1 Sept 2023
A senior vet who performed surgery says a 15-month-old cocker spaniel would have died without an initiative that allowed him and a colleague to help pay for it.
Allister Webb
Job Title
Archie initially presented with a fever, but scans subsequently showed his lungs had collapsed.
Two vets have stepped in to save a dog who had ingested potentially fatal grass seeds by helping to finance the life-saving surgery they then performed.
Professionals at the Chipping Norton Veterinary Hospital in Oxfordshire used care fund allowances provided by the practice owners, IVC Evidensia, to help the 15-month-old cocker spaniel, named Archie.
The company claims thousands of animals globally have been helped through the scheme since its launch two years ago.
The scheme allocates an annual £1,000 budget to individual vets, which they can then use to help animals whose lives can be saved without the need for ongoing care, but whose owners can’t afford the necessary treatment.
Clinical director Peter Kettlewell, who committed his allowance alongside his colleague Martin Whitehead, believes the initiative was crucial in Archie’s case.
He said: “This dog would have died without the care fund.
“It enabled the owners who were very responsible, but had used up their insurance limit, to afford to go ahead with the life-saving treatment.”
Although Archie was initially presented with a fever, scans subsequently showed his lungs had collapsed.
Dr Kettlewell said: “The problem was caused by grass seeds that had been breathed in days or even weeks before.
“Although we see many problems caused by grass seeds every summer, we are having a particularly bad season this year. We have seen a lot of dogs with grass seeds not just in their paws and ears, but also inhaled.
“Archie’s condition improved after we re-inflated the lung, but another CT scan and then ultrasound showed four grass seeds which had resulted in two abscesses in the chest cavity.
“We consulted specialists who said the chances of these seeds not causing catastrophic complications was virtually nil and surgery was advised.”
The operation was then conducted at the hospital, as the insurance limit prevented it being sent to a referral centre, with the owners meeting the remainder of the cost following application of the allowances.
Dr Kettlewell said: “We did a median sternotomy and thoracotomy and dissected out the abscess which was adhered to the chest wall.
“We needed to do a partial pericardiectomy and once we had ensured everything else was fine, we put a drain in and closed up.
“It was all done within a couple of hours and it shows how, if referral isn’t an option, GP vets can use their skills with informed consent.”
Archie was able to go home three days after the surgery and was described by his owner Laetisia Carter “bouncy and happy again”.
