The Challenge of a Lifetime for Pi

Many of you who know me may have had the opportunity to meet, and spend time with, Pi. 

Just over 6 years ago, she (literally) lept into my life after being tied up and abandoned in a half built house. 

Since that day, she has been my constant companion, hardly ever leaving my side unless she goes to spend time with her other family when I am not around. As someone who struggles with mental health challenges from time to time, she has been an angel in my life, keeping me company and making me laugh and smile every single day.

Over the years, she has become a part of our team at  our Retreat and has made so many friends over the years, all of whom she remembers when she sees them.

Her boundless energy on mountain walks, chasing after cars and rabbits, leaping up and down rocks and running up and down the pool whenever anyone is swimming - there is nothing she doesn't do without wagging her tail.

I have grown up with dogs around all the time so have had the pleasure of sharing my life with a few close companions andam a real dog lover however, never have I had a dog like Pi. She has an amazing character and is so human in many ways. She is one of the most affectionate dogs I have ever come across and seems to know exactly who needs a cuddle or who to go and just quietly sit next to. 



A few weeks ago, Pi's walking started to look a bit strange and one day, on getting home from work, she was unable to move, lying on the floor and simply crying. 

We rushed her to the vets and so began a challenging time - numerous visits, endless injections, x-rays and MRI scans.

But the worst thing was - every single day, she just seemed to get worse and worse and worse. To see her in pain all the time, unable to walk for more than a few minutes and to no longer wag her tail like she used to has been extremely heart breaking.

As a result of the numerous medications she is on to keep the pain under control, she has now developed internal bleeding in her intestines as well as severe aneamia.

HOWEVER ! We have finally received news from the neurologist in Valencia who have been examining her case and right now, it doesn't look too great.

Somehow, Pi has damaged her spine and has a piece of bone fragment trapped between 2 vertebra. This bone chip has trapped the main nerve that controls her right leg and, as a result, needs to be kept sedated to prevent her being in pain but this is having a negative effect on her health.

We have now changed medication however, the painkillers are not as strong as before but this is the only way for us to see how the damaged spine and trapped nerve is affecting her.

As it looks now, Pi may need to have an operation to remove the bone chip but it is an extremely dangerous operation due to the location and the nerves it is connected to and there is a high likelihood that she may lose her back right leg.

Decisions like this are extremely hard to make and if you know Pi, you will know what that means to me as her "Dad."

However, all I want is for Pi to be well again.

To smile - and if you know her, you will know that she does smile.

To wag her tail again.

To walk for longer than 30 seconds without stopping.

To be able to sleep on the bed with me in the morning.

To just be free from pain.



She has got me through some pretty tough times and I know that she has touched the lives of many people who have had the chance to go on walks with her or have her jump on their laps or sleep on their sunbed with them when Jeroen is not around.

And asking for personal help is a truly difficult thing to me but Pi means the world to me and is my world too. 

So we're raising the funds so that she can go through all of this with the best care that we can get for her and to help her live a healthy and happy life again. 

We have been told that the best option is to have the operation however, we first need to address the internal bleeding that is taking place as she is not strong enough now to cope with it all. This coming Friday (16th August) Pi may be getting a blood transfusion to help her system return to normal and for her blood count to go up as it has been dropping with each visit and there are a few concerns.

The operation 

All in all, it is a pretty challenging time so that's why I am reaching out and asking for support and assistance with all of this right now. It's tough to do but whilst she may "only" be a dog, to me, she is a huge part of my world and support and family and I want to fight to give her a chance to get through all of this.

Thank you for taking the time out to read this - it really is appreciated.