Cookie and Katie
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Cookie and Katie
Towards the end of November, 2003, Katie was first introduced to Janet and Bob Clarke as her former owner was emigrating wihtin a matter of days. The family had a yellow Labrador before and Janet had always fancied a chocolate Labrador. A friend told them that if a new owner was not found, the dog would either be put down or returned to the dealer from whom she had been purchased. Despite Bob being adamant that they had no children at home, they also didn't want any more pets. However, the dog was clearly not in good condition and she won the family round.
At that time, Katie was known as "Princess Ebony", but the family changed it to "Katie" straightaway. She was then taken to the vets and was found underweight and also had liver damage. The vet said it could have been caused by her being kicked. In reality, she was too scared and wouldn't let a foot near her. At the vet's suggestion she was put on a special diet for the liver damage. She was very nervous to begin with but Janet took her out for four walks a day and with the proper food, she put on a kilo a week. Her coat has changed colour and she is now a much deeper brown. Janet would have called her "Bourneville" if she had known.
Katie took to dog training like a duck to water, and achieved the Gold Level of the Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme within 12 months. She still goes to dog training but it is now more social. Bob has never been very good at obedience competitions but he has enjoyed taking part in displays promoting responsible dog ownership. Kaite used to enjoy Agility Training, but she has to had to give this up as she has been diagnosed as suffering from hip dysplasia and arthritis. She now has to attend Cherrytree Canine Hydrotherapy centre every week for 20 minutes in the pool and 10 minutes in the treadmill.
Katie became a Visting Therapy Dog in August 2008. She really enjoys her visiting the hospital wards, and is always keen to go into her regualr visit. Mr and Mrs Clarke realised that there would come a time when they would need to retire Katie from visiting the hospital wards. And this is why Cookie joined them as a 7 week old puppy on New Year's Eve in 2009.
In 2015, Mr and Mrs Clarke decided to set up on their own as KC Therapy Dogs. They now have their own insurance. Any funds they raise from giving talks will go to the hospital for the children's wards or the specialist cancer nurses. The charity name means that Katie will always be remembered for what she has done in the hospital.