All the Latest News...

Angela Hogan - Rest In Peace

It is with great sadness that I have to tell you that Angela passed away at 4.40 this morning, Thursday 4 March. As some of you know Angela was diagnosed with breast cancer last year and had undergone surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy in an attempt to treat this condition but unfortunately in December she was told that the cancer had spread and nothing further could be done. Through all of this treatment, and in the month's since, Angela's main concern continued to be the welfare of her beloved Tailenders and the future of Tailends going forward. Please be assured that Tailends will continue, it is Angela's legacy.

Our thoughts are with George on the loss of his beloved wife of 25 years and with Angela's son Jarrod. Funeral details will follow, but could we ask that at this difficult time any emails are directed to Suzie and emergency phone calls only.

Angela was convinced when she died she would be reunited with all the Tailenders who had gone before and we should think of her now being fussed over by Gloria and surrounded by all the dogs she saved and whose lives she transformed, enveloped in their love. Suzie Scott

Angela Hogan - Funeral Arrangements

Many of you have already enquired about Angela's funeral but arrangements are yet to be finalised. However for those wishing to attend, we can advise that there will be two services, one locally for George and friends, then Angela will be taken to Uckfield in East Sussex for another service attended by her son Jarrod and other members of her family, before being interred in a family plot. George is planning to travel to Uckfield for the second service and friends and supporters would be very welcome to attend either service.

Before she died Angela asked for no flowers at her funeral but instead donations to Tailends or to the North Devon Hospice whose care and attention made such a difference to the quality of Angela's life during her last months. If anyone wishes to make a donation in Angela's memory to either cause, would you please send your cheques to the Sponsorship Scheme address that follows. Tailends, c/o - Suzie Scott, Lower Flat, 25 Beechfield Road, Catford SE6 4NG. If you'd prefer your donation to go to the hospice please make your cheque payable to North Devon Hospice and George will present these to the hospice in thanks for all they did for Angela.

Update 3 March 2010...

Kevin continues to wee for England! However he is drinking less, his x-rays are clear and the vet has ruled out diabetes as the cause. Unfortunately in addition to his blindness and poor hearing, Kevin is suffering from dementia, which would help explain his weeing any time, any place, any where - when he feel the urge, he goes! As you can imagine this coupled with Kevin's other problems was causing difficulties in a multi-dog household like Tailends and upsetting the other Tailenders. Fortunately Marianne Greenwood, who already takes Alfonso to hydrotherapy each week, came to the rescue and offered to foster Kevin. He will remain a Tailender and we will cover his living and veterinary costs while he is being fostered by Marianne.

We have tried Kevin in conventional dog nappies but he gets very distressed by anything around his waist and back end, however we have found an alternative design on a US website which we are going to try. In the meantime we have purchased some hospital grade washable incontinence bed pads for use which will hopefully keep his bedding dry and cut down on Marianne's washing. Marianne and her family have fallen in love with Kevin and he is very happy living with them getting lots of TLC, he has even started to wag his tail. Kevin has definitely fallen on his wobbly little feet and we thank Marianne so much for taking on a dog with so many problems. Marianne has written an update about Kevin as follows and Kevin has now been added to the sponsorship scheme.

Kevin is a very happy boy and is really coming out of his shell now he is orientated to the house. He likes to have a routine and is eating well - he potters into the garden and has his own favourite place under the Catalpa tree that has lots of snowdrops, he likes to go and sniff the snowdrops individually which takes him a little while - then he is ready to come in and has more food and a snooze then its time to eat again and trundle out to the snowdrops - he does this rain or shine! He has been very kindly donated two of the most beautiful hand made coats and a super soft collar by Toni of Flash Hounds so he is always well wrapped up to visit his beloved snowdrops.. I am dedicating this part of the garden to Kevin and will always make sure that there are some 'sniffy smelly' flowers there for him to visit and smell. Although he is deaf and blind he does appreciate his sense of smell and uses it for his simple pleasures such as food and flowers.

He knows exactly where the 'treat drawer' is and will often wake us up in the middle of the night with an almighty woof - when we go down we always find Kevin looking up at the treat drawer! He has a treat then settles himself back in front of the Rayburn again! He has a comfy bed in front of the Rayburn and loves the constant warmth that gives him. Kevin is a real joy and we are so very happy to have him in our life.

Update 14 February 2010...

Kevin - is a small terrier cross who arrived at Tailends on Friday 12th February 2010 from a dog pound in Lancashire where he had been picked up off the streets by the local dog warden. He is a honey colour with pointed ears and a very emaciated body. He is also blind and may have some problem as he drinks and wees excessively. A recent blood test has not shown any sign of kidney failure but there are other things which need to be checked. Again I find it difficult to believe that people can throw their dog out in bitterly cold weather to fend for themselves - particularly when they cannot even see and are so wobbly on their feet. Kevin has a big appetite and is really enjoying his meals here. Yesterday he had a nice dish of chicken breast, Burns Hi - Oat and some Butchers. All was quickly demolished after a nice walk through the fields to see the rabbits. Kevin will be added to the Sponsor dog list in due course. He will settle down for a few days before any further visits to the vet so that we can assess him properly.

