As the New Year is upon us, we would like to share and end of year success story that we hope everyone will carry with them into 2025. Throughout the year, we have helped pets that have ingested something they shouldn’t have from chocolate to socks and everything in between, including a fish hook!
On a beautiful weekend morning when the sun is out, what better thing to do in North Wales than go for a long walk on the beach with your beloved dog. We all love watching our dogs running carefree… until they catch the smell of something… and the next thing we know they have picked up an offending object and swallowed it before we can get to them! Even the best trained pooches can fall victim to foreign body ingestion. This, unfortunately, is what happened to Tia and her owners when she found a fish hook and swallowed it in seconds. Luckily for her and after realising there was no way of getting the hook out safely themselves, her owners acted quickly and brought her straight to us! Tia was feeling quite sorry for herself when she arrived and was in obvious discomfort. After safely sedating her, x-rays of her head and neck were taken, revealing exactly where the culprit was! The fish hook had become lodged in her oesophagus. Specialist care was needed to remove the fish hook by endoscope, so we contacted a referral hospital that was able to take and treat Tia the very same day!

She was back home quicker than you could say “Let’s go fishing!” and has recovered superbly.
We understand that it is difficult to keep our pets safe and prevent them from eating things they shouldn’t. Even the best trained dogs can still end up eating things they shouldn’t, and we are here to help when accidents happen. The only way to ensure that we can keep our animals safe is by storing foods out of reach and by properly disposing of rubbish, especially in public places where owners take their dogs for walks. If you are concerned that something similar may happen to your pet, we are happy to advise you on different ways you can keep them safe.

Pre-Visit Checklist for Owners

Before your vet visit, make sure to gather the following:

• List of Questions: Prepare any questions or concerns you have about your pet’s health or behavior.
• List of Medications: Bring along a list of any medications your pet is currently taking.
• Muzzle (if needed): Consider muzzle training if your pet may require a muzzle during the visit. Guide to muzzle training.
• Short Lead: Use a short lead instead of a retractable one for better control.
• Blanket or Familiar Item: Bring a blanket or something familiar that your pet often uses or lays on.
• Food or Treats: If applicable, bring your pet’s favorite treats or food.
• Photos or Videos: Provide any photos or videos of your pet displaying symptoms, if available.

How to Prepare for the Visit:

• Stay Calm: Remember, your pet can pick up on your feelings too, so try to remain calm to help keep them at ease.
• Safe Transportation: Ensure your pet is safely transported to the vet and is accustomed to the mode of transportation.
• Stay in the Car if Preferred: If your pet is more comfortable waiting in the car, please notify us upon arrival. We’ll come out to you when ready, reducing stress, especially in busy waiting rooms. This also helps maintain a calm environment for other pets if your dog tends to vocalize.
• Handling Preparation: Handling plays a significant role in examining your pet, so please get your pet used to being handled in areas such as paws, tail, ears, face, and body. Guide on handling your dog.

From 1st September 2023 the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS, regulatory body for the veterinary profession in the UK) is introducing new guidance on prescribing prescription-only medicines. The full guidance can be found here

Our previous policy was everything needs a repeat medication check every 6 months and 12 months for anti parasitics subject to veterinary discretion.

The new guidance requires that a physical examination of the pet has to be performed every time any antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals and antiparasiticides are prescribed. This includes topical preparations such as ear and eye drops, and all prescription flea, worm and tick products

The guidance is an important step towards ensuring responsible antimicrobial use and reducing the veterinary impact on the wider issues of global antibiotic resistance and decline of insect populations.

What this means in practice is that your pet will need to come in for an in-person consultation every time:

• we need to prescribe medication for an ear infection (as most contain antibiotics)
• we need to prescribe antibiotics for any skin problem, even if it’s a chronic problem
• we/you decide to change from one flea/worm/tick product to another
• we suspect a urinary tract infection (remote/online consultation and urine analysis/culture are no longer sufficient)
• we suspect a gastrointestinal infection (remote/online consultation and faecal analysis/culture are no longer sufficient)

Where possible we will try and provide you enough medication to cure the problem but unfortunately there are no guarantees.

In the example of ear problems if it looks like a chronic problem or a diagnosed problem we either prescribe a separate bottle for each ear if it is a bilateral problem.

