When Kirsty Falk was told her beloved rescue dog Pizza might have only a couple of weeks left to live, every extra day suddenly became priceless.
Pizza had been diagnosed with an aggressive cancer in her stomach. Because of the severe trauma she had suffered earlier in life, invasive treatment and lengthy hospital stays simply weren’t considered realistic options for her.
Yet instead of the few weeks Kirsty had feared, the pair went on to spend another five months together.
Kirsty credits OxyPet with helping Pizza remain brighter and more comfortable during that precious extra time – and says she will always be grateful for those final months with the dog she describes as her “whole world”. Pasted markdown
From a heartbreaking beginning to nine years of love
Pizza was a miniature Podenco rescued from Spain through AA Dog Rescue.
Her life before rescue had been horrific. She was one of five dogs removed from an abusive situation, and while some of the others had suffered serious physical injuries, Pizza was described as the most psychologically damaged of the group. Pasted markdown
When she first arrived with Kirsty, she would experience severe “fear fits” triggered by stress. At their worst, Kirsty says Pizza could have around seven episodes a day, sometimes taking up to 15 minutes to fully recover.
But slowly, patiently and with enormous amounts of trust, things changed.
Kirsty and Pizza ultimately spent nine years together and, remarkably, during the final two years of her life Pizza no longer experienced the fear fits that had once dominated her days. Pasted markdown
Kirsty said: “It’s one of the things I’m proudest of – her and how far we came as a team together.
“She taught me so much. The more you have to put into a dog, the more you get back from them.
“I’ve never been so close to a dog as her. We were such a team.”
Then came the diagnosis nobody wanted
Years after Pizza had finally learned that the world could be a safe place, Kirsty was dealt another devastating blow.
Pizza was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer affecting her stomach.
Kirsty says the initial prognosis was measured in weeks rather than months and, because Pizza would have struggled enormously with hospitalisation and invasive procedures, there was no cancer-directed treatment available to her.
Pain relief was used to keep her comfortable.
Around the same time, AA Dog Rescue sent Kirsty a case of OxyPet after the charity had already been using and recommending the oxygen-enriched hydration product.
OxyPet is made using Cornish spring water infused with patented nano-bubble oxygen technology and is designed to support hydration and everyday wellbeing.
Kirsty admits she had previously been sceptical.
She said: “I’d heard about it through the rescue before Pizza. Charlie was already using it and advocating it.
“I was still sceptical. I thought, ‘Really? Just oxygen in water? That seems crazy.’
“But I’ve seen it first-hand.” Pasted markdown
“She was perkier”
It wasn’t long before Kirsty says she began noticing differences.
Before Pizza had even finished her first case of OxyPet, Kirsty noticed the tear staining around her eyes had cleared, her coat looked better and, most importantly, she seemed brighter.
“She was just perkier,” Kirsty said.
And when Pizza went through periods where she appeared to deteriorate, Kirsty noticed something else – a dog who had never been particularly interested in drinking water suddenly wanted much more of it.
Kirsty said: “A couple of times she seemed to really deteriorate and she would drink this water like no one’s business.
“She’d drink bottles of it, and she was never really a thirsty dog.
“Then in a couple of days she’d bounce back again.”
Kirsty even began comparing Pizza to boxer Tyson Fury because, in her words, “every time she got knocked down, she got up.” Pasted markdown
From a few weeks to five precious months
Pizza ultimately lived for around five months following her diagnosis.
Kirsty strongly believes OxyPet played a role in helping her through that period, although her experience is personal and does not establish that OxyPet treated or slowed Pizza’s cancer.
For Kirsty, what mattered was the time.
She said: “I entirely credit OxyPet. I tell everyone that.
“I got five extra months with my dog because of that water and I’m eternally grateful for it because she was my heart.
“My whole world.
“To get those five extra months was just amazing. It was the world to get them.
“It was everything. Absolutely everything.” Pasted markdown
Eventually, Pizza’s tumour obstructed her stomach and food could no longer pass through properly.
Kirsty made the heartbreaking decision to let her go rather than allow her to suffer.
But when she looks back on those final months, her strongest memory isn’t simply of Pizza being ill.
It is of having more time.
More days together. More ordinary moments. More opportunities to sit beside the dog who had gone from being terrified of the world to completely trusting the person beside her.
A bond that changed them both
Pizza’s story had already been extraordinary long before OxyPet entered her life.
She had arrived deeply traumatised and frightened, yet over nine years Kirsty watched her gradually develop into a confident dog who could enjoy life without being overwhelmed by the experiences of her past.
Kirsty said: “I’m so proud that Pizza left the world totally fine.
“We had nine years together in total and the last two, nothing scared her.” Pasted markdown
For Kirsty, that transformation is why those final five months mattered quite so much.
OxyPet could never change the fact that Pizza had terminal cancer. What Kirsty believes it did was help support her beloved dog during the final chapter of a life they had fought so hard to rebuild together.
And that is something she says she will never forget.
“It’s priceless,” Kirsty said.
“I will always happily talk about both OxyPet and Pizza forever – even if it does make me cry.”