Update 12 February 2010...

Car boot sale donation - our grateful thanks to two of our supporters, Marian Galvin and Jeni Aldridge, who recently spent the day 'car booting' in freezing conditions and managed to raise £200 for Tailends. Not content with that Marian then added a further £50 to the total by selling some additional items and we received a cheque for a magnificent £250. Well done ladies, your support is much appreciated. We just hope you remembered to wear your thermals!

Update 9 February 2010...

Nancy - has at last had her major surgery to remove those nasty tumours growing well up in her groin. This was carried out on the 29th January 2010. The uterus was also removed to prevent further problems in that area. There was some bleeding under the mass wound, post operatively, which caused a bit of bruising and some oedema of the left hind leg so she remained in the veterinary hospital for a further five days after surgery. The morphine used to control pain also caused some vomiting which had to be got under control. However, at long last, everything seems to be settling nicely and she is doing brilliantly at home with her friends. Nancy is so strong and fit – so different to the pathetic little waif who arrived here last July and who we did not expect to live for very long. I cannot tell you how delighted I am with her progress. Now hopefully she can get on with her life and enjoy her walks off the lead on the beach every day. This will be possible as soon as her stitches have all been removed. She was such a good girl and did not worry the stitches or need a Buster collar. Most of the stitches were removed on the 8th February and the rest will be taken out on Friday 12th.

Poppy - is enjoying her heated bed which was donated by a very generous lady whose dog did not need it. The beds of this type are very expensive (nearly £200) so she is certainly a very lucky girl and we are very grateful as it is so effective for her deteriorating arthritis.

Alfie - continues to benefit from his weekly hydrotherapy sessions, thanks to Marianne who kindly takes him in her car each Tuesday morning. We are also grateful to everyone who donates towards these therapies, which continue to help him. He is knuckling a little so we are planning to try using boots on his back legs. DOG WALKING. We have been very fortunate to find several good dog walkers to help relieve the pressure on George throughout the day. This ensures that all the dogs receive their usual exercise matched to their individual needs. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the dog walking fund enabling us to buy in some help for this vital task.

Todd - has been here an amazing 9 months now. He was not expected to live very long when he arrived. His breathing was very laboured and his nights were unsettled. However he is now sleeping very well and enjoying the home comforts of being indoors in a central heated home during the cold winter months after a lifetime of working and living outside. He loves his warm thick coat kindly made and donated by TRPD and June Heath. This keeps him lovely and warm on his walks over the fields.

Tweenie - has amazed me by her flexibility during my recent absences from Tailends. She did shout in protest for a time at the beginning, but in reality she coped very well and soon settled down enjoying her food and walks as usual and cuddling up to George during the night so he had Poppy one side and her the other acting as cosy “hot water bottles”.

Calendars - We have a few 2010 calendars left so if anyone would like to offer Tailends a small donation of 50P or so each, I would be happy to send to anyone who could use them plus £1 postage just to cover our cost per calendar. Please email me asap if interested.

Elderley Jack Russell - We have been asked to take an elderly blind dog from Lancashire so watch this space for more news.

Update 8 February 2010...

Update 17 January 2010...

Angela would like to thank everyone for their support and good wishes following her message on the website. She very much appreciates your concern for her and the offers of assistance for Tailends. She will be away from Tailends for a few days so it is not possible for us to take phone calls at present unless it is an emergency and could we ask that any emails are directed to Suzie for the time being.

Alfonso - having been assessed by our own vet and a specialist, went for his first hydrotherapy session on Monday 11 January. Although Judy loved these sessions and was happy to participate as long as she could take a squeaky toy in the tank with her, we were uncertain how Alfonso would cope. We are pleased to say that he did really well and the session was a success with more to follow. We hope that regular sessions will improve his mobility and flexibility.

Bertie - continues to thrive at Tailends as you can see from this photo. Well the experts do say you should keep your head covered in the cold weather to avoid heat loss, but we're not sure they had ever considered using a small terrier for the purpose!

On Monday 11th January I was concerned again over Lizzie’s breathing and welfare. She was taken to the charter vet hospital at Roundswell to be examined by Simon Thompson, the Head Vet. Her heart and lungs presented clear and results were not totally conclusive following a blood test. A further test was conducted to ascertain whether there was any sign of pancreatitis but this was ruled out. She was given a course of medication but by 13th January she deteriorated and needed hospitalisation by the evening. She was panting and her lungs were dull so a moving x ray was done which revealed lots of fluid. Following sedation, a needle was used to drain half a litre of blood after finding the presence of a phneumo thorax causing collapsed lungs. There was no indication of trauma (such as an accident) and cells removed from the lungs revealed abnormal cancer cells. There was nothing to be done. She was sedated and all we could do is to let her go where we would one day meet her again and say all the things we never got the chance in her final moments.

Dear Lizzie, you were such a special friend to me and I am so sorry I was not able to be with you at the end of your life here on earth. One day we will all be together and fly high above the beach again watching the others as they have such fun splashing in the waves as you loved to do. Sweet dreams my darling girl.

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