A dog which had been given up at birth because of a deformity has seen his life transformed by the caring vet nurse who helped bring him into the world.
Registered veterinary nurse Sara Harfield was assisting in the veterinary hospital’s operating theatre when little Dante was delivered by caesarian section.
Sara had no idea the rejected and disfigured pup would go on to become her forever pet but now says she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Sara explained: “I helped deliver Dante when he was born via C-section but almost immediately the breeder surrendered him because he had a severe cleft palate.
“The clinician I was working with suggested I took Dante home to hand rear him over the weekend.
“It was quite a task as he had to be tube fed every two hours but he did well and, against all the odds, he’s still here with us today.”
Dante has had to overcome other serious setbacks since then but he struck lucky with Sara who had the love, commitment and support within NDSR to help him battle through.
Sara added: “When he was about three to four months old, I noticed he had a crusty eye and I brought him to work to see Richard Everson, NDSR’s head of ophthalmology and RCVS Specialist in veterinary ophthalmology.
“Richard diagnosed Dante with a congenital cataract so he had to undergo phacoemulsification surgery at just six months old.”
That wasn’t his only problem, though, and Sara also needed the expertise of NDSR’s RCVS specialist in small animal surgery Nicola Kulendra.
Sara continued: “I’d also noticed Dante’s breathing was becoming a problem and wanted to see if his cleft palate could be repaired.
“Nicola investigated and said he was suffering from Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS) and needed surgery to alleviate it.
“She also said that his cleft palate CT scan was the worst she had ever seen and was amazed at how well he had done to cope with it.
“The result was that when Dante had his BOAS surgery at NDSR Nicola also repaired his cleft palate.”
Despite the ongoing multidisciplinary treatment at NDSR, Dante’s health problems were not over and he was soon back at the Surrey animal hospital for further treatment.
Sara said: “Unfortunately, just over a year later, Dante had started to suffer from high pressure in his eye which developed into glaucoma.
“We managed the condition medically for as long as possible but finally had to accept that his affected eye needed to be removed.
“Thankfully, that was the end of his troubles and Dante is now nearly four years old and is fully recovered from all his surgeries
“It’s been quite a journey and I always joke to friends and colleagues that I didn’t pick Dante and that he picked me!
“Honestly, though, he is such an amazing character that I wouldn’t change him for the world.”
NDSR offers specialist-led services in anaesthesia and analgesia, cardiology, dentistry, dermatology, diagnostic imaging, internal medicine, neurology, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, soft tissue surgery and spinal surgery.
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