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September 2021, FREE
Pet Allergy?
The real fairy dog mother
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How to avoid the pet allergy nightmare...
A recent survey shows 1 in 10 animal lovers are allergic to their own pet, with 44% not even realising they had the allergy until they bought their pet home... We ask DR ADAM FOX, Consultant Children's Allergist and Clinical Lead of Allergy at Guys and St Thomas’Hospital in London, how allergy sufferers can deal with their allergy while still keeping pets...
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Almost half of all pet owners don’t realise they have an allergy to pet hair before bringing their pet home...
We are well-known for being a nation of animal lovers, with estimates showing that 13 million households in the UK have at least one pet. So, it may seem surprising that a recent survey shows 1 in 10 animal lovers are actually allergic to their own pet, with 44% not even realising they had the allergy until they bought their pet home...
Pets can make you sneeze; this can be because of loose hairs, different types of bedding and even the types of food they eat. But for some, these allergens
may be far more severe and can cause reactions such as itchy and swollen eyes, hives on the skin and wheezing or coughing which can lead to the worsening of asthma.
by one specific allergen, in this case you can undergo a desensitisation programme.
Dr Adam Fox, Consultant Children's Allergist and Clinical Lead of Allergy at Guys and St An allergy is our body’s way of Thomas’ Hospital in London, responding when it comes into explains what de-sensitisation contact with a substance it may is and how it works. deem as harmful. Having an allergy to dogs, cats and even What is horses is incredibly common desensitisation? and apart from staying away from them all together, there Desensitisation, or are medicines and solutions immunotherapy, is used for that can ease the symptoms people who are allergic to temporarily. certain animals, such as horses, cats and dogs as well as for Allergies are rarely treated by pollens and dust mite allergies. your doctor unless you have a severe reaction which is caused It involves deliberate exposure
cats and dogs as well as for pollens and dust mite allergies. It involves deliberate exposure to large amounts of the problem allergen so that the body’s immune system gets used to and changes its response towards it. Whilst this used to be done through a series of injections, it can now be done using allergen extract sprayed under the tongue.
stabilised prior to commencing with treatment.
medicine regularly as missing out doses can cause it to fail.
What’s New?
Therefore, many patients prefer injections as compliance is less of an issue. On the other hand, sublingual immunotherapy is more acceptable to children and adults who dislike needles.
Recent medical advances have meant that we no longer have to administer immunotherapy through injections. Instead, the allergen extract is given to the It is important to remember patient under the tongue either that desensitisation is very by a spray, tablets or drops. specific to what you are allergic Although desensitisation will to, so if you are desensitised to This method is called not cure an allergy, it will dogs then treatment for this sublingual immunotherapy and significantly reduce how will make a difference to this is very safe, with serious allergic you are to something. A allergy and not an allergy to reactions being extremely rare. real benefit of the treatment is grass pollen or cats. that it has a long-lasting effect, Sublingual immunotherapy can meaning that even after you’ve Your allergy specialist will be also be given at home, although stopped receiving the treatment able to help with what the first dose is always given for many years, your symptoms treatment is the best for you. under careful supervision in the will still be improved. hospital. The allergen extract For more information needs to be taken on a daily please see: basis for 3 years or through What happens before www.allergylondon.com the whole pollen season for three years, you will start to treatment? and see a difference in the way www.londonmedicalconci your body reacts to the Before starting erge.com allergen within six to eight immunotherapy, you will need to have some allergy tests, this months.
will involve a skin prick test and sometimes a blood test to determine what allergen is causing the problem. You will also have to have a physical examination to assess your general fitness; this is important so that conditions such as uncontrolled high blood pressure and asthma are
Sublingual immunotherapy has been shown in large studies to be an effective treatment for allergic rhinitis, but good comparison studies have not yet been done to compare it with injectable immunotherapy. It is very important to take the sublingual immunotherapy
Lady Chichester’s Pet Camels
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We meet LADY CHICHESTER and her wonderful camels, Therese and Temujin. © Lady Chichester
Thérèse © Lady Chichester
Q. Where are they originally from?
Q. What are your thoughts need our help and have about wild animals in you ever been involved captivity? yourself?
Thérèse is of Mongolian descent and was born in Ireland where her parents were with the Chipperfield Circus. She was weaned at 10 months in Middle Wallop, Hampshire and then came to join my family.
