BAD VET MAN

As you know just back from Scotland where Moll walked LOTS. We went around Loch Muick a short distance from Charles and Camilla's country pad (you can also see Queen Vic's picnic house in the distance). Its our favourite walk. No royals in view. Phew..........

The day after this hike Molly wasn't herself. She was uncomfortable and I thought she was limping a bit. But after an early morning little walk around the Estate where we stay she was beyond excited following last night's scent marks and her limp vanished. But it came back when she wasn't distracted.

I looked and looked at her paw and could see nothing obvious. A small cut on one of her pads I thought was causing her discomfort. MOTTO TO THIS STORY DON'T THINK YOU KNOW BEST. I waited and thought she would lick the wound clean and it would heal and not be a problem.

It seemed to get better (or was it my mean streak kicking in) until at about 10.30pm when she couldn't settle down to snooze at all and she was in pain. We go up to Scotland a lot but have never visited the vet. This time I was on my own and the thought of getting up in the middle of the night with a sick dog filled me with fear. I called the vet. He agreed to meet me at his clinci which was (this is lucky for the Highlands) only 15mins away.

As soon as he saw her he said he knew the problem. Pop her up on the table. We both had to do that. And then he told me to hold her down. I held her tight whilst he examined her paw. He turned to the left grabbed something aimed for her paw and pulled. She squealed, struggeld and leapt off the table. I nearly fainted with shock at the squeal. Poor little thing she was terrified. The vet was holding this torture implement with a white strand of something attached.

What the hell did you do? She had a split claw, he explained, and it was causing her great pain and it had to come out. Don't you do anesthetic? Or a pain killer? Nope he said its easier like this.

The only consolation was that it only cost me £35.00 which I thought was really, really, and really good. Down in our part of England a night call out with treatment would have gone over the £200 mark!!!!

But in the coming week she was the star of the show. Everyone was horrified that the vet didn't give her any pain relief BEFORE the PULL.

In two days she was fine.

Again, the moral is that if you can't see something wrong it doesn't mean that there isn't. And split claws are the most painful thing for any dog. If your dog has a split claw its the most difficult thing to spot unless its hanging off..........and particularly if the dog's claw and paw are black.