Blossom

Blossom is a very friendly, lively, 1yr 8month old neutered female St Bernard, who just loves to visit vets! This may seem surprising especially when you realise that in her young life she has had numerous visits to Woodlands for a number of complaints.

Some of you may recognise Blossom, as she was recently awarded the Claude Hammond award for bravery - presented to her for her remarkable bravery and good nature whilst dealing with the onset of sudden blindness. She has now fully recovered her sight but unfortunately for her owners, she couldn't wait to visit us again!

She was presented by owners in September, after she ate two novelty giraffe heads off her owner's slippers, as well as part of a duvet. She began vomiting and managed to bring up one of the giraffe's but one remained inside along with the duvet - the veterinary surgeon decided to initially treat Blossom medically to encourage the foreign bodies to pass out the other end!

However, the next day she was still vomiting and she began to feel poorly, a radiograph was taken of her abdomen showed a suspect area in her stomach and the first part of her intestines. Therefore the decision was taken to operate. Blossom was placed onto intravenous fluids to support her circulatory system and a blood sample was taken to ensure that there were no complicating factors that could affect her anaesthetic.

She was anaesthetised, her abdomen clipped and scrubbed to remove dirt and bacteria and she was carried through to the theatre - this required a large stretcher and three very strong nurses/vets! The problem was quickly discovered: her stomach contained the missing giraffe head and the first part of her intestines contained the chewed duvet! These were removed and the surgeon sutured Blossom's abdomen closed. She only had to spend a short time in the clinic as she recovered extremely quickly and was soon able to be discharged back to her worried owners. Within a few weeks she had fully recovered, her wound had healed and she was back to her normal lively self. Let's hope we don't see her again too soon!

Her owners though need not worry about Blossom's love for the vet, as she is fully insured with Petplan - the total veterinary cost of the treatment Blossom received was £1,560.40. Luckily the Pownall's only had to worry about how to keep her out of further trouble and not how they were going to pay for it!

Pet insurance is a vital part of pet care and is both affordable and easy to arrange. Please feel free to ask any member of Woodlands staff about how to insure your pet.

Tish Harris

Tish is a very lively eight-month-old female Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, petite and very friendly and always looking for a fuss! But she wasn't always such a happy dog. On and off since she left her mother and started eating solid foods at her new home she has had digestive upsets. The diarrhoea could often be severe, containing blood and mucous, frequently it would be painful to go. During these episodes Tish would be a quiet and miserable little dog that didn't want to eat or play.

A lengthy and complicated treatment regime began involving antibiotics, blood tests, stool tests, injections, x-rays, ultrasound, special veterinary diets and probiotics. She had good days and bad days but she struggled to gain weight and was fussy with her appetite.

A decision was made to operate and whilst being spayed the intestinal tract was to be biopsied. However during the operation a very rare condition called an intussusception was discovered. When Tish was born the valve between her large and small bowel had not formed properly allowing on occasions her small intestine to pass into her large bowel causing a partial blockage - this would then result in the diarrhoea and pain she experienced.

Via a difficult technical procedure this faulty valve was removed and a new tube was constructed to allow food to pass smoothly. This involved a lengthy stay at the clinic and intensive veterinary care. Now a month later Tish is a bundle of fun, she has increased her weight by nearly a kilo to 4.7kg. The operation site has completely healed and she is toileting pain free!

Tish is a very special dog not only to all of us at the Clinic with her rare condition but also to her family who cared for her so well during her illness. The happiest ending to this story though is that Tish was insured with PetPlan who covered all the costs for this expensive condition. The total Veterinary costs for the six months of treatment Tish has received is £1818.33. Thankfully the Harris's only had to worry about getting Tish better and not how they were going to pay for it. Pet Insurance is a vital part of pet care and is both affordable and easy to arrange. Please feel free to ask about how you can insure your pet with any of the Woodlands Staff.