We also can no longer prescribe prescription deworming products on the basis of a laboratory report alone, we will need to see the pet for a consultation and physical examination first. For long term prescription medication that is not an antimicrobial/antiparasitic, our usual policy of requiring an examination every 6 months (or every 3 months in some less stable or more serious cases) continues to apply. The consultations are charged at our usual fee of £13, for just a repeat meds check (if you have new problems or need to change medication the charge maybe more.

As well as having to embrace all these changes it means we will have to offer more appointments which we are already struggling to do. We have therefore had to take the decision that all missed appointments will be charged for and when booking a CT scan or an operation you a deposit will be required.

Client expectations soared and clients were stressed and not in control, and we tried to follow government guidelines and those set out by our governing body the Royal College.

More people than ever got pets and we became busier than ever but not every client was kind and the job became more of a battle and morale and mental health was dropping.

For a long time Mochdre Vets has supported charities and been proactive in supporting organisations.  We have wanted to give back more and doing volunteer work has been something the team wanted to persue.

Veterinary practices are a place of healing, support, and second chances. Run by vets, nurses, and people who are passionate about animal welfare, they help ease the suffering of animals and give many a brighter future.

But, in some parts of the world, veterinary supplies are limited, expert training is lacking, and clinics are ill-equipped. Unable to provide animals with the treatment and care they so desperately need, many animals suffer unnecessarily.

Worldwide Veterinary Service provides free expert care to animals in need all over the world. We do this by sending vets where they are needed most, training them to increase the standard of care globally and by shipping urgent aid supplies worldwide, every week of the year.

Mission Rabies

Rabies kills at least one child every nine minutes. It’s an agonising death and there is no treatment once a person shows symptoms of the disease. If you get bitten by a rabid dog (the cause of 99% of all rabies in humans), the only chance you have is to get to a hospital and receive a course of post exposure vaccinations – which is fine as long as the hospital has them and if you can afford them. Tragically, in the places where rabies is most prevalent, access to treatment is difficult and prohibitively expensive.

The way to eliminate the disease is by vaccinating the dog populations that carry it. Protect the dogs, protect the people – and it is mainly children that get bitten as they are the ones who come into contact with roaming dogs most.

 Killing dogs doesn’t work – it just creates a vacuum for more dogs to move into an area – but vaccinating the ones there is the way to establish a herd immunity and this technique works! Mission Rabies vaccinated over 35,000 street dogs in Blantyre, Malawi last year (and the year before). Blantyre hospital annually reported the highest incidence of child rabies deaths from any single institution in the whole of Africa in 2012. This is why we targeted the city. This year it hasn’t recorded a single child rabies death.

So let’s do this properly – let’s eliminate rabies from one of the poorest countries of the world, let’s protect hundreds of thousands of dogs and people, let’s establish a blueprint for how this disease can be beaten in sub Saharan Africa on a national scale and let’s do it in the next five years. MSD Animal Health are donating the vaccines, Dogs Trust are supporting 3 states, Mission Rabies are totally fired to make this happen – we just need a bit of cash and a few thousand volunteers!!! and here we were!

Illovo Sugar Plantation

I think Mochdre vets is very well equipped and we offer a high level of care to our patients. In Malawi however we were given a gazebo and we just had to set up as a field station. We had none of the usual fancy gadgets and monitors we had to rely on ourselves to be vigilant and trust that the owners could hold their pets while we injected them. Most of the people bringing the pets were children. In the UK they wouldn’t be allowed to sign the consent form if they were under 18 but on occasions we had people that couldn’t read or write and we relied on just a finger print! We worked with some of the locals that had good English and they helped translate, Jo was responsible for registering them and weighing them.

Blantyre SPCA

As well as the out reach project we were involved with Malawian vet students and participated in helping them and sharing stuff we knew.They were all very interested in pain management and we had dogs at the clinic that we were able to perform acupuncture on and share our experiences. The staff at the Blantyre SPCA were so helpful and welcoming to us and they really seemed to want to ask questions and learn from us.

Our experience

Hannah

Hannah final year student nurse ….

From my adventure to Malawi there were two key memories which will stick out for me, one being Majete wildlife reserve and the other being the outreach project at the sugar cane plantation.

