Emma coming into season before we had a chance to spay her. It will be much better for him now that he is castrated and will also prevent diseases such as testicular cancer. Amos is really quite fit now and so different to when he arrived last April. He does not seem to have any arthritis and goes on three walks a day including one on the beach first thing in the morning. His teeth have been given a clean and his appetite is now much improved although he does tend to be quite picky and will not eat anything unless it is on his favourites list! He always has his breakfast in a dish served to him on the sofa where he stretches out after his big walk. His nose remains nice and clear and we can only hope that either he did not have a chondro sarcoma or that it remains in remission. He is a very delicate lad and highly sensitive. He is not the bravest boy in the world and will shout loudly if he thinks something is going to happen that he does not like. Needless to say he does not like injections so it is lucky he has not needed any lately. The one thing he does enjoy is a cuddle so I make sure he gets plenty of these to let him know how much he is loved and treasured as a very special boy.

Jack is still on antibiotics in the hope that he will be fit enough to have his dental done in about ten days. I do have the feeling that there is something going on which we have not got to the bottom of yet. He has a tendency to go "flat" and I was worried last Sunday when he seemed to be in a state of collapse with the third eyelid completely across his right eye. The usual tests have not shown anything significant. Jack is settling into the Tailends routines and is eating well and sleeps through the night. He still looks very thin and I hope that he will soon put on some weight. He is gradually learning to socialise with the other greyhounds though there is still some work to do in this area. He is lovely with the little ones and is no threat to them at all. it is just the bigger lads which seem to give him a bit of concern but we will get there given a little time and work. Jack is so very affectionate but very traumatised much more so than his brother, Freddie.

Update 28 February 2008...

Denise - She is a lot better than she was but is still coughing in spite of everything. Her endoscopy showed that she had tracheitis (inflammation of the trachea) but it is not clear what the cause is. It could be an allergic reaction or secondary to her laryngeal paralysis. She is currently on a course of steroids. However she is no longer lethargic and is much more energetic, as she used to be.

Mollie's life has changed totally. Her character is now really coming through. Her latest activity is digging holes in the garden so we are spending our time filling them in and placing paving stones near the fencing so she does not dig underneath it. She races around the beach and has such a sparkling personality now that she can see again - so different from the slow hesitant girl who had no confidence and who would only go for very limited walks. Some people may have thought that spending so much money to restore her sight was not justified. Well I think Mollie has proved them wrong. She really is like a different dog and certainly has a mind of her own. She can be very stubborn if she does not want to do something. As I write this she is lying out in the sunshine with the other dogs. She really does owe all this to the generosity of the people who donated to pay for her surgery. She went to Exmouth again last Friday with Ronnie and the ophthalmologist is delighted with her progress and could also see a definite change in her character. She does not need so many drops in her eyes now and will go to see him again in three months.

Freddie had his dental done this week. He was put on a drip throughout as he has early kidney disease. He had a number of extractions and the remaining teeth were cleaned and descaled. He is having a weeks antibiotics and is doing very well settling into home life. Hopefully he will put on weight gradually as he really enjoys his food. He is so thin and I do want to see these two boys blossom - which I am sure they will, given time.

Emma came into season just a few days after arriving. It was a Saturday afternoon and surgery had just finished but we managed to get her up to the veterinary hospital for the injection to terminate the season. Amos is the only dog who has not been neutered - due to the problems he had when he arrived though now we feel it would be better if he was done. He was very disturbed when Emma came into season but as we acted quickly this was soon resolved. Emma will now be spayed in April.

Dolly - I noticed this week that Dolly appeared to be coming into season. The vet did a blood test and found that her white cell count was high and was suspicious that she had pyometria. When Dolly arrived here we did not know whether she had been spayed so our vet advised to wait and see as if she came into season we could give her the chemical spay injection to stop it. She has serious mammary tumours so we did not want to inflict unnecessary surgery on her at that stage. However we now have no choice, so today she is being spayed to deal with the pyometria. She is quite a frail old girl but still has quality of life and enjoys her walks and food so we are hoping she will soon be fully recovered from this ordeal. She was put on a drip for 24hrs before the surgery and as I write we await news.

