Azra is mobile again! Thank you
for your faith in us to know the right thing to do for Azra to be able to live
her life as she wanted to. After her sudden decline with cancer and then her
recovery following a complete mastectomy, we watched Azra’s will of iron to get
better but her frustration at her weak back legs caused by degenerative myelopathy.
She has a fantastic chair now that will support her more and more as the
disease progresses. You have no idea the joy it was for her and for us to be
able to walk down the lane again in the sunshine. The joy it brings to all to
have our snaggle toothed, grey haired girl out for walks cannot be overstated. On
her first try out in her chair, once the wheels were in place, she was
offfffff, doing all the normal doggy things she loved to do. To see someone you
love mobile again is overwhelming. She is our super trooper.
To walk next to our golden friend
is an honour. To hear her familiar floppy walk as her large feet hit the ground
is a comfort, like a warm blanket on a chilly evening. To turn and see her
black-eyed gaze looking back at me with her soul searching look is nothing
short of a miracle. She has been through so much in her life, this is just
another chapter. Her floppy-footed walk is now accompanied by the rumble of
wheels. It is overwhelming the strength of her will to get better, to be part
of the pack, to be with her family. I hope her story gives other people courage
to trust the animals in their lives. To give them the same chances as they
would a human in the same position. To not prejudge and cut their lives short
because it makes the human life easier. It is not our role to judge what their
quality of life is by our parameters but to allow them to guide us with their
wants and desires. To listen closely to their language, to trust in them to
know their own capabilities. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring but today
was an adventure. Whatever is on the horizon, she can trust in us to be by her
side.
Never give up. The non-human
animal in your life has an ability to heal that is as strong as your own and a
will to live. So often as humans we underestimate a non-human animal’s
capabilities. So many people contacted me saying I should have had Azra euthanised
when she was post-operative after her mastectomy. So many felt it was their
duty to judge a situation over the internet by their own standards. To say that
she was suffering in some way. She was never in pain, she may have been
uncomfortable at times, and she may have been frustrated. But it was her
frustration and will to move that has propelled her forward. Azra is happy to
be alive and we are over the moon. Too many humans take the easy road for
themselves rather than being an honest guardian and allowing the animal in
their care to set the pace.
Just over a week of using her
chair, from doubly incontinent, fighting cancer, unable to walk, to walking
down the road with her friend. She uses her chair for walks over ten minutes
three times a day, but to potter down the road for five minutes she can cope
very well now without. These chairs are fabulous, I cannot recommend them
highly enough. We thought Azra would be reliant on this chair until she passed
away; instead, it has helped us to rehabilitate her and she is able to have
independent moments. Thank you again to all those that helped.
As you can see in the photo, this
evening walk with Azra was beautiful. She and I rumbled along as the sun slowly
dipped his head to bed. The air has taken on the smell of autumn, a hint of
frost, as if it is hiding around the bend. After the recent rain, the boggy
notes of fungi are a pleasant undertone; hinting at mushroom suppers not far
ahead.
She travels well now in her chair.
For over 45 minutes she was plodding along, nose down to the ground, with an
occasional glance around. We stopped at the viewpoint for a little rest, before
heading home as the darkness dripped its lacy wings on the trees and the
shadows lengthened to become clotted pools that stopped me seeing ahead, but
still the rumble was beside me. The plopping sound of large, hairy pads
striking their rhythm on the moist pavement.
By the time we arrived at the
last hill to home I could smell roasting garlic and chilli. Knowing our dinner
was on the way, Azra picked up her pace, knocking the wheels on the front gate
in her haste to get home to supper. My old girl and I had a wonderful rumble through
the darkness and now off to sup the homemade courgette rum, just to test if it
needs a few more twists of ginger, in the name of science.
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