You may have read our formal news story and appeal for ex-BCDH dog Ripley who needs groundbreaking surgery, but blog-followers may enjoy the more personal comments from Ripleys owner Charlotte.

Ripley ( or FATBOY as we sometimes call him ) was placed at the Dogs home in October 2008.He is nearly 5 years old now and is a Ridgeback X Shar-pei. He was there for 6 months before we came along. He never had any reserves whilst he was there. We were looking for a loving dog who would be suited to our other rescue dog, Zeb ( that we got from you some 6 years earlier). I spoke to the lovely Sophie who said she had just the dog for us. She took me to meet Ripley whom wasn’t the sort of dog that I imagined but looks weren’t important nor was size. He fitted in with what we were looking for and quickly met my husband, James then our beloved Zeb ( we unfortunately lost him in March this year – he went to poochie heaven).

We brought Ripley home on 14th April 2009 and he settled in and made great friends with Zeb. They use to swap beds which was hilarious as Ripley use to somehow squeeze into Zeb’s much smaller bed !!!

I have an amazing dog walker, Debs who helps me out on my work days ( Mon, Tues and wed ). She came and meet him and feel in love with him as we had done.

Once he was settled we attended socialisation and obedience ( basic ) class run through with Steve who is based with you at the Cats & Dogs home. He was such a Mummy’s boy and was a star. He came 1ST in the general obedience class on our last day. He’s a very quick learner especially when there is food involved. He LOVES treats and food in general. Once only a few weeks after we had got him I came home to find half a packet of butter gone from the kitchen work top !!! Like most dogs he can be very sneaky. When we are out he tries to get on the sofa. We have to turn the sofa cushions over to stop him jumping up.

He is the most loving and loyal dog I’ve ever known. He is so affectionate and is a true guard dog. No one would mess with him. He’s very protective but also pretty obedient. He has a very loud bark, never jumps up and isn’t destructive. When I am upstairs he sits on the bottom step waiting for me to come back down again.

Ripley loves rolling around in our garden and enjoys chase with us. He has a friend called Izzy who also came from the Cats and Dogs Home who he plays with and enjoys sharing his bone with. He loves water and any opportunity he will be in the water. He doesn’t swim but is always up for getting wet.

His health problem came with him when we got him so his medication is funded by the Home with us paying half of the cost prices of his drugs (”assisted adoption”). Ripley has severe osteoarthritis secondary to elbow displacsia. He is always lame and it is limiting to his exercise tolerance. Over the past year it has got increasingly worse and although we have tried different medication he is still suffering. The vets at Langford Veterinary Hospital say he is in considerable pain ever with his meds. He now is only allowed short lead walks until he has a new elbow replacement. This will give him a totally new lease of life and he will be pain free. This pioneering surgery is the best thing for him. There has only been 175 operations in the world. Langford have never done this on a live dog before so this is really exciting for them. There has been a handful done in the UK but this is still fairly new and exciting surgery. This will last for the rest of his life and should completely transform his quality of life.

He is having surgery on Tuesday 14th September at Langford and will then require 8 weeks of strict rehab including hydrotherapy. The cost of the surgery is approx £3000 and the hydro a further £600-800. He has to be cage rested for a minimum of 6 weeks and require daily physio performed by us at home.

He certainly is a lucky dog and without the ongoing support from Bath Cats and Dogs home Ripley would soon be totally crippled. He is a very lucky poochie.

Charlotte