All-About-Dogs Hydrotherapy

Great news 🙌

It’s great to see that Essex fire engines are now equipped with specialist oxygen equipment for animals in need of urgent attention at incidents.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said, ‘We've introduced pet-friendly oxygen therapy masks by Smokey Paws, across all of our fire engines in Essex.’

‘These sets let us give animals oxygen at incidents, enabling them to have the best chance of survival.’

Unbelievably and so frustratingly the road is shut again! Access should be fine from the Langford end of the road… sorry for the inconvenience yet again 😔

ROAD CLOSURE: Anyone coming to hydrotherapy for this week will have to access Holloway Road from the Causeway end (hump back bridge/indian restaurant end). The road may say it’s closed but I have been assured that access will be possible at all times during this period. Please contact me if you would like any further details or help with the diversion. Thank you, Curtis

Happy new year everyone 🥳🥳🥳 I look forward to seeing you all in 2023!

Update on Maypole Road closure from Essex County Council ⚠️

Maypole Road has been closed since 25 July 2022 to enable a new Staggered Junction to be built, providing access to the future Relief Road between Langford Road and Broad Street Green.

While the road has been closed, utility works have been completed from the junction with Langford Road to the new development site entrance to minimise the need for future closures and further disruption.

Essex County Council are now in the process of laying the final asphalt layers to the carriageway and can confirm works are on course to enable to road to be re-opened to two-way traffic from Monday 5 September 2022.

As there is a significant layout change to Maypole Road, Essex County Council will be installing temporary traffic management on the carriageway to help road users navigate the new arrangement while they continue works either side of the junction.

The temporary layout arrangement will be installed with temporary barriers and relevant signage to help guide all road users through the junction. Essex County Council will also install advance warning signs to advise of the new road layout on approach.

Essex County Council would like to thank residents for their patience and cooperation during the works. If you have any questions or comments about the works, please send your enquiry to [email protected] or call the team on 0800 080 3174.

Further information on the scheme, including the latest Development Update can be found on the webpage www.westcombe-park.com

This information has been posted by request of Essex County Council.

ROAD CLOSURE: Anyone coming to hydrotherapy for the next SIX weeks will have to access Holloway Road from the Causeway end (hump back bridge/indian restaurant end). The road may say it’s closed but I have been assured that access will be possible at all times during this period. Please contact me if you would like any further details or help with the diversion. Thank you, Curtis

Pleased to announce that Colchester zoo are going to start hydrotherapy with their baby elephants as of next week 🐘

As you all guessed… sadly this is an April fools but also a dream 😆🐘

*** BACK OPEN ***

Today I reopen after completing isolation. Fortunately I am fine and ready to get back in the pool straight away 😊

On a less good note, there are still Road works right outside (two weeks later!!!) but there are two spaces available on the drive while there is no room for waiting on the road 👍🏼

Thank you

Curtis 🐾

**CLOSED** 21st-25th March

Unfortunately after two years of avoiding Covid it has finally got me. I will message everyone that was due to come this week and rebook sessions if you don’t have a weekly slot already. Hope to see you all next week as normal.

Sorry and thank you for your understanding,

Curtis

On this day 10 years ago I welcomed my very first dog to hydrotherapy….10 years on and I still feel so lucky every day to have a job that I love 🐶 The satisfaction of helping 100’s of dogs has been amazing and I have had the opportunity to meet many wonderful dog owners. Thank you everyone for your support, especially through Covid. Here is to the next 10 years! 🥳🐾

We're delighted to announce that the bill to increase maximum sentences for animal cruelty from six months to five years has finally passed through parliament! 🎉 Blue Cross has campaigned for this law, with other animal welfare charities, for many years and we are delighted that progress has happened. This law will now send a message that animal cruelty will not be tolerated.