Jack seems to be more disturbed than Freddie though he is a very affectionate old boy. I think these dogs have become affected by so little mental stimulation having lived in a kennel for so many years. Jack went to the hospital for a dental with Freddie but tests on his urine showed the presence of blood and the vet did not think it was appropriate to proceed at this time although he does need several extractions. He is now having three weeks antibiotics, after which he will have another urine test and hopefully then he can have the dental.

Gloria has now accepted that the afternoon walk is too much for her and settles herself down in her favourite chair as we prepare to go out. She is still just as much of a madam as she ever was. I noticed her lying in her bed in the hall where she likes to lie watching everyone go in and out. Tweenie was in her bed nearby and a large fleecy blanket was on the side of Tweenie's bed. I saw Gloria reach across and grasp the edge of the blanket in her mouth and then pull it over to her own bed where she proceeded to make herself comfortable with it. She really is a character. I would not have believed it if I had not seen it with my own eyes.

Update 16 February 2008...

Update 14 February 2008...

Ronnie & Cleggie - I have a limited number of miniature drawings kindly done by Mel Shepherd who is a brilliant artist and does drawings for us of the Tailenders who have sadly left us.  If anyone would like one of these drawings of Clegg or Ronnie, which are mounted but not framed and measure 3.5 x 5 inches (including mount) please email me on tailends@atlanticbreeze.co.uk

Update 12 February 2008...

Freddie and Jack arrived at Tailends on Saturday 9th February 2008 at around noon.  Jack is a very large white and fawn boy and Freddie is slightly smaller and almost entirely fawn.  We would like to thank our dear friend Mark for once again giving up his Sunday to transport them to us all the way from Northamptonshire.  These two 12yr old greyhound brothers have lived their entire lives in a kennel with little mental stimulation or comfort.  They may never have seen a vet during their entire lives.   They are both very arthritic and Freddie has some spinal damage and his back legs are very weak.  Their mouths are very smelly and we will get dentals done as soon as they have settled in a little.  They are very bewildered by the sudden freedom and living in a home with comfortable beds and country walks.  We await the results of blood tests which were taken yesterday.  Freddie has cataracts and his sight is slightly impaired.  Both dogs have quite bad ear mites and Freddie's ears are also infected but since treating them with Canaural they are gradually improving.  We will post news of these two newcomers on the website.

Jack will be available to sponsor (and so will Emma who arrived just two days before them) but we will not be putting Freddie on the sponsor list at the present time.  We hope that both dogs will grow in confidence and start to enjoy their new life at Tailends.  They are so affectionate and eager to do the right thing.  It is disgraceful that these two lovely boys have lived to this age in a kennel.   They have wonderful temperaments and should have found a loving home years ago.

Update 10 February 2008...

Emma - arrived at Tailends on Friday 8th February 2008.  She had been picked up by the dog warden in the Wrexham area of Wales and then transferred to a dog pound in Staffordshire where she served her statutory time.  The conditions in the dog pounds are very grim with very small pens and just a plastic bed to sleep in with no bedding or any comfort even for an old dog.  They are often cold, wet and miserable in these places.  Emma is a 12 year old white and brindle greyhound girl.  We know nothing of her past and how she has lived since racing/coarsing/breeding.  She is a very affectionate dog who gets on very well with the other dogs here.  She just loves having a nice comfortable bed to sleep on and gobbles down the food which we give her.  We would like to thank the kind people who gave up their time to transport her down to Tailends, including Hayley, Jenny, Alison and Ian & Wendy.  Emma went for a nice walk after her long journey and enjoyed looking round at the lovely countryside and beach from her vantage point on the dunes.  The next morning she was taken on the beach and back through the dunes followed by a nice breakfast of Nature diet and scrambled eggs.  She is totally overwhelmed by the freedom and comfort which she has here.  Hopefully she will soon forget her past.  Emma is booked in for a check at the vet on Monday 11th February, but her health seems to be fairly good apart from being a bit underweight and minor damage to her tail and hock, which happened in the dog pound.

