Bridget and Jamie knew Gertie was the pet for them and were willing to put in the hard yards with her special needs.
“This decision was not taken lightly as Gertie is high care. Her vision was not the best and she had trouble with her balance, and we knew her heart was not very strong. However, the love for her was far stronger than any concerns we had that she would require round the clock care.”

Bridget and Jamie were ready to make some adjustments at home to help Gertie.
“When she first arrived home, we needed to get her used to her new surroundings and willing to trust humans again. She was very wonky on her feet on the wooden floors, so we bought her little grip boots to help her stand up. We also ordered a special customized bumper hat from a company called Mission Pawsable so she wouldn't bump her head so much when she fell over.”
Pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place for Bridget when they learned more of how Gertie came to have so many medical conditions.
“In an incredible twist of fate, the local news did a story on Gertie's rescue and her original breeders saw it and contacted us! Gertie is a purebred miniature poodle whose mother had a tough birth, Gertie’s other sibling died during the birth and Gertie was born without any oxygen and couldn't breathe. The breeders kept resuscitating Gertie for over an hour. They said it was quite bizarre as they normally wouldn't do that, but knew she was such a little fighter! She was tube fed for weeks and her mumma would not leave her side. It was touch and go for many weeks. These lovely breeders have shared many photos with us when Gertie was a pup and all her relatives!

We keep in contact regularly as everyone loves her and her incredible story of survival. Gertie and her mother were adopted together, but the new owners couldn't handle Gertie so she went back to the breeders. They had heard of Storybook Farm and thought they were doing the right thing sending her there as they advertised that they helped disabled animals.”

To make sure Gertie was going to get the best care from this new found information, Bridget and Jamie went to their local vet who suggested a visit to a Cardiologist to understand more about her existing heart murmur. “Thank goodness we did, as unfortunately the news was not good. Poor little Gertie had a congenital heart defect. She has two holes in her heart and two faulty valves. When the cardiologist sat us down to tell us she hadn't seen a case this bad in twenty years, it just broke our hearts. She was prescribed lifesaving medication which we give her daily and we make sure she doesn't get too overexcited. Her last visit was super promising as the cardiologist said her blood pressure was great and in his words ‘she is a little miracle and Gertie will write her own story’.”