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Dundies Diaries Issue One

Dundies Diaries / By

We love hearing your pets story! Dundies Diaries features you and your pet, your journey and your experiences. In this issue we delve into the stories of Gus, Pedey, Jazz, Dan and Gracie who have Spina Bifida, Anxiety or Swimmers.

Have a pet with a unique story or need? Share your story with us! Submit it to sales@dundies.com.au with the heading ‘ Dundies Diaries – your pet’s name’ 

Meet Augustus Alexander Payne whos family consists of his Mummy and daddy Jessica and Pat and his sister Madison.

Gus has a condition called spina bifida.

Spina bifida is an inherited congenital spinal abnormality where the vertebrae do not form normally. Spina Bifida in dogs usually affects the lower back, with severe cases involving multiple vertebral segments, and more mild cases affecting just 1 segment.

Gus was adopted from Moe Moe’s Rescue of the Rockies. 

Gus and his family’s favorite activity is to snuggle. 

Jessica shares that she wish she knew before adopting Gus “how easy it would be to fit him into our schedule and our lives.” 

Gus is two years old and he loves his favourite stuffed giraffe toy and chowing down on popcorn! 

Meet Mr Pedey owned by his mum Alyce.

Pedey is an older gentleman who suffers from separation anxiety.

Separation anxiety is a condition where a pet becomes significantly stressed or anxious when they are left on their own without their owner present. 

Pedey and Alyce came into each others lives when Alyce rescued him from an abusive ex. 

Their favourite activity to do together is to chill and watch movies/play xbox

Something Alyce shares she wish she knew before owning Pedey is  “I wish I knew more about training so the separation anxiety could have been prevented rather than cured. I have learnt you can definitely teach an old dog new tricks.” 

This old boy is the amazing age of 12! He is a Shih Tzu x Silky and he loves playing with his Frankenstein monster toy. Don’t be fooled into thinking his age slows him down though, Pedey still has the energy to quickly destroy his toys! His favourite food to chow down on is roast chicken! 

Alyce shares:  “I just want to say how much Dundies® have improved both of our lives. I’m truly appreciative of Emily’s care and customer service. I recommend Dundies® products to everyone I possibly can.” 

You can shop for our premium red belly bands like like Pedey is wearing HERE .

Meet Jazz and her family, her owners and breeders Carol & Alister. 
 
Jazz was born in a second litter to our English Staffy Maisey. Jazz was the last born and was squashed in the womb and as a result, she has swimmers syndrome.
 
Swimmers syndrome, also known as flat-puppy syndrome or turtle pup is a deformity in newborn dogs and cats, where the limbs, primarily the hind legs, are splayed which inhibits their ability to stand or walk. With combinations of physiotherapy, extra care, splinting and bandaging swimmers syndrome can be managed. 
 
Jazz’s back legs did not work and she has a curve in her spine. Her vets were fantastic with various treatments to bind her legs and hips and get her moving.
 
Carol & Alister took her swimming in a dog lap pool and have been doing this once a week for nearly 12 years! Jazz bunny hops when running and waddles when walking but nothing stops her.
 
Carol says “We got her wheels for longer walks, because when she is tired her back feet drag. 
Even if I knew what we had to do for Jazz before she was born I would do it all over again. Jazz is affectionate, loyal, funny, determined, stubborn, quirky and attention seeking, but we wouldn’t have her any other way.” 
 
Jazz loves camping, diving into her shell pool and hanging out with her humans and other fur friends, she is an English Staffy and will be 12 yrs old in February 2021. Her favourite food is dentastix and chicken. 
Meet Dan and his family, his parents Bill and Ashley Osborne. 
 
Dan has Suspected Spina Bifida which causes him urinary and fecal incontinence. 
 
Incontinence in dogs is the involuntary loss of urine from the bladder or feces from the bowel. 
 
Dans human is a veterinary technician.  They came into eachothers lives when Dan was brought into my clinic at 5 weeks old for euthanasia by the breeder because of his disability. After much coercion the breeder finally agreed to allow Ashley to keep him as long she I didn’t tell people who he came from. 
 
Dan’s favourite activity to do is playing with a laser light!  
 
Dan’s parents share: “I wish I had known how expensive it was going to be to diaper a dog for their entire lives as well as the restraint it was going to cause to be able to up and go whenever you wanted. Thankfully I have an awesome friend/veterinarian who will babysit when available and he does well on trips but it does take a lot of planning to go anywhere even for a day if he can’t go.” 
 
Here at Dundies we help to reduce costs like this associated with life long use of pet nappies with our range of medical grade washable pet nappies that can be used time and time again, saving money long term. Here in Australia a fantastic resource, if you are not as fortunate as Dan’s humans to have qualified friends look after your pets, you can search for a great range of vet nurse, vet tech and animal specialist pet sitters at PetCloud. 
 
Dan is a young happy boy who just turned 3 in October, he is an English Bulldog.  His favorite toy would have to be the laser light but he also enjoys anything that squeaks ! 
 
Dan is very limited on foods he can have because of sensitivities, but his favourite is greenies!  

Meet Gracie Mae and her mum Melanie Stein.

Gracie is a 3 yr old English Bulldog that has Spina Bifida.

Gracie and Melanie came into each others lives when Gracie was living with people that purchased her with the intention of breeding her. They soon realized she has special needs and instead of reaching out to a rescue or rehoming her they chose to keep her in a crate and hose it down when she would go to the bathroom in it. A friend of mine reached out to this man, whos girlfriend was arrested for animal cruelty, and asked if he had any dogs he would like help with. He agreed to let us take Gracie. I searched high and low for a rescue to take her in. After 3 days Emerald City Rescue in New Jersey agreed to take her and get her the medical attention she required.
Gracie not only has Spina Bifida but because of her ill treatment early in life she also has IBS and has to be on a special diet. I chose to foster Gracie for Emerald City Rescue as I had already grown quite attached to her and she has been with me since!
 
One of Gracie and her mum’s  favorite things to do together is play with bubbles. Gracie loves catching them! We also really enjoy snuggling. 
 
Melanie shares “I definitely wish I had known how amazing dogs with Spina Bifida are. I will never say no to fostering or adopting one in the future!” 
 
Gracie’s favorite toy is a tennis ball and her favorite food is grilled chicken.
References

LeCouteur, R.A., Child, G. 1995. Diseases of the spinal cord. In S.J. Ettinger and E.C. Feldman (eds.) Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine, pp. 629-696. W.B. Saunders Co., Toronto.

“Congenital and Inherited Anomalies of the Nervous System: Small Animals”. The Merck Veterinary Manual. 2006. Retrieved 2007-02-04.

Canine Inherited Disorders Database

 Advantage pet care – for happy healthy pets. How to tell is your dog has separation anxiety. 

The Canadian Veterinary Journal, Home-care treatment of swimmers syndrome. 2013.