A dog owner slept by the side of her Labrador to aid their recovery after undergoing three major surgeries within six months.
Abby faced multiple operations and even risked being put to sleep within the first two years of her life.
Her owner, Taryn Bailie from Bangor, Northern Ireland, said she did what anyone would do in her situation to do what's best for her pet, reports Belfast Live.
She said: “I only did what dog lovers do, I looked after Abby as best I could. For me that meant wanting to be near her when I felt she was feeling vulnerable or in pain.
“It has been quite a rollercoaster but she's family and I'd do anything for her, we all would and I don't think we're different to any other dog families. After her surgeries I wanted to be beside her so we slept on the floor together.”
At six months, Abby was diagnosed with bilateral hip dysplasia affecting her back legs and bilateral patellar luxation.
In short, this means her knee cap was prone to slipping out of its groove at the bottom of the femur. This made walking painful and difficult for her.
Taryn said: “The issue with her legs means that she's developed arthritis at a very young age and that will only get worse as she gets older.
"She was only 12 months old when she had her first major orthopaedic surgery on her knee last June and within six months, Abby had undergone three major orthopaedic surgeries.
Taryn said she faced a choice when it clicked how bad Abby’s problems were - either attempt treatment, meaning anaesthetics, surgery and long recoveries which weren’t guaranteed to work, or give up and let her go.
She said: “Letting her go was just not an option for me but I had to be sensible and take advice of the vet. The important thing was to try to gauge Abby's quality of life and then make a decision.”
“I just had to follow her lead, listen to her body language and made the human decisions as she let me know at each step.
“And she has had the most amazing vet team who have helped her through every step while keeping me informed and calm as we move forward.”
Now, Abby has pulled through and is enjoying life to its fullest again with her three-year-old sister, chocolate Labrador Elsa.
She has even got through to the 2021 final of the Irish competition Nose to Tralee, which is a competition to find the cutest, funniest or most photogenic dog in Ireland.
"Abby is a perfect example of dogged determination, a love of life, endless patience, fighting spirit and literally the will to live."
