Summary
A beloved therapy animal dubbed ‘the most popular bearded dragon in Cheltenham’ has undergone life-saving surgery – and can now continue to ‘bring joy’ to residents at a local care home. Freyja the bearded dragon was rescued by Danni Barnard, 32, after being dumped in a field in Lydney in November 2023. The reptile was lucky to be alive when she was found in near-freezing temperatures.
Details
Danni took her new pet home to join her menagerie of animals – including 10 tarantulas, eight geckos, three snakes, two tortoises, and a 17-year-old Jack Russell terrier – and nursed Freyja back to health. Now, almost three years on, Freyja is Danni’s ‘constant adventure companion’, with Danni frequently taking her bearded dragon out and about around Cheltenham and further afield.
The pair even journey to Tewkesbury together and sit beside the canal – where Danni will order a Domino’s pizza and feed Freyja the sweetcorn. And Danni also takes the pet to work with her at Whittington House Nursing Home in Cheltenham, where Freyja acts as a therapy animal for the care home’s residents.
Danni says that Freyja has “quite a little fan club”, and that she loves visiting the residents at Whittington House and sitting on all their laps. She said: “I usually take her to work with me every other week, and she loves being there, and they all love her. She’s got quite a little club.
She’ll sit on all their laps, every single resident, and she knows to be a bit more calm and gentle around them. She’s very good. “Even the residents who aren’t sure about her at first are curious to have a go at holding her, and I think they get very excited about Freyja coming in.
They love her.” However, Freyja has not been able to visit Danni’s work for the last few months – as she required life-saving surgery to treat her diagnosis of preovulatory stasis, a serious medical condition found in female reptiles. The condition involves infertile eggs partially developing inside the animal, but failing to fully ovulate or break down properly.
If not safely removed, the eggs could then rupture or decompose, leading to a life-threatening infection. Freyja underwent her surgery at Highcroft Veterinary Centre in Brislington in Bristol on August 21, with the operation costing Danni a total of £1,550. She now faces additional costs of £300-£400 on medication and aftercare for Freyja.
But Danni said: “She’s my baby. After already surviving so much and bringing so much joy, Freyja really deserves to have every chance to keep living her beautiful life she fought so hard for. She’s given so much to others and deserves the world.” Freyja is now back at home in Cheltenham with Danni recovering, and Danni hopes to have her “confident” pet back to normal soon.
Report source: Gloucestershire Live
