At the end of April, sweet Mabel came into our practice showing worrying signs of illness. She had been vomiting, suffering from haemorrhagic diarrhoea, and was clearly feeling very under the weather – lethargic and not interested in food. Given her history of pancreatitis, our team strongly suspected a recurrence. Our in-house blood tests quickly confirmed our concerns.
Mabel was immediately hospitalised so we could begin intravenous fluid therapy to counteract fluid loss and administer pain relief to keep her comfortable. By the end of her first day with us, Mabel seemed a little brighter and even managed to eat – a positive early sign.
Sadly, things took a turn for the worse on day 2. Mabel began passing large amounts of vomit and diarrhoea and was nearing a state of shock. We acted quickly, administering additional medications and fluids. An ultrasound and abdominal X-rays were also performed to rule out the possibility of a foreign body. Thankfully, no obstruction was found. Instead, we confirmed Mabel was suffering from a particularly severe case of pancreatitis, complicated further by gastroenteritis.
To ensure Mabel received the care she needed overnight, she was transferred to our local emergency out-of-hours care practice. But her battle wasn’t over yet.
On day 3, our vet recommended a referral to Lumbry Park Veterinary Specialists, where Mabel could receive round-the-clock intensive care. During her five-day stay, Mabel was fitted with an oesophageal feeding tube to help support her nutritionally as her body healed. Day by day, her condition slowly improved.
When she was finally discharged, it was with several medications to continue at home, including an appetite stimulant and a vitamin B12 supplement. Our vets suspect Mabel may have chronic enteropathy (a form of IBS), which means she’ll need to stay on a strict diet to avoid further flare-ups.
We’re thrilled to report that Mabel has been doing much better since. She even popped in recently to say thank you – bearing a lovely gift for the team! Head Nurse Sarah was so impressed by Mabel’s courage and resilience that she awarded her our Star of the Month, along with a plush duck toy for being such a brave girl.
We couldn’t be prouder of Mabel and the fight she put up. It’s moments like these that remind us why we do what we do.
