A beloved family pet suffering from crippling arthritis has taken on a new lease of life - after taking up swimming.
Old Basing resident Joanna King was considering putting down nine-year-old Teddy who was suffering from severe arthritis is his shoulders and hip.
But now the Wire Haired Dachshund happily runs around following hydrotherapy sessions at a specialist centre in Winchester.
Mrs King, a psychology student, said she could not believe the change in her favourite pooch.
“I could always tell when he was in pain,” she said. “But he has changed so much. He is a different dog. It was getting to the point last year that we were going to put him down. He was not walking well and needed help. But then we came here and we have him back. He’s almost back to being a puppy.”
Mrs King, who has had Teddy since he was six-months old, first noticed his ill health in October last year and he was sent to the Mildmay Veterinary Centre for special aid.
Each week Teddy dons a canine life jacked and swims laps of the four-foot, deep heated pool.
According to nurse Chris Norris, the treatment helps ease pain by letting dogs exercise their muscles without stressing the joints.
Mrs King insists that the treatment is more than a gimmick. “People have thought that it is a gimmick,” she said. “But a dog can’t say it’s not going to work and I judge it on its results. It was breaking my heart when Teddy was ill. It was not the Teddy I knew.
"If he was suffering I would of taken the decision [to put him down] but now he is a different dog altogether.”
