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We were lucky that there was an orthopedic specialist vet, Mr McQueen, just 7 miles away. If he hadn't been able to see us, the other closest one was over 100 miles away. We had to wait a month for an appointment and we finally saw him in November. When we went I took the x-ray that had been done at the end of September, the one that our regular vet had said showed there was nothing wrong. Mr McQueen pointed out tiny little white spots on it and said that showed there was still infection. The problem was that paws have so many bones and tendons, it is difficult to operate there and not something to be undertaken lightly. He said he would operate and take a closer look, though. Saffy stayed there for surgery that day. I had a phone call in the afternoon to say we could pick her up at 6pm which we did. Her paw was heavily dressed and the vet had prescribed a 10 day course of antibiotics. Later that evening Mr McQueen phoned to tell me exactly what he had found. He said there was necrotised tissue alongside the bone. He had cleaned it all out and given her an injection of strong antibiotic. From the following day, when she had recovered fully from the anaesthetic, she was much more like her old self. Over the previous few weeks she had become depressed and snappy, quite out of character for her. Within a week she wasn't lying down for a rest on walks and was running again. Within two weeks she was completely back to normal, able to run for hours, chasing balls, birds and cats. Best of all, she was her usual cheerful happy self. As a postscript, some months later I heard somebody on the radio talking about gangrene and necrotised tissue. It was then that I realised that if Mr McQueen hadn't resolved the problem when he did, Saffy could have lost her leg and maybe even her life. I have never forgiven the first vet for their ignorance and negligence and now we no longer go there even for anything as simple as a booster injection. I feel that they are more interested in the money made from animals than in their welfare. Luckily Mr McQueen also has a normal practice as well as being a specialist and that's where we go now. At that practice all the vets put the welfare of the animals above financial considerations. Take this story as a warning. If your pet appears sick to you, insist that your vet treats it or refers you to a specialist. Don't let it go on as long as I did just because I thought I could trust the vet. If I had trusted my own instincts more, Saffy could have been saved months of needless suffering. Want to read more about dogs' misadventures with poor diagnosis? Read The Story of Boo's Back.
Copyright © 2006
- Carol Fisher |
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