Update: After a few days of uncertainty I can confirm I will be staying open during this latest lockdown. 🎉 As a service that provides animal welfare it is classed as essential so therefore staying open is possible. I have gone to great lengths to make it as safe as possible for us humans, especially with the addition of the “covid cabin”. So far this has been a great success and the feedback has been fantastic. I’m so greatful for the support from you all over this tricky year and I’m so pleased I can return the favour by staying open this time round. It goes without saying that I fully respect and understand anyone’s decision to stay at home and all I ask is you let me know in advance and stay in touch. Thank you again and enjoy the cabin 🐶

Update: I'm staying open, with a slight tweak. Animal welfare is a reason to stay open according to the gov website, therefore I feel it's the right thing to do. I have had the "Covid Cabin" built over the last few weeks for this exact reason. So please could I ask that you pop your dog through the door and then enter the "cabin" to watch and interact throughout the session. I'm looking froward to seeing you all safely this week 😊

Hello everyone…I thought I would reassure you all that I do not intend to close this time round. I simply can’t sit around waiting to hear how badly some of your dogs are doing. Unless anything changes then I am unable to work from home, so therefore I can continue to stay open. However, out of respect for the rules and the safety pf both you and myself, we will have to tweak how we do things. I haven’t fully decided how best to do this at the moment and will update you as soon as I know. I would be keen to hear your ideas of how to manage this next month safely so please feel free to comment below. Thank you, Curtis 🐾

Please DO NOT let your dog swim in the River Crouch at the moment as the water is contaminated following a fire at Christopher Martin Road on Saturday 🔥

Please keep dog(s) on a lead when by the river. For more info please email [email protected] 💻

So now it’s official that I can reopen on Wednesday 13th May, I thought it was important to share how things will run slightly differently. I have spent a lot of time coming up with a ‘return to work’ plan, so I hope you can all agree that with the slightly adjusted way of working, it will get the dogs back in the water while being safe for all of us. Staying in the car remains an option, but with the added protection of the sneeze screen and social distancing that we have all become accustomed to, I do believe it’s safe to enter the room. The decision is completely yours. If I blow dry your dog then this can continue. However, if I normally use a towel to dry them then I ask you now to bring your own to avoid cross contamination. I’m excited to get going again and already so many people are keen to start again too, which is fantastic. I will get round to contacting you all but it will take some time, so please bear with me. However, if you would like to bring your dog ASAP then please still feel free to message me and I will get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you everyone for your support and I’m sure we can all make this work for the dogs’ health and our own. Curtis 🐾

I’ll be opening back up Wednesday 🎉🎉🎉 looking forward to seeing everyone and their dogs.... I’ll be in contact tomorrow with more details and booking people back in. Thank you, Curtis

Okay this was an April fools, I don’t think any of you fell for it but hopefully it made a few of you laugh 😊

Exciting news!!! Virtual hydrotherapy now available, all you need to do is download the app! Make sure your dog can see the device and the hydro regime will then be relayed to your dog via video link.

Right come on.....who is driving their pet mad..... own up! Please send us some pictures of how your are invading your pets personal space on day 2 of lockdown......!

In light of the advice now given out I am sure it will come of no surprise that hydrotherapy is off for at least the next 3 weeks. I will keep in touch regarding when we can return. Thank you for all of your support; I hope to see everyone and their dogs as soon as possible. Stay safe and healthy. Curtis. 🐾

UPDATE: As an option to anyone that is worried about social contact. I would like to offer people the option of dropping their dog off behind the gate, waiting in their car and collecting them at the end of the session. This will make contact almost nil between humans and hopefully will allow me to stay open and be accessible to everyone for as long as possible. At the moment people are still welcome to come in but I wanted to offer this to people that are worried but still want/need their dogs to come to hydro. Thank you, Curtis 🐾

There have been lots of rumours about dogs getting the new Coronavirus, I hope this article can put everyone’s mind to rest 🐶 🦠

Your pet can't catch coronavirus. Here's why one dog tested positive They're your furry best friend and a fixture of your home -- but could your beloved cat or dog give you coronavirus?

🌟GREAT NEWS POPPY RETURNED HOME THIS MORNING SAFE AND WELL - THANK YOU FOR ALL THE SHARES🌟

Poppy the collie missing from Cold Norton - last seen today at approximately 6pm running down St Stephens Road. Very frightened by fireworks! PLEASE SHARE