We had Merlot in 2014 from the DogsTrust. She was a shy, anxious young lady at the time. She gradually came out of her shell and, although she could take or leave other dogs, she loved people.
At the end of 2016 we took her to the vets with an ear infection and, surprisingly, she was a little agitated.
It was suggested at the time that their new cleaning materials may have been the cause. Anyway she was treated and an appointment made for the following week.
We took her back, got her to the scales to weigh her and she was on her back having a fit. The place was packed and we managed to get her down the back where the vets came out to see her. Unfortunately, in her state, she did bite one of them. It took quite a while to calm her down so that we could get her home. This came from nowhere really – she had not had a fit before.
We could not take her back to the vet, cos she could not cope with it but on 23rd December, it having been suggested that we were molly coddling her or being stupid, I took her to the vet. She didn’t want to go in but, having support there, I persevered and got her in, trying to play ball in reception, she was having none of it. Then she started shaking her head and off she went again. I did no more than pass the lead to my support to deal with her. She was not treated but brought back out once she came around. Then on Christmas Eve, at home, out of the blue, she had another, we vacated the room, dogs included and left her to come round. Subsequently she was put on Epiphen for about two years.
The vet treated her at home but we had to train her to a station, to the stethoscope and everything else so that the vet could handle her and take the bloods required for the medication. This worked very well until Covid hit us and the vet was unable to visit her at home. So we started to deal with Merlots appointments in the public car park, the vet had her ball and played with her a little before treatment. Things were going well so we decided we would move across to the vets car park. It was quite apparent that this was not going to work and the vet suggested that we adjourn to the public car park again.
This was all okay whilst Merlot was just having vaccinations but our main worry was something happening which could not be treated in the car park before we’d managed to resolve her problem.
Then in October of last year we took our dogs to the field. Subsequently we noticed Merlot was limping. She was a bull at a gate type of dog, she’d go into the field and race around at breakneck speed until she couldn’t.
Very often she’d limp a little when she first got home but this went on. So we managed to make an appointment at the vets that evening. The vet wasn‘t hopeful and suggested xrays which meant going into the vets. This vet didn’t know Merlot and wasn’t aware of her history. However, arrangements were made for Merlot to be sedated in the car park then we’d drive over and carry her in and she’d come out before they brought her round. The prognosis was not good, she’d done her cruciate ligament and the cartilage.
We were due to go on holiday, so decided to consider whether we could cope with an operation whilst we were away. On speaking to the vet, the recovery time, without treatment was a long as with and knowing Merlot and the way she loved her freedom we reluctantly agreed to do the operation. This was major surgery, a big operation and our vets could not do it but we knew there were certain things that Merlot would not cope with.
Most vets prefer dogs to stay overnight, Merlot would never have coped with that and are reluctant to sedate an animal elsewhere than in the surgery.
So we had to find a vet that would, and would accept that we were not being over-protective. We made enquiries of local vets and the usual vets who deal with this type of operation. The majority would not release the dog until the next day, others would not let the dog out until they were happy that the dog had come round in their surgery. Even the involvement of our own vet did not convince them that the dog would not cope with anything else.
Then our vet found a mobile orthopedic surgeon who was prepared to operate at our vets practise with the vets staff doing the operation the way that was required for Merlot.
We then had to prepare Merlot for the big day. She had to be trained to wear the collar and use a pen. She was immediately put in a pen ( we felt it preferable to a crate ) and she hasn’t been out of it since. She had her leg shaved ready, so she went into the vets exactly as she came out.
So the big day arrived. Merlot was sedated in the public car park, when she was out we drove across to the vets and took her in. The surgeon went through everything with us and provided us with written instructions for the next five months. Everyone was so kind and considerate knowing how very concerned we were about Merlot. We left and were called back when the operation was complete and went straight away so that we could get her in the car before she came around enough for us to take her home.
We took her home with instructions as to what we had to do for the foreseeable future.
We penned her, and were allowed to walk her on a lead for five minutes for toilet only three times a day for the first ten days, she didn’t really come around properly for three days. She was checked by the vets after three days to ensure that she was weight bearing on the leg. After ten days we could increase the walks to ten minutes and from day twenty fifteen minutes. She was checked again in two weeks.
After three weeks we were required to carry out physiotherapy on her. There were other measures that could have been taken to help Merlots recovery but unfortunately we couldn’t do them at home so it was not possible to use them. Daily she was walked as required, medicated and given physio. She wasn’t left for the first ten days as we were worried about her movements.
In ten weeks she had xrays to ensure that the leg was mending / had mended properly. Again this was done under sedation. She was sedated in the public car park, taken into the surgery for xrays, brought around in the car before we could take her home.
This has been an extremely worrying time for us, we had our other dogs to consider, one of which has been very poorly during Merlots recovery.
It was a great relief that our vet confirmed that the xrays looked good and that both legs looked the same.
This has been an emotional journey with a lot of hard work and we are absolutely over the moon at the outcome and, although we know we still have a long way to go in respect of Merlots recovery, we can see her running on the beach on our holiday in October.
We, and Merlot, would like to thank everyone at our vets, the De Montfort Veterinary Hospital, for everything they have done for Merlot and all our dogs during our time with them.
They went above and beyond in respect of the situation we found ourselves in with Merlot, there was nothing that could not be done and our vet did not rest until they found an answer to our problem.
Everyone on the day was fantastic, everyone in the practice was fully aware of what was happening and how worried we were.
From the bottom of our hearts... Thank you
