A mother promised her daughter a puppy to calm her during brain surgery because doctors said 'she wouldn't remember anything' - and now the youngster and her pet dog are competing at Crufts.
Louise Gibbs, from Droitwich Spa in Worcestershire, was terrified when her seemingly healthy daughter Ella Gibbs, then 10, was rushed into emergency brain surgery just 12 hours after having a unexpected seizure.
Doctors suggested that Louise and her ex-husband Mark Gibbs say anything they could to keep their little girl calm as it would likely be completely forgotten during the gruelling 13-hour surgery.
But as she came round, Louise, 51, claims the first thing Ella said was 'Mum, dad, where's my white puppy?'. Ella was gifted her eight-week-old puppy Lulu just nine days after she returned home, and the pair became best pals.
The Shih-poo even snuggled up to Ella as she recovered from her surgery and accompanied her when she returned to school.
Six years on, Ella, now 16, and Lulu compete in agility trials together and have even qualified for their first ever Crufts competition next month.
Ella Gibbs from Worcestershire and her dog Lulu with some of their agility prizes and a tennis ball, which Lulu loves. Ella, now 16, underwent brain surgery when she was just 10 and her parents promised her a puppy to calm her down, thinking she would forget
Ella, 10, recovering from her surgery in February 2013. Mother Louise, 51, said her daughter was rushed into emergency brain surgery just 12 hours after having a unexpected seizure
Ella and Lulu doing agility training. The teen, now in Year 11, usually trains with her best friend three days per week in anticipation of Crufts, but as she is studying for her GCSEs she's had to cut it down to two hours per week
Louise said: 'The surgical team just said, "Keep her calm, promise her anything because she won't remember anything because we've given her stuff to help her through surgery.
"You can promise her you will fly to the moon, that you'll go to Florida tomorrow, that you'll have five puppies - anything".
'Ella very quickly said, "I would like a little white puppy", and that was it. We thought we would hear no more of it.
'At that point she was struggling to put words together. Because she had major brain surgery we were told that she might not be able to talk or move post-surgery.
Elle and her mother Louise on a trip to Oklahoma, where Ella underwent proton radiotherapy after her brain surgery
Ella receiving proton radiotherapy for a remaining chunk of her tumour in Oklahoma. The family stayed in Oklahoma for three months before returning to the UK in September 2013
Ella recovering from her surgery in February 2013. Her parents thought Ella would forget about their promise to get her a puppy. But the first words she said after he surgery were to ask for a white puppy
'But she literally just laid there and said, "Where's my white puppy?". That was the first thing that came into her mind.'
Lulu came into Ella's life after she unexpectedly had a seizure at 1am on Saturday 2nd February 2013, and within 12 hours was being prepped to have a left temporal pilocytic astrocytoma cut out of her brain.
After Ella came round from anaesthesia and asked for her dog, Mark drove to pick out a puppy. The pair kept Ella's spirits up during her recovery by planning what they would name the new dog, and what sort of things she wanted to buy it.
Ella ready to blow the candles during her 11th birthday after she finished radiotherapy. 'People were telling us we were mad,' said Louise, 'but actually it was the best thing we did because this puppy just became the focus of everything'
Ella and Lulu on their first day of agility training. After Ella and Lulu tried out an agility taster session at a fair and loved it, Louise booked them a lesson
Louise, who is a national accounts controller, said: 'Ella's diagnosis was very quick and very unexpected. We had all felt knocked sideways by what had happened.
'A lot of people have a build-up to these situations but we literally were diagnosed and in surgery within 12 hours.
'She was at home and she had a seizure, which is the equivalent of having a stroke as a 10-year-old. 'We were rushed to hospital where they put her through a scanner and found a mass.
'We were transferred to BCH where they confirmed it and we went down to surgery early on Saturday afternoon.
Louise said after her surgery, Ella would lay on the couch with Lulu and instinctively knew to be gentle with her as she regained her strength after surgery
'The seizure had happened about 1am on Saturday morning. It was that quick.'
But despite friends telling them they were mad to grant their daughter her request so soon into her recovery, Louise has no regrets.
'The whole dog thing became the focus of getting her well. The minute Lulu came into the house she was always, always with Ella. It was really quite amazing,' Louise recalled.
'She used to lie on the sofa with her. If Ella was doing anything Lulu would be a step behind her, and that would be as an eight-week-old puppy.
'It was very obvious very quickly that they were together. It just happened naturally.
Ella and Lulu in 2019. Mark, Louise's ex-husband, drove to pick out a puppy and the pair distracted Ella from her grueling recovery by planning what they would name the new dog and what sort of things she wanted to buy it
Louise said: 'The whole dog thing became the focus of getting her well. The minute Lulu came into the house she was always, always with Ella. It was really quite amazing'
She said: 'The first time Ella saw Lulu was when she was given her in the kitchen. It was definitely meant to be.
'That's one of the amazing things. Of all the things we could have done - as parents we were like "Oh my God, I can't believe that we're recovering from this and introducing a puppy into the house'.
'People were telling us we were mad, but actually it was the best thing we did because this puppy just became the focus of everything. Instead of it being "oh my God I've got a poorly daughter," it became "what are we going to do with Lulu".'
Lulu is very obedient and is a really sweet dog, said Louise: 'She would never be naughty or lick on wounds