Majete started of with lavender hot towel and a fruity drink on arrival. We were then introduce to the lovely manager who promptly organised our bags to be taken to our rooms and a table set for lunch, it was a real luxury! We went on four game drives, two early rises and two sundowners.

The game drives were truly magical where we got to see: impala, waterbucks, baboons, vultures, giraffes, zebra, lions and not to forget the elephants! The elephants frequently visited the watering hole which was only 5 meters away from the lunch table.

The outreach project was people who did not have the means to pay for sterilisation and rabies vaccinations. Setting up for surgery out in the middle of a sugarcane plantation was interesting to say the least, but we made it work. After the first couple of surgeries the team really pulled together to make a flowing system. During this outreach, I have learnt how to be a nurse using the bare minimum supplies and staff. Putting IV catheters in without any assistance from another nurses to raise the vein and restrain became easy. And monitoring multiple animals under anaesthetic all at once became the normal. At the end of the outreach project, all 88 animals seen for surgery went home neuter, preventing unwanted pregnancies and stopping the spread of TVT (transmittable venereal tumour) which are spread through sexual interactions of dogs.

The adventure to malawi was truly life changing and has hopefully made me grow into a more confident nurse. Seeing what difference we can make to people who need our help has really gives me confidence to want to pursue more volunteering campaigns in the future.

Amy

Jo

Head receptionist Joanne said;- When I heard about our trip to Malawi I had mixed emotions .A mixture of excitement and also doing something out of my comfort zone. When we arrived my nerves subsidied and I felt instantly relaxed.The Malawians were so friendly and I soon realised why Malawi is known as the heart of Africa. The team at the BSPCA was so welcoming and the animals under their care so well looked after.

One of the highlights of my trip was getting involved with the outreach project at the sugar plantation. The project was neutering the village dogs which was a huge success.All in all this trip has made me realise how lucky we are with what we have.Some of the children and families have very little but it doesn’t stop them from being happy, smiling and welcoming.

Louise

To try and write a full story of our time would take pages and pages . This is a short paragraph , a taste of what we all encountered. Long may we hold onto the joy of what we achieved with Mochdre Vets.

Louise also talked about Mission Rabies

Many adults and children are still dying from rabies In Malawi and the surrounding villages .

Mission Rabies is a charity initiative set up worldwide to try to eliminate dog bite transmitted rabies.

They need a minimum of 70% of cats and dogs to be vaccinated to help stop rabies as a killer.

I was fortunate enough to be asked to do two days outreach with the mission rabies team alongside other volunteers and it will stay with me for the rest of my life.

We set off early in the morning armed with a bag full of vaccinations and big red “ bingo style dobber” for marking the newly vaccinated animals.

A very loud megaphone to alert all the villages to bring out their animals to us and off we went.

We traveled many miles through terrain that I was amazed we actually got through!

Once the cars couldn’t go any further, we set out on foot over land. The obstacles for me anyway were entertaining to say the least, at one point going over small bridges and water ways over big obstacles for a long way and sometimes just for one animal.
All adding to the numbers needed.
My memory of the children is what made me a little emotional at times, as waving at a few children made dozens and dozens more appear and then would all chase the cars, running alongside waving cheering and the smiles were huge.

We managed 84 vaccinations one day a big total given how far apart each animal was.

The cats came out in bags which at first was alarming but then quickly realised how easier and less stressful for all . Cats didn’t seem to mind either!  The tree method was also a winner, hold the cat against a tree, it will naturally hang on, vaccinate it and go to the next one 🤩🤩

The feeling of accomplishment was always present and has stayed with me since. Even with no medical skills you can make a difference, common sense and enthusiasm can get you far.
I met so many people, all humble and grateful just for us being there to help.
The education is always present on handling, caring and the facts on rabies.

Everyone’s documented and certificates were proudly given .

The fact that I had the opportunity to even join the group from Mochdre Vets still amazes me but I’m proud to have been able to do a very small part .

Melody

Thursday came around and Nicola and I had a very bumpy (literally) ride around Blantyre to treat the TVT dogs with chemo injections.

Friday we were off to Majete, where we had 3 amazing game drives and even saw elephants about 30 meters away at our campsite watering hole.

The following week I enjoyed a few rewarding (but very tiring) days of mission rabies. Where a total of 91 dogs and cats (in bags) were vaccinated against rabies.

