Archies journey with Lupus began in October 2015 when he was just 2 years old. The first sign was a weeping sore on the inside of his leg but within hours he was coughing and I noticed his mouth was full of blisters going down into his throat. Our vet started treatment to supress his immune system but very quickly we knew he needed specialist help and we were referred to the Royal Dick School of Veterinary Studies. There, Archie was under the care of the dermatology team who quickly diagnosed Vesicular Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus. I had heard of Lupus but never really knew what it was, so I joined a support group on Facebook to help me understand and Archie soon was adopted as their mascot. Archies life was full of ups and downs having flares to the point his full abdomen was covered in weeping lesions, and his eyes, ears and mouth would erupt into blisters. He was placed on numerous immunosuppressant drugs and a whole host of other drugs to help with all the problems lupus brought with it, IBD, Eosinophilic Pneumonia and in the end Diabetes possibly due to steroids. UV light was an issue too, so he was made a sunsuit by a company in Australia. He was an amazing brave dog who lived his life to the full, as I refused to let him do otherwise, and without complaint for all he had to endure. He fought this awful disease for 4 years but the diabetes was the final straw and a DKA episode, which he fought back from, just made him very weak and we decided it was time for him to go on his final journey over rainbow bridge. If it hadn’t been for the dedication and expertise of our primary vet Elaine Shaw and the Edinburgh team Dr Tim Nuttell, Dr Debbie Gow, Dr Katarina Varjonen, Nikoletta Makri and specialist nurse Helen Cobb then he certainly wouldn’t have had the 4 years he had to be an advocate for highlighting lupus and raising money for charity.

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Lupus Support UK, of which Archie was mascot, can be found here.