Update 5 February 2008...

Update 4 February 2008...

We will need someone to run the Tailends stall at Davy Down on September 14th 2008.  If you can help please ring or email Tailends.  This is the London area  (nr Lakeside shopping centre).

Holly - is giving me cause for concern. She is not in pain and is eating well and sleeping all night but she is getting more senile and her face is telling me that she is not having the quality of life that I would want for her. She goes for short walks but is quite bewildered and I do not think she is enjoying them like she used to. She is such a sweet little girl and it will be so hard to say goodbye. I must do what is best for her however hard it may be.

Ben - is doing very well in spite of all his health problems. I have him sleeping next to me at night and this seems to make him feel more settled as he is not getting up so much to go out. He is still a feisty little lad who likes nothing better than being with me in the kitchen while I prepare all their meals. He has his own portable bed which moves into whichever room he is in. He does prefer to make a nest out of the washing which is waiting to be put in the machine.

Gloria - is very much the dowager princess now. She still goes on the beach every day but can no longer run through the dunes as she loved to do. She gets very tired and goes off to her bed much earlier in the evening. It is very hard to think of our special girl as elderly but we are glad she has had lots of fun since coming here and hopefully still will - if more limited in her activities.

Denise - is now trusted to be off lead for the whole of her walks. She runs into the dunes and disappears for a few moments but soon reappears and keeps an eye on where I am. She is really enjoying her freedom and new life. She has claimed the sofa where she loves to lie upside down with her mouth open in a silly grin! Denise has been coughing quite badly in recent weeks. She has had a course of antibiotics and x-rays which happily were all clear. She does have early laryngeal paralysis which could be the cause but we will continue to monitor her and if necessary get her endoscoped.

Update 31 January 2008...

IN MEMORY OF JOAN O'BRIEN WHO PASSED AWAY ON JANUARY 17TH 2008

Tailends would like to thank the friends and family of Joan for deciding to make a donation to help with the care of our old dogs rather than buying flowers which would soon shrivel and die.  We would like to thank Bryan Leach for suggesting Tailends and Joan's daughter, Mary for making this decision to help with our work.  The money will be used to replace Charlie's old dog bed with one which will be more comfortable and provide better support for his damaged back.

Update 18 January 2008...

Ben had a scan and x-rays yesterday which revealed general liver enlargement, caused by the Cushings' Disease and early heart disease causing raised blood pressure through the liver.  Happily there was no sign of pancreatic cancer.  The x-ray did show lots of spinal arthritis and we are therefore treating him with anti-inflammatory drugs to relieve any pain.  He is eating well and enjoying limited walks.  Dear little Ben is a very old chap from a very deprived background but we are hoping he will be enjoying life at Tailends for some time yet. 

Denise was examined by the vet following bouts of coughing.  She is being treated for bronchitis but if the cough persists we will investigate further when the antibiotics and theophylline course has ended.  However she seems fine in herself and actually knocked me flying into the air when she crashed into me on the beach.  Now I am left with bruised ribs and considerable pain in my side.  Good old Denise!

Update 15 January 2008...

Gloria has made a good recovery and her back seems far less painful. She went for a check at the vet yesterday and they are very pleased with her. There is no doubt that she has aged over the last few months and the spondylitis has not helped. However we hope that after just one more week of lead walks she can have some freedom so long as she does not go mad. Gloria is very intelligent and hopefully she will self regulate and not do anything which causes pain. I do think it is important that she enjoys herself within reason.

Thanks - I would like to give a massive vote of thanks to Mark and Judy Zatonski for the fantastic digital camera which they have bought for Tailends. This will enable us to produce good photos of our residents and be able to use them instantly. Thank you also for all their help and advice, which has been invaluable to someone who is totally bewildered by new technology! Thank you to those who offered to make fleecy covers for the memory beds. We really appreciate the hard work involved in sewing these covers and sending them to Tailends. Thank you again to Dave for updating our website so promptly and giving us a brilliant website, which is praised and appreciated by everyone.

