Mishka - 16/01/03 -19/05/10

Mishka came to us at the start of 2005, then named Sky.

The name Sky didnt suit her and I wanted a new name to go with her new life. So I began the search for a new name. I came accross Mishka, which means 'little bear in russian', and it suited her perfectly (big bear wasn't an option, lol).

Mishka was a gentle giant and loved our other dogs. She even let the cat rub up against her!

She just didn't know her own size (or weight!). If you made the mistake of sitting on the floor she would try and sit on your lap for a cuddle - she didn't understand she wasn't the lap dog type. She was best buds with Pip in her younger days, but took life easier with Rex as she grew older.

 

Robodog

Mishka had previously kept outside as a guard dog and had been left with an untreated lame leg with severe atrophy. As soon as we got her we took her to the vet. After doing some xrays the vet confirmed that she had ruptured her cruciate ligament and it was obvious that it had been left untreated for a while. As she got on well with our other animals we decided to take her on and went ahead with the costly operation to repair it.

It was a long few weeks after the operation while the wound healed. However, as soon as the stitches came out and the wound had healed up we were able to start doing hydrotherapy twice a week aid her recovery and start building muscle. We were lucky enough to live quite close to a hydrotherapy pool.

Unfortunately on the 15th October 2005 she hurt her leg again and had to have a second op. This time we went for TPLO.

For more infomation on Mishkas first TPLO recovery please see TPLO recovery part 1 .

Sadly, luck has not been on her side. On the 2nd June 2007 she ruptured her other crucaite and underwent another lot of TPLO. Thankfully she seems to be well on the mend, although she can't quite manage the longer walks we do.

For more infomation on Mishkas second TPLO recovery please see TPLO recovery part 2.

In 2009 she was diagnosed with arthritis in her elbows and hips. She also had to have a toe amputated after being diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in October '09. The margins were clear so we were really hopefuly. Unfortunately in May 2010 she started limping again and didnt respond to anti-inflams. The vets sadly confirmed that the cancer was back, so we made the hard decision to let her go. You can read the tribute post on my Blog .

Pet Obedience

She came to us knowing nothing - not even having any basic manners. She was a little unsure of some men so we did a lot of work on her socialisation skills but she came along nicely. It was a lot of effort but she was worth it.

When her leg healed enough after the initial TPOL op, she started attending pet obedience classes at Paws Obedience in Kings Lynn.

She was a quick leaner and passed the Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme awards at Bronze, Silver and Gold levels, all within a year of starting her training. She stopped attending classes when she hurt her other leg, but we were very pleased with how well she had been doing.

She loved the clicker and picks things up quickly, although liked to do everything in her own time. She wass eager to please and learnt a number of tricks such as playing dead, as well as some more formal work such as retrieves and sendaways. She might not have ever been able to compete at anything but she was always willing to have-a-go and certainly had fun doing it.

Mish came with us when we camped at agility shows. Although not able to compete she did like a little waddle around the rings, and enjoyed meeting dogs of all shapes and sizes.

Its certainly never been the same without her. Run free Mish xx