It is coming up to a year since we lost our beautiful Sylvie to IMHA. We miss her deeply, we think of her everyday and are keen to help contribute to advanced veterinary research into further understanding IMHA.

IMHA (Immune-Mediated Haemolytic Anaemia) is a cruel disease in which a dog’s immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys its own red blood cells, resulting in life threatening anaemia.

It was just over two weeks from the first time we heard the term IMHA, until we said goodbye to our lovely 10 year old Sprocker Sylvie. Sylvie was the sweetest dog we’ve ever been lucky enough to know. Her calm, loyal temperament meant she was loved by all, no one could resist her sweet nature. Those two weeks were a rollercoaster of efforts, hope and emotions, Sylvie was supported through 4 blood transfusions and was on a cocktail of steroids and medications in an attempt to suppress her immune system, to stop the attack. The medication schedule was complex and not without side effects and the specialist internal medicine team at Cave Veterinary Specialists joined us and the team at South Moor Vets, both teams put everything they had into saving Sylvie and supporting us as a family. Cave continued to advise and support our vets even after Sylvie was discharged from their care. We don’t have the words to thank every single member of the team. Sylvie fought hard but we all knew when it was time to let her sleep, she loved us every second of her life and we’ll love her every second of ours.

This year, I am running the London Landmarks Half Marathon to continue to raise funds for the Royal Veterinary College, a leading charity that are conducting research into IMHA, its causes, side effects and potential cures. I will be running as part of their team, with everyone involved running for/ in memory of a loved pet.

Any donation is greatly appreciated, this awful disease and its causes are simply too unknown and it is vital that we keep fighting for the disease to be more understood; effective and less agressive treatment needs to be developed for the dog patients and a more comprehensive understanding will aid the owners/families with coming to terms with upsetting news.

I greatly enjoyed running for Sylvie last year and I look forward to doing it again, and to further contribute to research on IMHA to help other doggies like her.

The Animal Care Trust exists to support the Royal Veterinary College's wide range of clinical, research and educational activities aimed at improving animal health and care. Your generous donations help us to support over 20,000 poorly pets a year, giving our patients access to innovative treatments and the best facilities to keep them comfortable while they are in our care. It is only thanks to the overwhelming generosity of our supporters that the Royal Veterinary College can keep advancing veterinary medicine and saving animals' lives.