Eddie is a 2.5 year old male neutered DSH that is his owner’s pride and joy. She is used to him getting into fights and other scrapes but on this occasion she found him lying on the bed with a large wound over his left thigh and a deep open wound over his right hock. He seemed very depressed and in great discomfort. Being unsure of what other injuries Eddie may have and not wanting to move him in his current condition, Eddie’s owner rang first her own vet and then KAPPY on their suggestion. Eddie was examined at home and was found to be in a mild state of ‘shock’ with significant discomfort – despite this he was clearly a lovely little boy and was very cooperative throughout. Other findings (including scuffed claws and dirt marks) seemed to suggest that he had been hit by a car. Eddie was first given some pain relief and then started on a drip before being moved to his emergency clinic once he was more comfortable and more stable. The photos show Eddie on his owner’s bed once the pain relief had taken effect (an intravenous catheter has been placed in his front right leg) and then in the ambulance with his drip running through a drip pump.

Harry

Harry is a 22 month old male entire Maine Coon that was born with an abnormal heart (a congenital heart condition). He has been under the care of the referral specialists at the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals, Royal Veterinary College, London and remained stable for some time. However on this occasion Harry presented to his primary veterinary practice showing signs suggestive of heart failure including severe respiratory distress. After initial care at his primary clinic, Harry needed to be transported to the QMHA for further stabilisation and to be evaluated for possible open heart surgery to correct his heart defect. It was essential that Harry was given oxygen throughout the journey to the QMHA and KAPPY was able to provide this very easily using the portable oxygen cage. The picture shows Harry in the oxygen cage in the ambulance – being portable it was used to transport him from the oxygen cage at his own practice to the Intensive Care Unit at the QMHA with continuous oxygen therapy and minimal stress. This was especially important as Harry is quite a nervy little cat and not a fan of travelling at the best of times!

Caz's Story

Another emergency that was attended to was that of dear little Caz. Caz was sixteen years old and had a number of the typical problems seen in old dogs such as poor hearing and vision (although this did not stop her from stealing the cat’s food!). However, that evening Caz’s owners had found her seizuring in the garden. When Caz’s owners rang KAPPY, she had been seizuring non-stop for twenty five minutes (status epilepticus) and she was still seizuring when KAPPY arrived at the house.

1989 ~ 2005

KAPPY is fully equipped to start intensive treatment on site for this very serious condition. However in a dog of Caz’s age the prognosis is undoubtedly extremely guarded as there is usually a very serious underlying cause. With Caz’s welfare as their top priority, her owners therefore made the difficult but completely reasonable decision to call it a day for her and she was put to sleep immediately at home to end her clear suffering.

The next day Caz’s owners emailed Shailen Jasani MRCVS to say:

‘Just a few lines to express our heartfelt thanks to you for your professionalism and kindness last night. Our dear old Caz had come to the end of her long life and although, as we said, we had always hoped she would go peacefully in her sleep, at least, thanks to you, she found that peace in the end.’