Hamish, an Airedale Terrier, was born on 13 th April 1997 . After spending the requisite time with his mother he went to his first home with a family with young children. Puppies are hard work and young Airedales can be a bit of a handful. When he was about a year old the family felt unable to cope with him any longer so contacted Airedale Rescue to re-home him. Hamish went to a Police force, as he had been selected as a potential passive drug detection dog. He undertook several months training but due to his liveliness (and Airedale Terrier temperament) he did not pass the course despite having a good nose. He was returned to Airedale Rescue's care in July 1998.
After just a few days Hamish was heading south to Kent and a new home by the sea with 'dog people'. The new household did not have young children but did have two cats. For the next six months the house was divided in two by a baby stair gate. The upstairs being cat and people territory, the downstairs being Hamish and people territory. Fortunately after training, controlled introductions and familiarisation a working relationship has developed between the cats and Hamish.
Being a rescue dog we knew little about his particular likes/dislikes or personality. We soon found he loved food and balls but hated raw celery and cold water washes. Like many Airedales he has a particular fondness for stealing household items, his favourites are tea towels and sponges. He has also acquired quite a lot of toys from other dogs. He has a big personality, is full of fun, and is something of a celebrity. As a result he has gained many friends and admirers both in our locality and on our travels.
Nine out of ten people who speak about Hamish start by saying 'you don't see many Airedales these days do you'? This suggests the breed has fallen from once high levels of popularity. We find this surprising as Hamish is a star in so many ways. What a practical dog he is: a great house dog but not a shred of malice (but one wouldn't want to threaten the lady of the house in particular!); happy to walk 15 miles one day but only a couple the next (he walks about 4 miles on an 'average' day); will eat almost anything (but is fed mainly on Oscar dried food); doesn't drop any hair and, as a result, doesn't really suffer from 'doggie smells' (but does need clipping and stripping); travels well by car or train; settles anywhere so long as his people are with him; can be left at home for several hours comfortably; cheerful disposition; as loyal is it gets and, perhaps most important of all, a great companion. We can't work out why we don't see more Airedales - maybe puppies are a bit expensive?
Hamish has enjoyed many UK holidays with us. He's been to Scotland , Wales and many parts of England . We are big walkers and so Hamish has 'conquered' Ben Nevis , Ben Macdui, Cairn Gorm, Scafell Pike , Helvellyn, The Old Man of Coniston and numerous lesser hills. He's also walked sections of long distance paths including the North and South Downs Ways, South West Coastal Path, Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, High Peak Trail, Tissington Trail, Shropshire Way, Jack Mytton Way, Mortimer Trail, Offa's Dyke Path, Wye Valley Walk, Wysis Way, Gloucestershire Way, St Cuthbert's Way and Pennine Way. He's also enjoyed plenty of beach walking - especially during the Foot and Mouth crisis. Even we aren't happy walking all of the time so Hamish has visited castles, travelled on steam trains and boats and has admired the inside of show caves. All in all he's a well travelled lad and seems to have enjoyed almost every minute - we certainly have!
Hamish is generally blessed with good health and fitness. We need to keep an eye on his weight because his capacious appetite would be a test for him (one of our regular walking companions calls him 'The Eatist'!). Mostly we succeed and he weighs in at around 30 kilos of muscle and bone (he's rather bigger than the breed standard). Hamish does have something of a problem with his skin and is susceptible to itching. He seems to have particular problems with seasonal changes like pollen levels. Our last vet was great at dealing with this and a couple of injections a year are all that is required.
Hamish gave us a bit of a scare on holiday in March 2000 when he slipped on the Prison Band on the way up to The Old Man of Coniston. He banged his head on a rock (hopefully his harness and extending lead helped avoid more of a problem). By the time we reached Coniston it was after surgery hours on a Saturday evening. We contacted Oakhill Veterinary Group at Windermere (015394 88555). One of the vets met us at the surgery on his way out for the evening (his wife waited in the car!) to look at the wound, ensure Hamish didn't need a stitch and to give him an antibiotic injection. If you ever need a vet in The Lake District ..
Feb 05 Update:
Hamish continues to enjoy Dogpeople trips - some of the details above have been updated to reflect this. Having inspired this website he visited a large number of pubs, B&Bs and hotels on both days out and holidays. Many have been dog friendly directory advertisers; others just to see how pet welcoming they really were. His 'come and meet me appeal' makes him a good advert for the benefits of welcoming dogs and responsible owners.
Hamish's travels have been very rewarding. He's met some really great people and enjoyed the fabulous variety of smells, views and attractions England , Wales and Scotland have to offer. It has given us great pleasure to be with him and to report our findings at many of our customers (click on the Dogpeople Says logo 
where you see it in a directory entry).
Just like us, Hamish has started to show some signs of age (he recently overtook Alan in 'doggie years'). He had a problem with a grass seed in Summer 2004 that eventually needed surgery to remove the deepest part. He also developed a bit of arthritis (found after a precautionary x-ray following a slip on the Grey Mare's Tail). Sadly this was only a precursor to a more major problem suffered in January 2005 when he snapped his right cruciate ligament.