It is sad to see animals in captivity and I personally feel that to keep animals this way in an attempt to educate people is no longer justified. I also think that there are times when keeping animals in captivity is necessary and justified especially if it involves a breeding program that aims to preserve endangered species.
Temujin’s grandparents were originally from Russia but he was born at Martin Lacey's Great British Circus. As a youngster, he performed liberty Q. Animal lovers may be acts with his troupe with great unaware that the wild aplomb.
Bactrian camel is critically endangered. Are there any protection programs that
Although the wild camel is the bravest, hardiest beast on the planet there are less than 1,000 of them alive today. They have been hunted ruthlessly for their meat and illegal miners have been known to poison their scarce water supply with potassium cyanide in their attempts to extract gold. Mine shafts that are left open but hidden are also agonisingly slow death traps for the wild camel. Wild camels are on the verge of extinction and it is a shocking
fact that they are more endangered than the giant panda. I became a patron for the Wild Camel Protection Foundation in 2011. I’m an active supporter and fundraiser of the captive wild camel breeding programme in Mongolia and this is now well established with captive bred camels being released into the wild which means the wild population is slowly increasing. However, the foundation is always in need of funds in order to continue their valuable work.
Q. Are Thérèse and Temujin intelligent creatures? Thérèse and Temujin are extremely intelligent on many levels. On a human level they have a huge vocabulary of words and sentences and a better memory than most people. They have great musicality and the ability to recognise pieces of music; for instance they quickly learn any musical cue for a performance knowing immediately how and when to appear and moving in time to that music. Every day we are fascinated (but no longer astonished) by their ability to understand us and demonstrate their powers of logical reasoning.
Having the privilege to know these camels so well, we have
come to acknowledge that they Q. Do you, Thérèse and have many forms of intelligence Temujin have any future that people tend to be unaware plans for social events? of as existing in the animal world. Temujin enjoys performing and will enthusiastically join Q. What would you Thérèse wherever she goes. describe as Thérèse and People often associate camels Temujin’s special talents with the three wise men and while Thérèse and Temujin Temujin has always danced enjoy taking part in Nativity well to music and despite his plays, these events account for large feet he can daintily mount just a small fraction of their and dismount from a pedestal. appearances. Thérèse and He has been trained to a very Temujin have also performed at high standard and will lie down The Camel Conference and the and allow a llama to jump over Lord Mayor's show; they have his neck. had starring roles at The Royal Opera House and in the Horse Guards Parade in front of the Q. Thérèse and Temujin Queen. I am sure they will have taken part in continue to make public pantomimes, parades and appearances as long as they are happy and it’s for a good cause. fetes. They have met
royalty and celebrities like David Beckham and Bear Grylls. Do they enjoy meeting people? Thérèse and Temujin now appear in public as a couple and take part in many fund raising activities. Peoples reactions to Thérèse and Temujin varies enormously but they do receive a huge amount of affection and admiration which they thoroughly appreciate.
Q. Do you own any other pets? Yes. I have alpacas, horses, llamas, chickens, three tiny ponies, three small dogs, two sheep, two pygmy goats, two pigs, two miniature donkeys and a turkey called Sebastian! They are all unique individuals who are very affectionate - just like Thérèse and Temujin. To find out more about the wild camel visit: www.wildcamels.com
The real
‘fairy dogmother’
Adopting a rescue dog is one of the most rewarding experiences for any dog lover, says author ALISON COLEMAN, herself a proud owner of rescue whippet Dash. No one knows that better than Pat Senior, a lady who, over the last 38 years, has rescued around 8,000 dogs from council pounds, cruel owners, and puppy farms, and given them a fresh start in life. She has worked undercover for the BBC exposing the cruel side of greyhound racing, and even faced criminal charges for breaking into a puppy farm to rescue the occupants. Along the way she has seen some dreadful sights. “It never ceases to amaze me how cruel people can be to their dogs,” says Pat. Alison with her rescue dog Dash
“Some that I’ve rescued were more dead than alive; badly beaten, burned with cigarettes, starved, but the feeling you get when you are able to turn their lives around is indescribable.”
shepherd who was recently rescued from a house where he had been left for days without food or water, lying in his own mess. Life for PJ looked as though it was coming to an end, While the majority of dogs that until Pat got involved. He was brought to her home, terribly she rescues are successfully underweight, his fur matted rehomed with loving new owners, some of the worst cases and flea ridden, and following a have stayed with Pat, including visit to the vet, with a diagnosis of testicular cancer. Two PJ, a 14-year-old German
months, and a huge fundraising drive later, PJ is a different dog, happy, full of life, gaining weight, growing a beautiful new coat, and with a clean bill of health. “I have found some wonderful new homes for the dogs I’ve rescued, but PJ is going nowhere; he’s staying with me,” says Pat.
