Amazing stories revealed as Bridgwater vets names its Pet of the Year

At the evening event, attended by owners and staff, the hard working vets ran through the 12 amazing and unique ‘Pet of the Month’ stories and five brave judges voted on the overall winning Pet of the Year!

In amongst the 2019 contenders were Flopsy the rabbit with a very complicated and life threatening gastro-intestinal disorder, Carrie the fascinating chameleon suffering from a troublesome eye condition, George, the loved and lost tortoise who had a most unfortunate and dangerous discovery by a lawn mower, six wonderful dogs and three adored cats with a fascinating range of traumatic and complex conditions and stories. 

COLOURFUL: Carrie the chameleon was among the 12 finalists

As Dominic Phillips, clinical director of Quantock Veterinary hospital stressed, behind each pet were inspiring, dedicated and devoted owners who had been through a rollercoaster of emotions and decisions.

2019’s ‘Pet of the Year’ was eventually awarded to Chase, an adorable, young Labrador-cross. A deserved winner but a 'nightmare choice to make' said last year’s winner’s owner, Ally Rossiter, one of this year’s judges.

Chase first came to Quantock Veterinary Hospital with a lame back leg and was treated appropriately. Some days later Chase’s owners noticed that he was very ‘out-of-sorts’. He had not been eating well and he appeared to be “glazed”. Concerned, they rang Quantock Vet’s out-of-hours service and took him straight in for examination. Sarah Cole– the vet in this case – found that he had a sore throat and had a lot of saliva at the back of the throat. More worryingly, Chase appeared to have an unusual and very shocked and surprised expression which raised alarm bells in Vet Sarah’s mind – 18 years previously she had seen a similar look in a dog with tetanus.

Chase was admitted for tests and, indeed, tetanus was confirmed. This is a very rare condition in dogs caused by a bacterium called Clostridium tetani, and usually develops after an injury which allows the infection in. The toxins released by the bacteria cause muscle spasms, typically giving the “surprised” expression as the upper eyelids are drawn upwards and the brow becomes furrowed. Dogs struggle to swallow food and severe cases cause complete paralysis which can be fatal. Fortunately Chase’s tetanus was caught in time and he has recovered well although does still occasionally show slight facial muscle spasms.

FAMILY: Chase's owners were grateful to the vets for helping him recover

This year’s runner up went to Tigger, a very brave little cat. The vets suspect from his injuries that Tigger had been in a road traffic accident that had caused severe trauma to the head but he’d managed to crawl back to his home.

INJURIES: Runner-up Tigger made an amazing recovery

Amongst his horrendous injuries Tigger had an extremely badly fractured jaw, serious skin and tissue damage and severe infection of the tissue. After emergency stabilisation and then various surgeries to resolve his various injuries he then had the challenge of being able to eat. His rehabilitation was long but he is now happy and well.

RUNNER-UP: Tigger's owner collects the runners-up prize

Hannah Johnson, the Veterinary Nurse at Quantock Vets who organised the event was delighted with the turnout despite concerns over the Coronavirus.

She said: “We were so appreciative of these owners who turned up to attend the event. It is always such a positive evening with everyone being able to share the amazing stories of their pets’ serious conditions and the journey they’ve had to recovery.”