All I want for Christmas is…..

It was 2014 and I was feeling slightly nervous. I was about to meet another new veterinary surgeon. This one, like most surgeons, came with a reputation. I had been told that apart from being a highly skilled and very experienced vet she was softly-spoken and ice cool. She had never been known to get annoyed and never raised her voice. Like her colleagues, she also came with a sobriquet. Before her there had been:

The First One: see Saving Rufus and Saving Wheelie

The Extra One: see The Dog with No Name

The Greek One: see The Tattooed Tart

This lady is known as The One With Child

Meeting and working with a veterinary surgeon for the first time is always a little nerve-wracking and it doesn’t matter that I am only a volunteer. The vet is my boss for a few days and it is incumbent on me to do whatever is necessary to make things work smoothly.

A veterinary surgeon, like human surgeons, has to come to terms with the fact that their job requires exceptional concentration. For most of us, a minor lapse can be corrected but for a surgeon, a lapse can result in the loss of life. A charity vet specialising in neutering will operate for many hours continuously for many days at a time sometimes in difficult conditions so even making the vet’s tea or coffee correctly can make a huge difference. In my early days, I worked with a veterinary surgeon who drank weak lemon tea and when it was made to her complete satisfaction she visibly relaxed.

And let’s be honest it doesn’t matter who you are most of us want to impress the boss!

The One with Child didn’t disappoint, she turned out to be a charming lady, quietly spoken but with an air of calm authority. Any qualms that I had were quickly dispelled as I was put at ease from the moment we met.

It was to be just another neutering day when what arrived was a road accident. The dog was a tan and white medium-sized male crossbreed and sadly the damage to his legs was extensive. Fortunately, the wheels of the vehicle had not run over his body therefore saving his major organs and sparing his life. His legs, however, suffered contusions and one front leg would need dressing and bandaging but the other front leg was damaged beyond repair. The wounds went down to the bone, bits of bone were missing and the leg appeared to have rotated slightly as the car had rolled him over.

What was somewhat surprising was that the Dog showed no sign of distress despite this event occurring several hours previously and he tolerated the vet’s examination with stoic patience. We all remarked what a wonderful temperament Dog had to remain calm without showing any signs of fear or aggression.

This was without a doubt a very special canine.

Dog was anaesthetised and the procedure to amputate the leg started. This veterinary surgeon justified her reputation. The whole operation was carried out with maximum efficiency, quietly and without any difficulty but what followed was even more extraordinary.  Almost as soon as the anaesthetic wore off Dog attempted to get up and walk despite only having two reasonably good legs the third heavily bandaged and the fourth missing.

To our amazement within half an hour of coming out of the anaesthesia Dog was confidently limping around the operating room.

At this point, we need to understand the thought process of a dog as opposed to a human. A human who loses a limb understandably tends to have negative thoughts. How will I get about, will I spend my life in a wheelchair, how will I earn a living, will my partner still love me? The animal has none of these thoughts. His only concern is probably from where the next meal will arrive.

The next problem to overcome was what to do with Dog. He had no microchip and nobody knew where he came from and whether he even had an owner or if he was a stray. In Greece, the law requires owners to microchip their dogs. No chip means that legally it is a stray.

After much discussion, it was agreed that Dog would accompany the vet back to Germany where a good home could be found and his recovery monitored.

His recuperation from such a serious injury was amazing and he settled into his new home in Northern Germany with no problem. He acquired a new name and is now called Joey.

He spent the following years going out for daily exercise by running alongside his owner’s horse and took every opportunity to go swimming in a local lake just as if he had 4 legs.

He has never allowed his enjoyment of life to be curtailed by his disability and continues to be as active as possible. Sadly his age is catching up with him and his one remaining front leg needed some assistance and so his owners, concerned that he was struggling, have made an 800-kilometre trip to Munich where Joey has now been fitted with his “monowheel.”

It looks rather odd but this Christmas Joey will be out and about enjoying the festive season and will continue to live life to the full. His days of running and swimming have been somewhat reduced but he isn’t ready to be a fireside dog yet.

There is a rumour that his Christmas stocking this year will contain the usual assortment of toys and treats along with a can of WD40!!