Iatka Spring Spangle was her Kennel Club name but to us she was our little Fly. Born on April Fool’s Day 1/4/2001 but she was no fool. Clever, honest, enthusiastic, wanting to live life at a thousand miles an hour and loving every second!
Many people will remember Fly from her appearances at Crufts, winning the Heelwork to Music Final in 2008 and taking 2nd place in 2013. She was placed highly in the top 10 every year from the inaugural HTM Final at Crufts in 2006 and throughout her life, never missing a year. To our delight she went on to win the first ever Open European Championships which was held in Denmark in 2011. Fly was selected for Team GB every year that they competed at subsequent OECs.
2013 was proving a great year in competition with a second place at Crufts and the OEC to look forward to later in the year. This was the first opportunity that we had to defend her title and we were putting a lot of time into ensuring that we had the best chance.
One morning in early September I noticed a lump on her right foreleg, it was perfectly round and the size of a large pea. We saw the vet that same day, the lump was aspirated and a small amount of fluid was collected. On analysis we discovered that it was hemangiosarcoma. At the time I understood the seriousness of the diagnosis but was hopeful that we had caught it quickly enough.
Before we booked the surgery the vet made me aware of the potential size of the wound and the length of time that it would take to heal. It was not long before we were due to travel to the OEC and I was given the option to have the surgery on our return home as the wound would not be healed in time to travel to The Netherlands. Wait? NO WAY! Any delay meant a greater chance of the disease spreading and there wasn’t a rosette or title in the world that was worth more than the health of any of my dogs!
From first discovery of the lump to the removal of the tumour was less than a week. We observed and palpated her lymph nodes to check for any obvious spread of the disease before surgery and made sure to take wide margins from the site. This left a large wound, too large to close with stitches and so we had to achieve the healing process with regular dressing management.
Fly was the perfect patient throughout the procedure and all of the follow up treatment. The regular dressing changes were uncomfortable for her but her behaviour was nothing short of excellent. A couple of weeks later I left for the Netherlands with Erin (Team GB Freestyle Reserve) and Allan stayed home to continue Fly’s dressing treatment.
The wound healed very well and it was a relief to us all when it could be left open to the air with no more bandages to change or boots to be worn when going outside. We decided not to take the option of further treatment and continued to make the most of every day that we had left with our special girl.
Fly was very keen to get back into training, she had missed it terribly. We returned to the routine that we had been working on for Crufts 2014 but it soon became clear that we had lost a lot of training time and the routine was very demanding and complicated, we would not be able to do it justice. We made the decision to use a simpler piece of music with less challenging moves and just enjoy our time together in the ring. In January we qualified for the Crufts Finals and at Crufts 2014, at the age of 13 Fly came 10th. I don’t think anyone has ever been happier with last place! A great achievement; I was so proud of her and so happy to still be able to enjoy life with her.
We had 2 more wonderful years together after her surgery and made lots more memories. Although she was selected for Team GB 2014 we bowed out gracefully when I realised that her hearing and was failing and we couldn’t achieve the standard that we had previously enjoyed. It was good to see our reserve dog do so well in our place and I still enjoyed the trip to Germany supporting our Team as HTM Team Leader.
Fly continued to enjoy her dance training of course and if she did an incorrect move she was never wrong – it was my fault for not speaking loudly and clearly, I could tell that by the look on her face, I was wrong and she was right, just as it should be J
We finally said goodbye to Fly at the beginning of 2016. I don’t need to explain to anyone who has lost a dog how that felt, she took a little piece of my heart with her. I am eternally grateful for the extra time that we had with Fly following diagnosis, I know that there are many who are not so lucky and my thoughts are with them as I write this.
My Shmy (Australian Shepherd) passed away for more than two years now, and I still cannot forget how, after she was diagnosed with cancer, we tossed from despair to hope: it was impossible to realize that we are powerless when faced with this terrible diagnosis: Cancer. Losing dogs is very difficult! Losing a young dog, still full of strength and life, is simply unbearable
Yvonne asked me to write an article about my Shmy’s cancer story, in order to make him an Ambassador for her “The Alice-Ribbon” internet link in favour of canine cancer awareness. It is a very necessary and important task and I promised her to help to promote this site among as many dog owner’s as possible to allow our dogs a dignified life before and during a cancer diagnosis and an equally dignified end of life!
I also tried to write a sad history of Shmu's illness, but I'm not good at it: it just hurts so much!
She was ill for exactly one month. It all began with a slight limping of the hind legs in the turns, and I suspected that it was an unsuccessful jump that had caused an injury in the back. However, medical examinations of her back did not confirm this suspicion. Worse, a blood test made by the veterinarian showed results of a suspected lymphoma (blood cancer). 10 days later, Shmu had a first epileptic fit. A MRI-screening showed multiple sites of inflammation in the brain and the veterinarian now suspected a generalized brain tumor and we immediately started radio-therapy. But the treatment indicated after such diagnosis did not work. Shmu stopped moving his tail, then became blind, when it became clear that nothing was working, and the painkillers were not working anymore, I let her go….
I like a creative challenge and have the happy ability to turn my hand to pretty much any type of writing!
I write poetry, fiction and non fiction, with an interest in historical writing, books for children and memoir. In my freelance work I’ve written educational materials for schools, arts organisations, on-line learning platforms and magazines, as well as promotional material for business clients and heritage groups. I’ve even written scripts for short films (you can watch one I wrote recently here.)
Other than that, I really enjoy wheedling stories out of people and doing what I can to help them get published.
I have a BA in English, a Post Graduate Certificate of Education and a Master’s degree in Creative Writing. I’m accredited as a writing coach through the Arvon Foundation and the National Association of Writers in Education (NAWE). As an Arts Award adviser, I work with young people who want to earn awards at Discover, Explore, Bronze and Silver levels.
I lead writing workshops for young writers in schools and writers of all ages in the community. Altogether, I have over 25 years’ experience of supporting writers to develop their creative skills, achieve their writing goals and find their own ‘voice’.