We adopted Louie (32kg) from VicDRG when he was 5 in 2018, followed by Ava (13 kg), also from VicDRG, when she was 5 in 2019. Louie had been a pup with VicDRG but was ‘rescued’ from the LDH when his adopters split and he had been surrendered to LDH rather than being returned to VicDRG despite the guaranteed lifetime refund that is available. Louie was very fortunate to survive that experience because the LDH had decided that he was to be killed because he was not coping well in the shelter.

Now 11, Louie has just had Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO) surgery due to a ruptured cranial cruciate ligament in his back leg. Louie is a very active boy so he is finding the restrictions very difficult. 

Ava, now 10, is also very active but she knows she shouldn’t be pushing Louie to play (she loves having him chase her). They don’t often sleep on the same bed, but she seems to have decided that his disability means that she should be sticking close by on occasion. In the photo of the two of them, Louie’s face is blurred because he doesn’t like cameras – as soon as the phone is in position for a photo he always moves!