Rosie has been a client of mine for some time. She is the first English Setter I have worked with and has taught me a huge amount about breed. Around late February last year (2023) after a series of UTI’s her guardian and I started noticing changes in both Rosie’s conformation and behaviour. Diligently her guardian sought further veterinary advice and in March our worse fears were confirmed. Rosie had a large mass that was blocking both her bladder and bowel.
The removal of this mass was not straight forward, the mass ruptured during surgery, causing a large bleed, resulting in Rosie becoming critically ill in the days that followed. During this time a heart murmur developed and her guardian was advised to manage her expectations about whether Rosie would be returning home.
Fortunately, Rosie had other ideas, she fought to stabilise and was able to return home 5 days later. Her return home came with the thought that this was likely to be the end of both her show career and her involvement in agility lessons. Rosie had a large scar the length of her abdomen and had an episiotomy scar which was compromising her bowel and bladder control. Her guardian got in contact for me to visit Rosie and assist in putting together a bespoke recovery plan with the intention of giving Rosie the best quality of life possible.
In the first few weeks Rosie was far too vulnerable for any hands-on work, so we offered Red Light Therapy to ease inflammation, pain levels and accelerate wound healing. Rosie’s guardian had signed up to the stand up to cancer charity walk challenge. This daily walk formed part of her restricted movement rehabilitation and gave both dog and guardian an additional purpose, they racked up 120 miles in a month and raised nearly £600 for a charity very close to their heart. Gradually Canine Bowen Technique was offered, starting with low energy work and slowly progressing to more ‘standardised’ Canine Bowen Technique moves, every session being led by Rosie.
It became obvious that Rosie was not enjoying a sedentary lifestyle so a decision was made to take her back to ringcraft and agility on a recreational basis. Whilst she began to thrive emotionally, stacking was proving difficult for her and she seemed restricted in mobility, so with the guardians permission Rosie was offered soft tissue work directed at her abdominal scar. Once again this was led by Rosie. Some sessions she made it clear that the scar was not to be touched, other sessions she offered up her abdomen freely and encouraged the work to be done. This work combined with Canine Bowen Technique made huge differences to Rosie’s freedom of movement both in her gait and tail movement.
Fast forward to September and Rosie’s guardian chose to enter Rosie in a Championship show to see how things went. Defying the odds, and the opinions of other handlers as to whether she’d ever make it back into the ring, Rosie performed and came 1st in her class gaining her stud book number and lifetime qualification for Crufts!
Rosie continues to attend recreational agility lessons and has a monthly maintenance offering of Canine Bowen Technique, still occasionally asking for work around the scar area.
So here we are in March 2024, just under 12 months on from surgery, and she will be rocking it on the green carpet at Crufts with the luxury of no expectation. She is a fighter, and a winner in every way already, and I can’t wait to see her defying the odds for many more years to come. Rosie is more than just a show dog, she makes up part of a family unit and what ever happens in the show ring, seeing Rosie happy and healthy and knowing she’s coming home to snuggle on the sofa will always be the best prize of all.
It is a privilege to have been part of Rosie’s recovery journey, and continuing support team!
Good Luck to everyone competing at Crufts this week!!!
See Rosie’s guardian’s review below
Louise Beasley
“Where to start with Laura? She just brings a wonderful aura into my home and leaves us with a well needed sense of calm.. I first met Laura after recommendation when Rosie was injured in a dog attack with a corkscrew spine injury. At first Rosie was a bit reluctant to allow a stranger to touch her, as the human in charge of the dog that attacked her leapt towards her to get his dog off of her, leaving her wary of close contact of strangers. Laura worked sensitively in the first session to build trust, truly working with Rosie rather than ‘on’ her. I noticed an improvement straight away, and on her second session Rosie chose to come and lay by Laura ready, as soon as she entered the room. She recovered better than vets expected and went back to agility and dog shows. Fast forward to March 2023. After a period of uti’s that the vet could not find a cause, after yet another check for a pyometra a mass was seen on a scan and she was referred a specialist. She ended up with emergency surgery with a tumour in her pelvis that had grown and was now blocking both bowel and bladder. After five days, nearly losing her, I bought home a broken dog. But Laura was there straight away to aid her recovery again. No one in breed showing thought she would ever be able to return to the show ring and advised me to retire her. But in the following September, at her first championship show, (Richmond) she not only came first in her class , but gained her Stud book number, qualifying her for life for Crufts. She has also made a return to agility and we hope to venture into some competition this year. I feel sure none of this would have been possible without Laura’s help.”Where to start with Laura? She just brings a wonderful aura into my home and leaves us with a well needed sense of calm.. I first met Laura after recommendation when Rosie was injured in a dog attack with a corkscrew spine injury. At first Rosie was a bit reluctant to allow a stranger to touch her, as the human in charge of the dog that attacked her leapt towards her to get his dog off of her, leaving her wary of close contact of strangers. Laura worked sensitively in the first session to build trust, truly working with Rosie rather than ‘on’ her. I noticed an improvement straight away, and on her second session Rosie chose to come and lay by Laura ready, as soon as she entered the room. She recovered better than vets expected and went back to agility and dog shows. Fast forward to March 2023. After a period of uti’s that the vet could not find a cause, after yet another check for a pyometra a mass was seen on a scan and she was referred a specialist. She ended up with emergency surgery with a tumour in her pelvis that had grown and was now blocking both bowel and bladder. After five days, nearly losing her, I bought home a broken dog. But Laura was there straight away to aid her recovery again. No one in breed showing thought she would ever be able to return to the show ring and advised me to retire her. But in the following September, at her first championship show, (Richmond) she not only came first in her class , but gained her Stud book number, qualifying her for life for Crufts. She has also made a return to agility and we hope to venture into some competition this year. I feel sure none of this would have been possible without Laura’s help.”
Treatment Table 