VETS at Glasgow's Small Animal Hospital are used to dealing with the toughest cases and the sickest pets.
But despite years of experience, sometimes even the most skilled specialists are shocked by the weird and wonderful cases brought through their doors.
While certain treatments are common, vets are often faced with more unusual challenges - from an eagle with
cataracts to a puppy speared by deer antlers.
Kids' pet bit off more than she could chewGREEDY Dalmation Lucy proved a tough challenge for vets when she first presented at the Small Animal Hospital.
Owners Tracey O'Donnell and Craig Stockment noticed the two-year-old had started acting strangely after a family barbecue.
The normally lively dog was withdrawn and had a persistent cough - but local vets could find nothing wrong with her.
A visit to the vet school showed she had the infection e.coli in her blood stream and a bout of pneumonia.
Antibiotics cleared up both infections but the cough lingered and Lucy was still not quite herself.
Vets at the Small Animal Hospital then performed an endoscopy, feeding a tube with a camera attached to the end down the dog's throat.
And they were shocked when footage showed a 6in long kebab skewer jutting out of Lucy's lung.
The hungry dog had smelled meat on the stick and eaten from the kitchen bin.
The stick had worked its way through the pup's stomach and into her chest, where it had caused the infection.
Vet Gerard McLauchlan, who removed the kebab stick, said: "It was amazing. We got hold of the end of the stick with the forceps and slowly pulled the scope and the stick.
"We could not believe how long the stick was - it just kept coming.
"Lucy is such a fortunate dog. The stick could have easily gone through her heart or a big blood vessel.
"Bits of wood are not visible on ordinary X rays and so we really needed the CT scan to show it."
Craig said: "Lucy's a great dog, very friendly and completely daft.
"We knew there was something wrong with her because she just went into herself and was quiet and drawn."
Children Olivia, 8, and six-year-old Josh are just pleased Lucy is fit enough to play with them again.
Craig added: "We'll be keeping a close eye on her from now on." |
Dr Ian Ramsey, head of the Small Animal Hospital, said: "There are things owners would consider quite unusual that we think are everyday events, such as the hip replacements and cancer treatments.
"But then we have cases such as Lucy the Dalmation where it took several scans to find what was making her sick.
"You have to remember dogs and cats can't say where it's sore - and can do silly things without knowing what will be dangerous for them."
The vet school specialists are trained to deal with every situation - and will go to great lengths to get dogs and cats back to full health.
Just 25 years ago, there would have been no other option for many sick animals than to be put to sleep. But as
technology progresses
owners have more options to heal their pets with vets able to do almost anything human doctors can.
But treatment does not come cheap - a
broken leg will cost up
to £1500 if the treatment becomes complicated.
Owners can spend anything from a few hundred pounds up to £7000 - and vets stress the importance of taking out pet insurance.
All treatment at the Small Animal Hospital is privately funded, with about 60% of costs covered by insurance.
Vets in practices with pet owners who aren't covered or simply can't afford to be referred to the vet school are given advice over the phone.
But for patients who can afford it, the Vet School offers ground-breaking new operations such as cruciate ligament surgery, healing dogs which would otherwise be lame.
A new cancer-zapping machine, the linear accelerator, will offer hope to owners whose cats or dogs have life-threatening tumours.
And radio-iodine
therapy restores cats suffering hyperthyroidism to health - after a month in isolation while they are radioactive.
Yesterday we told of the bid to raise a further £3million to fund a world-class new Small Animal Hospital and put Glasgow at the forefront of veterinary medicine.
To donate call 0141 330 4951 or e-mail campaign@gla.ac.uk
Case study: Lulu the rottweiller
ROTTWEILER Lulu was out for her daily walk with her owner when she suddenly collapsed on her back legs.
The eight-year-old dog was brought from Edinburgh to see vets at Glasgow's Small Animal Hospital, where she was found to have ruptured the cruciate ligaments in her knees.
Vet surgeon Mike Farrell performed an operation, rotating the bones in the knee joint into a new position and holding them in place with a plate and screws.
Lulu made such a good recovery on the leg with a completely ruptured ligament and within weeks she was up and running around again.
Luckily her owner was in a position to cover the cost of the £2000 surgery.
But Prof Stuart Reid, a veterinary surgeon at the school, said: "Pet insurance is worth every penny."
Case study: Lucille the cat
JOAN GALBRAITH knew cat Lucille was ill when the 11-year-old began acting like a kitten.
She'd had always been placid - but was suddenly losing weight and racing around Joan's Govan flat.
A trip to a local vet saw the tortoiseshell diagnosed with hyperthyroidism - a condition caused by non-cancerous tumours on the thyroid gland in the throat.
The tortoiseshell was the 400th cat to receive pioneering radio-iodine treatment at Glasgow Small Animal Hospital, where she was in quarantine for four weeks and made a full recovery.
Joan, 62, said: "It was hard to leave her - you can't explain you're coming back."
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