Finishing off our last night with a wonderful sounds of Malawi concert where we had 3 different artists and lots of dancing. Malawi had both ups and downs of the water and electricity shutting off randomly, but also the pleasure of working with a terrified puppy who went from hiding in a corner, to climbing into my lap.

Overall an unforgettable experience. Thank you to BSPCA and especially Sarah for making my dreams come true.

Nicola

The people were lovely and so grateful to us for helping the village dogs. It was rewarding as we weren’t only just preventing Rabies in cats and dogs but also humans as well. We also visited the villages treating dogs with TVT (transmissible venereal tumours), neutering and giving vincristine injections weekly. It was amazing and so rewarding to see the tumours shrink from the size of melons to barely visible at all. I learnt some new things such as how to give and monitor injectable anaesthesia rather than the usual gas anaesthetic which was quite daunting. I learnt about Rabies and how to deal with cases (I didn’t realise Rabies had a 100% fatality rate). I also learnt about the treatment of wild animals such as darting lions, tracking wild dogs and pangolins (although unfortunately it was only cats and dogs I got hands on with!)

Chloe

Hello,

First of all I would like to say thank you very much for giving us the amazing opportunity to be able to volunteer with the BSPCA in Malawi. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I will be forever grateful for and that has helped me gain a different perspective of the veterinary world outside of the UK and helped me further my veterinary knowledge which I shall use throughout my veterinary career. I thoroughly enjoyed working alongside the staff and clients of the BSPCA they contributed greatly to my great experience in Malawi.

I loved the amazing experience of the safari in Majete and being able to see many wild animals in their natural habitat.

I cannot say thank you enough for the amazing experience I had in Malawi, I still can’t believe I was able to take part in such a great opportunity.

Chloe x

Ella

The next day we decided to head over to Majete. It ended up creeping up to 36 degrees which was crazy to us as we’re so used to the wet welsh weather!! On our first game drive we spotted a beautiful male elephant which got us quite emotional. He was very tranquil which our tour guide informed us can be quite unusual. We saw a range of other stunning animals such as all the different types of antelopes like the Nyala. Our tour guide was teaching us the difference between them all by their markings + the quantities of their packs and he quizzed us regularly 🙂

We then cooled ourselves off by the pool with some lunch for a few hours before heading on our second drive for the sunset. We again saw some elephants but this time we saw a family with their calf. The male became quite protective of the calf therefore we had to move on quite quickly before they became unsettled or upset. Our guide was telling us the story of Majete’s reserve and how he hopes it will persevere and that they will get to include more animals in the near future.

On our way back as the sky got darker we were alerted of some Lions near by , and our guide was driving very quickly in the dark to try and find them for us, it was a lot of fun but we did come home with a fair few bruises!
We stayed the night in Majete in the lodges , but we did not get much sleep as we later learned the Lions decided to come to us after we failed to find them!

The next day was our introduction day at the clinic. We got to meet all the volunteers and their inpatients. We were also given a presentation by Dagmar about Rabies and the BSPCA’s future goals in treating it. I learnt that Rabies is 100% fatal and despite having vaccinations we would still need post exposure vaccinations if bitten.

That afternoon the orphaned puppies became our responsibility for the rest of our time there. At first they were fed every 2 1/2 hours, but they eventually began to be fed every 4-5 hours. It was a great experience on how to hand rear puppies and we quickly got a routine down between us. We took turns during the night where two of us would do one night then the other two the next, we were very tired but seeing the puppies grow + improve made it very worth while.

We also gifted Verson and Aaron with their stethoscopes which they were beyond happy with. They couldn’t believe it was theirs and that they were also personalised. It was emotional and made us so happy how something small can mean so much to them, after all their hard work they deserved it 🙂

On Wednesday I volunteered myself to go on the TVT rounds with Courtnie, Aaron and George. I had no knowledge of TVT therefore it was a very interesting day! I was primarily in charge of documenting all the information onto their app, such as if their tumours had improved + dates of the treatments etc. I did also get to assist in restraining the dogs and even preparing some of the medication in between. I feel like this experience has given me more confidence in handling / restraining dogs as most of them were a bit wild and would not easily sit as we’re used to !

As a bonus I got to experience more of Blantyre as every patient was quite a distance from each other, all the people were so kind and welcoming and the views were breathtaking.

