Calcinosis conundrum

My nine-month-old English Setter, Shaymus, has a terrible problem. He was a poorly puppy when I got him at eight weeks, probably the runt of the litter, with runny eyes, ear infection, fleas and campylobacter virus in his stomach. I knew the breeder would put him down if I refused to take him and he looked so much like my old dog.
Shaymus has his vaccinations at three months. We did wait until he seemed strong enough to have them, but I was still very worried.
Soon after he started enjoying his walks, but when he was about five months old I noticed his foot was swollen one day after running in the fields. He was treated with a long course of antibiotics, but after the infection had gone a large, hard lump remained under the pad. He had a fine needle aspiration, then a biopsy under anaesthetic, which only showed calcium. His lymph gland which was swollen behind the knee was removed and again calcium was found. He then had another operation to remove tissue - the result being Calcinosis!
Shaymus stayed in hospital for a week because the wounds wouldn't heal and was very painful. Before the operations the lump in his foot didn't seem to bother him at all. He's had a dreadful time with all the dressing changes and having the wounds washed out - we were never away from the vets.
I was told that if they did attempt to remove all the Calcinosis out of the foot (an operation they've never done before) that it could go badly wrong and he'd lose his leg. In the end the vet decided not to go ahead, so there is nothing more they can do for Shaymus. Noone knows what will happen now.
He has developed bad behavioural problems because he wasn't getting enough exercise, but I have now started to take him for short walks again and I hope that his foot will not swell up again.
I found a retired vet who is a qualified homeopath and when he saw Shaymus' foot he was very confident he could cure it. At the moment he's been taking heklab for about four weeks, but the lump isn't any smaller, although it does seemed to have moved and is now just under half his pad on the outside of the foot.
I'm so stressed and worried as I don't know what the future holds for my beautiful boy. He's grown into a very big, lively dog who loves everyone. I cover his foot when we go for a walk and try not to walk him too much on hard pavements.
The homeopathic vet who is treating him feels that the vaccination caused the Calcinosis because his immune system wasn't strong enough to cope with it. I don't want him to have any boosters so he'll be treated with homeopathic nosodes, but I could have a problem with my insurance. When I took it out I struggled to understand the lady on the phone and ended up with a pet share policy where I have to pay 25 per cent. I didn't even realise until I was asked at the vets about how much excess I need to pay. I've had to find hundreds, and even took a loan out to pay the 25 per cent of his last operation. I'm nearly 66 and live on pension credit.
My dogs are my life and I just hope someone, somewhere can help my beautiful boy. If this homeopathy doesn't work what will happen. Does anyone know anything about this terrible condition?
Maureen Roberts, Buxton, Derbyshire

Richard Allport, alternative vet, advises:
There are several different forms of Calcinosis, with various names, such as Calcinosis cutis, Calcinosis circumscripta and so on. Underlying problems that can cause calcium deposits include Cushing’s disease, kidney disease, but also tissue trauma which seems the most likely trigger here. The body’s healing mechanism can go a little awry and instead of ordinary scar tissue, Calcium is laid down. As your homoeopathic vet mentioned, this can be immune related, which could involve the vaccination. With such a bad start in life the vaccine may have been too much for the immune system to cope with. However, the problem may equally have a genetic or some other cause.
Homoeopathic treatment can often work slowly but surely, and the fact the lump has moved is a good sign - homoeopathy often stimulates a movement of lesions, quite commonly backwards and downwards. At the moment I would continue to have faith in your homoeopathic vet and see how the condition progresses.
As far as the insurance is concerned, most insurance companies will cover unvaccinated dogs, just not for the diseases they are not vaccinated against.
Good luck with the treatment for Shaymus, I really hope things go well