Luckily veterinary science has advanced in recent years so better solutions to this problem are now available (at a cost). Hamish is recovering from a tibia plateau levelling operation (TPLO). Even more luckily our current vet, Andrew Wills of Toachim House Veterinary Surgery ( www.thvs.co.uk ) is an orthopaedic expert and a man in whom we have absolute confidence.
Details of the operation are too gruesome to go into here. Hamish was certainly in quite a bit of pain when he first came home but an increase in painkillers sorted that for the first few crucial days. He also had to be careful not to disrupt the stitches holding a considerable wound together or to pay too much attention to bald patches on both front legs (drips used in the operation), his back (epidural) and side (opiate patch). Because we know he dislikes wearing his 'buster' collar he needed close supervision for the first ten days - he slept better than we did!
He is now making great progress, the fur is starting to grow back and he's already putting some weight on the leg. He's passed his first two check ups with flying colours and has started to get stir crazy. He is 'confined to quarters' (including the back garden) and will have to be so until the post op x-ray shows the tibia has healed (and the plate and screws are all in the right position). This means he will have been without a walk for over 3 weeks since the operation - and a week before. We are very pleased to say this is becoming a problem for Hamish as he is starting to really miss going out with us. We're pleased because he has bounced back to his normal 'full of life' self!
Even when the x-ray proves everything is fine Hamish will have to build up his walks slowly. It will be some months before he's back to ten miles or more. This should mean there will be more shorter routes in the walks directory over the coming months, just right for less able dogs and people!
July 05 update:
Sadly everything did not go well for Hamish. The x–rays did show the operation had been a success in so far as his leg was re-aligned well and the plate and screws were perfectly placed. As time went by they also showed the bone healing well. Unfortunately Hamish developed an infection at the operation site. His leg swelled and the infection soon erupted through his skin. This was probably caused by an infection on the metal work but may have been a rejection of the plate and screws. Antibiotics helped control the symptoms but could not completely kill the infection.
Hamish went off to the West Country still taking the antibiotics. His leg was improving fast but the course of tablets was due to run out whilst we were away – we had an emergency supply in case we needed them. The tablets really did the trick and he started to walk much better – he was quite comfortable in time for his 8 th birthday. For the first week or so everything was on the up. He easily managed a much more demanding walk at Lynmouth and Linton than we thought he would want to do. Regrettably as soon as the antibiotics finished he started to decline again. We now knew what to look for and picked up the return of infection much more quickly. The emergency supply of antibiotics was brought into use at once!
During the same trip Hamish developed a lump on the front of his neck. This grew quickly whilst we were away and ulcerated. Almost the first thing to do when we got home was to take Hamish back to see Andrew (his vet). He decided the lump had to come off as soon as possible so Hamish was back under the knife before then end of April. His luck changed for the better though, as more x-rays showed the bone in his leg was sufficiently strong to remove the plate and screws at the same time. This meant one anaesthetic for both procedures.
A biopsy proved the lump to be a mast cell tumour. Results showed cells were dividing but not aggressively. They also showed Andrew had removed the whole tumour with the preferred margin of sound tissue in all directions except the tumour's underside (where Hamish's windpipe was in the way!). We are very pleased to report there has been no recurrence of this tumour or any others to date (we aren't tempting fate we hope!!). Another superb job by Andrew.
The leg wound was much smaller than following the operation to perform the original TPLO – but on a slightly different line to allow stitches in virgin skin. Hamish was clearly not in as much pain as before and seemed glad to be rid of the metal work from the moment he came home. He still needed close watching and this time, because of the neck wound, a ‘buster' collar was out of the question. Once again he slept well but we didn't!
Hamish still has to be careful. Removal of the screws left large holes in his tibia – some the whole way through the bone. This means his leg will be weak and more subject to breakage until about October. Even though the holes filled with blood clots in a short time – and will now be filled by granular tissue – it will be a while before the bone is completely re-built. Hamish really perked up very soon after this second operation. He returned to his old stubborn, cheeky, playful self very quickly. He soon wanted to start walking further (so we had to moderate him at first) and is now back doing quite long walks off the lead (about 6 ½ miles is his furthest to date). He has started showing an interest in chasing rabbits etc. but we have to make sure he only does this on level ground (not that he ever gets very close).
Hamish is getting used to his ‘new' leg. At first he walked with it pointing out to the side. Then, when he first started to run again, the angle was very clear when viewed from behind. Now one can hardly notice any difference at all when he walks – especially at pace. There has also been a big improvement in his running. He's getting more and more comfortable and the angle of his leg is getting less and less. He's still not going to win any races or any shows (but he never would have done). He is every bit the happy and inspiring chap he always was. Nearly everyone still wants to meet him and he's an absolute star to us.
We are really pleased with his TPLO and have no regrets about choosing this method of correcting his snapped cruciate ligament. Having a vet as expert and committed as Andrew obviously helps!