Ben - had another blood test on Monday following a bout of pancreatitis caused by his Cushings Disease. The results were still not good, revealing a very high level of lipase and trypsin (pancreatic enzymes) in the blood. They had actually increased substantially in the past week despite being on a low-fat diet. Ben is going to the veterinary hospital tomorrow (Thursday 17th Jan) for a scan to investigate further. We are hoping that this will not reveal any tumours present. Ben is still a happy little boy who is devoted to his mum. He enjoys his food and his walks though does not go very far as he tires easily. Please keep Ben in your thoughts and prayers.

Mollie - went on the long walk to the beach and back through the dunes for the first time this morning. She thoroughly enjoyed herself and was full of energy and enthusiasm for everything around her. I am so pleased for her as she could never have gone on such a walk prior to her eye surgery as she used to walk very slowly and cautiously. When she had no sight she was very nervous and lacked confidence. Now she is full of beans and much more active. Her quality of life is so much improved thanks to everyone who kindly donated to help her. When the weather improves I will try to take photos of her on the beach. She returns to the ophthalologist in six weeks for her next check and will also have another glucose curve done next Tuesday to ensure her diabetes are stable. We are very grateful to Ronnie Callegari for giving up so much time for the ongoing trips to Exmouth and to the surgeon Jim Carter for all his care for Mollie.

Ted - has become very restless over the last few days and on Monday it became obvious he was deteriorating. He had been enjoying his comforts and the walks on the beach. His tail went up and he jumped in joy when he got to the beach on the walks. He ran to the full extent of the extending lead and was happy and contented. However on Monday night he kept crying and did not want his food. His eyes looked very disturbed and I began to realise that nothing could be done to help him. He had received a thorough examination with blood tests and x-rays to ensure there was nothing physically wrong. Sadly it became apparent that his brain was permanently damaged - maybe through continual neglect or being given drugs - we will never be sure. Just before 3pm on Tuesday 15th January little Ted closed his eyes and fell asleep forever. He was cosy in his little bed and knew nothing as Alex, the vet gave the injection which was to release him from all his troubles. He knew nothing about it and slipped away from us very quickly and without a sound. I am left terribly sad at the loss of this poor little boy who was here such a short time. Ronnie and Ted came to Tailends together and now both have gone. Ronnie due to advanced cancer and Ted through advanced brain damage. We did our best for both of them and they will never be forgotten. They had a little joy and a lot of love after a life of sadness and neglect. They are now together again beyond our sight. Thank you to everyone who sent treats and gifts for Ted at Christmas and Jan who sent him a lovely warm coat which will be used by another needy soul in due course. He loved his treats and all his food. He did have some happy weeks but sadly they were cut short far too soon.

Update 4 January 2008...

Ben has been having treatment for a urinary infection but on December 31st he was taken to vet after continual vomiting during the night. He was given a blood test which confirmed our vet's diagnosis. He had acute pancreatitis and was immediately put on a drip for 48hrs with nil by mouth. Thankfully he has made a good recovery and is now home and back to normal. He has to have a very low fat diet and this is not easy. He hates fish and spat out some Hills ID which was recommended. He had some scrambled eggs and turkey breast for his breakfast which he did like! Ben will continue to be monitored closely as it is likely he will get further infections. His immune system is being suppressed by the Cushings Disease and the strong drugs used to treat the Cushings were affecting Ben and making him ill and depressed. He is a tough little chap and is happy and glad to be home.

Gloria is currently having treatment at the vet. She has become very depressed and moody since having no exercise following the recommendation of our vet a week ago. We could not risk further damage to her vertebral column, which could result in paralysis. Her back seems to be improved but she is having an x-ray today to find out exactly what is going on. We are hoping that she will soon be able to go for her walks on the beach and dunes. We are very worried about our Spanish Princess.

Please note: All previous news items, are to be found on the Archive pages.