Winston

Meet Winston, a 10 week old golden retriever puppy. He has had a rough week. Initially he came to hospital for vomiting and diarrhoea which was a nasty gastroenteritis. This improved, but he didn’t really return to his normal happy self.

Worried, his family bought him back to run some further testing.  By then, Winston had become depressed and quite lethargic. The vets detected a mass in his abdomen. It wasn’t easy to figure out what sort of mass, but a mass was there.

There is no treatment for a mass of this nature other than surgery.  With his family approval Winston was quickly taken to theatre. There, the surgeon found an intussusception of the intestine. This happens when part of the intestine passes back into itself. Think of a pair of socks which you turn in together to keep tidy. The veterinarians were able to release the intestine without removing a portion.

Causes of the rare intussusception complication can include gastroenteritis parasites and occasionally some toxins.

Thankfully Winston is now back home and having a well earned snooze.  To follow Winston, his parents Lindsey and Amie have Instagram@winstonthegoldenretriever_aus