Thursday morning we were up bright and early to do the morning round at the clinic. We assisted in giving the animals their medication, change their bedding and giving them fresh food. We also were socialising many nervous dogs and encouraging two amputee dogs to try and get mobile again post surgery.

After the round was done Auguste and I did two surgeries together, a dog castrate and a bitch spey. I am fairly confident with monitoring under anesthetic therefore I was very keen to help. I was very surprised to learn how they manage their anaesthetics with an injectible ‘top up’. I had to be extremely observant and at any sign of the dog being light I had to administer 0.5-1ml of the ‘top up’. It was stressful at first but I did find it very fascinating as well. It was not only great to further my experience with anaesthetics but it was incredible to watch my colleagues gain confidence with surgeries and monitoring as well.

Lydia also taught me how to place IV catheters. After a few attempts I was successful and felt very proud of myself! I did try with the next surgery as well but unfortunately blew the leg!! Practice makes perfect 🙂 Courtnie, Mark and Lydia invited us out for dinner which was nice as we got to know them better and to learn more about the BSPCA – we also had a laugh eating in the dark due to the power going out.

Thursday afternoon we went over to Game Haven to experience another drive but this time focusing on Prey animals. I had never seen a Zebra so close before and I was taken back by how beautiful they were . We also managed to find their only Giraffe ‘Mrs G’ which was amazing as they stated she can be difficult to find.

Unfortunately we did seem to bring a part of home with us and it rained the entire time ! But we still had an amazing afternoon. We then made our way back to the puppies before packing our bags to sadly head home. On Friday morning we made our mark on the volunteers wall and took plenty of pictures to look back on with the other volunteers. We were extremely grateful for the incredible experience and they were grateful for our help and newly found friendships.

This trip was truly a dream come true for me. Experiencing the culture, people and animals was magical, and getting to further my skills in a variety of conditions really has helped my confidence and I believe they will be beneficial to my nursing in future. After this experience I am sure to volunteer again in the near future.

Claire

Firstly, I will never be able to thank Sarah enough for this amazing opportunity!

Malawi was beautiful, the staff and animals at the BSPCA were lovely to work alongside.  In our country, we are used to gold standard veterinary care, experiencing veterinary care in a different country was definitely an eye opener for me, having to deal with patients with diseases such as rabies and commonly parvovirus was different to what I’m used to.

The work that the BSPCA do is wonderful, the mission rabies was a highlight for me, going to different villages and vaccinating the dogs against rabies was very rewarding.

Going to Majete and seeing all of the wildlife in their natural habitat made me quite emotional, especially the elephants, we were so close to a male elephant who had left his herd to go and find a mate, he was breathtaking!

We also visited Game Haven where we saw some beautiful Zebras – again, so beautiful and so close to us.  Malawi was an amazing experience that I will never forget and will forever be grateful for. Thank you Sarah.

Following Sarah’s training blog, I’ve been asked to follow suit and blog my recent training for our new aquatic treadmill. I’m not sure I’ll be able to do quite as well in documenting my time but I shall try.

In 2015 I qualified with a level 3 certificate in small animal hydrotherapy with Whitehouse training centre in Lincoln. Since then I have gained significant experience in practice, running a hydrotherapy pool in Northop. Early in 2017, I was approached by Sarah to manage a new hydrotherapy rehabilitation centre opening in Mochdre within Mochdre Vets. How exciting! How could I possibly resist? The only worry I had was that Sarah was keen for us to have a (large) pool and an underwater treadmill, the latter of which I’m not experienced with. Some training is given within the level 3 certificate but more was needed. So I set to finding a course to which I could gain such knowledge. Hawksmoor training centre provided a day long course with everything I could possibly need to know. Immediately following the course, I was required to submit a theoretical and practical assessment. Not having an aquatic treadmill to perform such an assessment, Canine therapies in Preston were more than happy to oblige. Here, I was able to perform my practical assignment under supervision of a suitably qualified instructor who was kind enough to allow photographic evidence. Jo Bruce and Sarah Polton were the two roped in to help me. They were so fantastic, I can’t thank them enough. We began by viewing the famous Labrador Rooney in the treadmill. As seen previously, Rooney is being treated for neurological problems, resulting in his limb weakness. Rooney was a star, showing off his, we’ll known, routine by going through each process without much need for me to be honest! Such a good boy.

