Macy's Fund l Labradoodle Rescue UK

Macy was advertised for sale in the Loot like a second hand car. Her owners no longer had the time to care for her as they were expecting a baby and had arranged to move to a new house that didn’t allow dogs. We found out about Macy from a member of the UKLA forum. She kindly put an urgent appeal on the forum asking for a solution as she had spoken to Macy’s owner and had been told Macy would have to go to a dog’s home on Tuesday as that was the day they were moving. I contacted the owner late on Saturday evening to offer to foster Macy until a suitable home could be found through the newly established Rescue. Her owners were very keen to sell her as they told me she had cost them a lot of money and they would prefer to try and recoup the cost. I asked whether they had contacted her breeder and was told they had bought her through a newspaper advert and did not have an address or contact number. I went to bed but Macy’s plight played on my mind all night. Early on Sunday morning I received a call from Macy’s owners – they had had a change of heart and decided the best thing for Macy would be to allow me to foster her and then rehome her. I arranged to collect her that afternoon.

Meeting Macy was quite an experience – here was a large whirling 6 month old doodle springing back and forth across the sofas covering me with excited kisses whilst weeing on my shoes. Her bags were packed and ready to go. Her owners explained that Macy was a birthday present. They had originally wanted a smaller dog and the breeder had assured them that she would not grow much bigger than a spaniel. As you can imagine it must have been a bit of a shock when Macy started to grow and grow and grow. 23Kg at 6 months is hardly what I’d call small! Macy was left for up to 10 hours a day and had become a little bored and taken to chewing things for amusement. We are still working on breaking this habit now.

With Macy safely in the car we set off home to introduce her to her new foster family of 2 doodles, 1 poodle and 3 cats. The introductions went well, although Macy was very shy and kept leaving small puddles all around the house so we decided to take the dogs out for a walk to allow them to become better acquainted. We live in a cul de sac and by the time we had got to the top of the road Macy’s back legs were buckling beneath her. I put my hand on her back at the base of her tail and I could feel something very odd, a crunching, grinding of bone rubbing on bone. My heart sank as I suspected that Macy had some form of joint problem.

I booked her in for xrays at my vets the next day and my fears were confirmed later that day when the vet showed me the x-rays he had taken of her hips. Macy has severe hip dysplasia – the socket is too shallow and the ball joint has been partially worn away due to constantly grinding against the misshapen socket. As she has grown so rapidly the muscles and ligaments have not had time to knit together so her back end is very unstable. Without a crystal ball it is hard to know what the future will hold for Macy. One thing for sure though the treatment to slow down the degeneration of her hip bones will be both costly and time consuming. With that in mind we made the decision to keep Macy here and she has become a well loved member of our family. Truth be told there is something about Macy that wraps itself around your heart and holds you tight. I really cannot imagine life without her now, she fits in so well.

Many people were touched by Macy’s story and wanted to donate money towards her treatment and so The Macy Fund was set up. From the fund Macy has received a magnetic collar and bed pad and a course of 10 hydrotherapy sessions which are very beneficial for dogs with HD. She thoroughly enjoys each session and it is delightful to see her being a typical doodle in the water.

Macy's fund will be used towards any vet treatment needed for all future doodles coming into rescue.

Many thanks, from Macy and all at the rescue, to everyone who has donated time and money to make and sell things for this appeal.