He is now one of ten dogs that Back then she was enjoying a Pat and her husband Charles successful career as a singer currently share their Lancashire home with, a “It never ceases to amaze contented, close-knit pack me how cruel people can be that includes a lurcher, to their dogs...” Saul, German shepherd cross Bonnie, who was rescued from Spain, two and an accomplished artist; Chinese Crested dogs, Halfa that was until she met Lexus and Merryweather, and two the lurcher. miniature Yorkshire terriers, Pip and Bella. She says: “I was out doing my shopping one day and I passed In the early 1980s, however, a woman on the street who Pat could not have foreseen was trying to rehome a stray how her life would pan out. dog. I couldn’t just walk away,
Pat with Bonnie, Halfa, and Saul
so I ended up taking Lexus home.” Soon after that Pat began getting requests to take in other unwanted dogs, mainly racing greyhounds that had outlived their usefulness on the track. The lucky ones found a new home and were able to enjoy their retirement, but many were and still are despatched in the cruelest of ways by callous owners. Pat became so embroiled that the BBC asked her to help them investigate cruelty in the sport.
Pat has rescued many dogs from puppy farms
She then turned her attention to dogs, people’s pets, that had been abandoned and ended up in local council pounds, where the policy was often to destroy any unclaimed animals after a week. Pat became even more proactive. She bought a van, and made regular visits to council pounds, selected - and had to pay for - as many dogs as she could possibly fit in the van, and took them home.
“I needed to get them micro chipped, neutered and vaccinated and start finding them new homes,” she says.
When news of dogs being kept in terrible conditions at a puppy farm on the outskirts of Manchester reached her, Pat knew she had to act, and she did, carrying out a midnight raid on the property, and with the help of a group of friends, rescuing the canine occupants, but also ending up on the wrong side of the law.
Charged with conspiring to steal a dog, Pat ended up in court, and was fined £1,500.
“There were eight of us that night,” she recalls.
The biggest challenge Pat has faced over the years has been finding the money to pay for food and veterinary bills, currently around £15,000 a year.
“We’d got inside the building, formed a line to the field at the back, and started passing the dogs out, about a dozen of them, all in a terrible state. I decided to go back in to bring the rest, and I was caught.”
She says: “The judge told me I’d be looking at a jail sentence if I was caught doing anything like that again – which of course I have done, many, many times. To me the dogs are all that matter.”
She has funded her work from her own savings, selling her jewellery, and using money she inherited after mother had died to continue rescuing her beloved dogs. She considered herself lucky to have the help and support of some very special people, including her local veterinary surgeons, and her staunch team of loyal helpers; friends, neighbours, and fellow dog-lovers, who help with the rescuing, fostering, walking and rehoming of dogs and who have also set up and run the charity Angels With Furry Coats (www.facebook.com/groups/ 560845594060484) to raise much needed funds through regular online auctions.
their time and money so generously, no dogs would be saved.” She has even managed to find time to use her creative skills to produce over a dozen books, many of them stories based on some of the real canine characters she has rescued over
“But when I see a dog that has been through a terrible ordeal get that light back in its eyes, I know it has been worthwhile, and always will be.”
Pat (centre) with some of the Angels with Furry Coats team
the years, including ‘The Adventures of Dennis the Greyhound’, ‘Smokie Whippet & The Bandits’, and ‘The Furry Dogmother’, to further help with the fundraising.
She has no regrets about the money she has spent rescuing Pat says: “Without angels like Lorraine White and Beth Betty dogs, money that could have funded a very different lifestyle Harrison, two of the for her, and she is remains powerhouses behind the resolute about what she sees as charity, and the countless her mission in life. other people who have given
“Had I not spent all that money on rescuing dogs, I’d be living a very different lifestyle today,” says Pat.
To help Pat in her work, visit www.facebook.com/ groups/560845594060484 Alison Coleman tweets @alisonbcoleman.