Jasper is an energetic 3-year-old Deerhound and when he is charging around the garden, nothing much can stop him. Unfortunately, the exception to that rule was a rotary clothes dryer which literally stopped him in his tracks.
Poor Jasper, yelped and fell to the ground following the impact but his owners checked his limbs carefully and were happy that nothing was broken. However, the following day, he was very subdued and had vomited and so he was taken to the vets for a check. They confirmed that nothing was broken but thought that Jasper could be in pain following the impact so he was given painkillers.
He didn’t seem to be feeling any better the following day and so his vets took blood samples. When the results were available they showed that the liver enzymes were well above the normal range a subsequent ultrasound scan indicated that large quantities of bile were present in the stomach. Jasper was referred to DWR as an emergency and examined upon arrival. His owners were told that Jasper had septic bile peritonitis and immediate surgery was required.
As it was already early evening, they were advised not to expect a call before about 9.00 pm. When it was considerably later than that, and they had received no news, they called the clinic and were alarmed to be told that Jasper was still in the operating theatre. Eventually, the call came just before 1.00 in the morning to say that there had been complications because of the amount of damage caused by the trauma; but that the surgery had gone well and Jasper was in the Intensive Care Unit receiving one-to-one nursing care.
For the next week, they received twice daily updates to tell them about Jasper’s progress and were relieved when they learned that he had moved from Intensive Care to a normal ward.
One week after surgery Jasper was able to go home although he still needed a lot of TLC and regular medication. Happily, when he came back for his check-up all was well and his blood results suggest that the surgery was a complete success.
His delighted owners said “We are so grateful to everyone at DWR for saving Jasper’s life. Not only did he have outstanding care, but we were kept informed every step of the way. If we had any worries afterwards, our calls were always answered – even when I phoned late at night”.