He then had to deal with a clumsy newbie (me) attempting to correctly place his hind paws on the belt whilst he was walking. I got the hang of it in the end, in fact, by the end of the session Rooney didn’t need me to give foot placements, he was doing it all by himself. The main focus of aquatic treadmill treatment is ensuring that the water level and speed of the belt are running at the optimum rate for the most benefit to the patient. I can tell you, that all sounds a lot easier than it is to execute.

Beau was next up. He was a challenge. Being a Sprocker, he had no intention of standing still for a moment. He ran rings around me for the shower and getting him into the harness was quite a scene! Once in the treadmill, just keeping four paws on the belt was a challenge let alone anything else. He was easily distracted too, as half way through we had to request towels to cover up the treadmill mirror (running parallel to the aquatic treadmill for the therapist to view gait), as he was admiring himself too much! Well, he was gorgeous but please, Beau, a little modesty.

He also would stop walking and slide to the back of the chamber, when distracted by his harness straps! So funny. In the midst of all this, we did manage a good session as he is used to the therapy now (can you imagine how he was before he was used to it?). The water level was up to mid thigh/shoulder to support his elbows, as he was referred for hydrotherapy post elbow arthroplasty. We adjusted the speed to balance his stride, and preventing him from falling behind or getting to the front of the belt. He was also pacing, a term used for a gait which is two step walking instead of the normal four steps that a dog uses. So the speed helps to knock this rhythm off and return to normal. When Beau did reach the front of the belt where his owner had treats, he would proceed to dig!

On his rests, his favourite thing was to be up on two legs looking out of the aquatic treadmill and having a cuddle, or having a good shake and soaking an otherwise dry hydrotherapist. Beau was a great training aid, as not every dog is going to comply, like Rooney.

What a wonderful experience. What a wonderful therapy. We have progressed so far already with rehabilitation for our beloved fur family and it will only improve, and I fully intend to make sure that we are a part of every single advancement.

Well as a vet I have always believed in the benefits of hydrotherapy but having the opportunity to set up my own hydrotherapy centre I thought I should learn a bit more so in March 2017 I enrolled on the level 3 certificate in Hydrotherapy at canine therapies in Preston.

I would like to think I took to it like a duck to water but sadly I was more a brick to water. Thankfully the ever patient Jo was on hand to help me with my first few swims as the first one I did I missed the bottom of the step face planted in the water and then had to try and run though the water to catch up (it is harder than it sounds!) – thankfully the dogs do laps of the pool so I was able to catch up on their way back, and then tripped on the step again – so much to remember!

Jo gave me a pep talk on doing large stride skips and using my toes so I was ready to try again, this time I though would go without shoes and actually it was better I made it all the way round and even kept up!

Next lesson was how to not annoy the dogs by holding them in a position they don’t like, some you have to hold at the front of the life jacket, some at the back, some you need to hold their feet to make them work and some you don’t hold at all! several filty looks after I think I am getting to grips with that! I have to admit it was super cute doing Bailey from the front. He is maybe 4kg when wet, 16 going blind but if I went backwards and talked to him he did marvellously in fact he put a lot of the pups to shame! I am sure he was knackered afterwards as I know I was!

The Lovely Rooney. Rooney has a neurological problem which means he is weak on his limbs a condition we call ataxia. Because he gets wobbly the pool isn’t as suitable for him so he goes in the treadmill. As he loses his co ordination you have to place his feet for him. The exercise is good for him as it keeps his muscle strength up and keeps his mental levels up as the water helps support him. To ensure he walks properly sometime you have to put his paw in the right position (otherwise would counteract the positive benefits of hydrotherapy)

Rooney might as well kick back and enjoy the treats if someone else is going to walk his feet for him!

As part of my assessment for the certificate I had to show first Aid for all future patients you will be pleased to hear I passed!

Inca who was being swam for her osteoarthritis had a chat with me and gave me a few pointers!

Inca going the other way so we ensure both sides are worked equally. We used the toy to play games, keep her focused and manoeuvre her in the direction we wanted!

We use platform for the front legs to try and encourage better weight bearing on the hind limbs. This is particularly useful after an operation or if we want to work specific muscle groups.

Every dog and every condition is different so it was great funny learning about all the ways to benefit the animals and to everyone at canine therapies thank you for being so patient!