Deru is a 1 year old Hungarian Viszla who was rescued through the Hungarian Viszla charity from Budapest by Lara & Chris Jessop.

He had a tough start to life after fracturing his skull following blunt trauma & suffering with mal-nutrition. This was soon followed by a spinal embolism which resulted in compression of his spinal cord in his cervical spine which left him paralysed through all four limbs. Surgery was carried out in Budapest to release the compression at cervical levels 2 &3. He came over to the U.K. in April this year to live with his new family following a few months of recovery in Hungary.

The physiotherapist in Budapest worked on independent standing and sitting, alongside walking with support in a harness as he was unable to stand on his own.

On initial assessment assessment in the U.K., Deru was able to move around independently but was very unsteady with significantly reduced strength & proprioception in his fore & hindlimbs.

Treatment focused on reducing muscle spasm & tension, aiding in joint mobilisation, regaining balance & working towards improved ability to move between sitting, lying & standing. Exercises were also taught and given to the owners to work on strength & balance using poles & cones, & unstable surfaces such as a wobble cushion for targeting work.

Deru has responded very well to treatment. He can now run & play with his brothers, has much more control & freely moves around without any issues. Physiotherapy is still ongoing, working on more high level control, balance & strength to continue to build Deru to ensure he can enjoy his walks and race around!

Deru has his own Facebook page, please click the link Deru – Hungarian Vizsla to continue to follow his progress.

Otley Show on the 21st May 2016 was yet another great success albeit the slightly damp weather!

It is the oldest one day agricultural show in the country, spanning over 200 years, becoming one of the most important agricultural shows in the North. It had many exciting events included displays of immaculately turned out cattle, sheep & horses. A new attraction this year was Bob Hogg’s ‘The Lamb National’, where a group of Herdwick Sheep race around a track while leaping small fences & encouraged by a sheepdog! He also had his sheepdog and duck display which was a favourite of mine!

Other classes this year in the main arena included the showjumping, Shetland, Shires & Hunters. I have included a few snap shots of the day in all its glory!