Minnie’s thorny problem

A springer spaniel’s mysterious and life threatening illness has finally been cured after vets discovered a four inch thorn embedded in her lung.
Minnie the dogMinnie the dog
Minnie the dog

Seven-year-old Minnie loved to run in the fields around her home and swim in the river but one evening her owners Jo and Karen Hocken, noticed something wasn’t right. Minnie seemed more tired than usual and she took herself to the corner of the lounge and started to shake.

After several visits to the emergency vets, including a course of antibiotics, Minnie’s problem was still not diagnosed.

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Jo said: “We were back and forth to the vets over the months to try and fathom out the problem until an X-ray was suggested, which did not help diagnose the problem either.

“This continued for nearly six months before our vets decided to refer us to Calder Vets in Dewsbury in June 2014. The vets there performed a CT scan which revealed a foreign object which they thought she may have swallowed.

“Once they discovered the object they were clear from the start what would have to happen and that meant an operation.

“We were both fully informed that it would be a tricky and long procedure, and it would be a big operation for Minnie. We had mixed feelings as we knew the object had to come out but were naturally worried.

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“When we picked her up we were expecting a sorry state of a dog, but when they went to collect her from the recovery room we could hear her trying to run down the corridor with excitement, we couldn’t believe what progress she had made in just a few days. Thanks to the team at Calder Vets, Minnie is back to 100 per cent fitness and barking her orders at us, and we love it.”

Joachim Proot, the surgeon at Calder Vets who operated on Minnie said: “We’re delighted that Minnie has made a full recovery and is back to her normal self.

“I’m thankful that our team at Calder Vets were able to quickly diagnose the problem, take action and give Minnie her new lease of life.”

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