Famous Personas: Batman because of his beautiful bat like ears and or Tigger from Winnie the Poo; as despite being nearly 8 and having a sore leg, he bounces around like a young pup!
Age: Nearly 8
A bit about Django
Django is a Serbian Rescue. He was initially rescued in January 2014 by the wonderful charity ‘Serbia’s Forgotten Paws.’ Django had spent his life on the streets but was then living in a metal container in the middle of nowhere in Serbia . This container was deemed to be an ‘official shelter’ for street dogs; there was no food or water. The dogs (including Django) had horrific untreated injuries and had been left there to die. The charity put a post on social media and Django’s owner Sophie saw this very distressing post about these ‘container dogs’ needing help and then saw a picture of Django, one of the last dogs to be rescued; it was love at first sight. Django chose Sophie by wandering over and sitting by her feet. He now lives a wonderfully happy and fulfilled life.
Django and Galen Myotherapy
Django had been left with an untreated broken pelvis casing pain and him to be badly affected, both muscularly and skeletally. Django has the instinct to survive so he coped with this injury by adapting the way that he moved, causing adaptive changes throughout his body. Galen Myotherapy has played an instrumental part in helping Django to become more muscularly balanced. The vet had at one time thought that she would have to operate because of the discomfort. The vet was delighted (and pretty surprised) that the treatment had made such a positive change both physiologically and with regards to the pain. Currently, Django has regular maintenance treatments and there are no plans for surgery at the moment. Before the initial treatment, the vet had contacted me to let me know that probably due to his situation and pain, Django could be aggressive especially if touched around the pelvic region and warned me to be cautious. From day one, Django was and is a dream to treat. He was initially wary and it was so important he trusted me. Giving Django choice throughout the treatment was key. There has never been any aggression and he is very good at letting me know (often with his ears and sometimes a quick glance) if he is unsure of anything. Django has overworked some of the muscles in his neck, shoulders, chest and front legs so I use various techniques to ease this muscular tension. Some of the muscles around the injury site in his back end are weak and for this, I use gentle techniques to help fire these muscles. I have also shown Sophie techniques she can use to help with maintenance. Early on in the treatment, I also could feel something unusual alongside the spine. We checked this out with the vet and it was shotgun pellets probably from farmers trying to get Django off their land. Just another example of what an amazing boy he is!
Some words from his owner
It has been an emotional journey adopting a rescue, especially one who has been through so much. It hasn’t been easy but with training to build his (and our!) confidence and then discovering he was in pain from his old injuries (and the subsequent incredible treatment from Lucy) it is incredible to see how far he has come and what a sweet, kind natured, loving dog he is. I couldn’t imagine life without him.
With regards to the treatment, at first my vet, and I were a bit apprehensive as he is obviously in so much pain in his hip area that he is understandable very protective of it and has on a couple occasions snapped at people who have touched him in the area or got too close. But almost immediately Django warmed to Lucy and completely trusted her. It is like he knows she is trying to help. After a couple of sessions he leaps on to the mat and cant wait to get started. He is in a zen like state the whole session! His movement has improved greatly, his coat is shiner and he generally seems much happier.
