The Yorkshire Vet's patient this week is his own unlucky pup

My Jack Russell Terrier has been in the wars recently. A visitor to the house was playing games with her and unknowingly threw a stick into the garden for her to chase, unaware of the dangers. Emmy was equally unaware and, charging after it with typical enthusiasm, grabbed it, but not without accident. It was not her usual tennis-ball and a high-pitched squeak immediately alerted the humans to a problem. Luckily, with two vets on hand immediately, the cause was readily identified- an inch long laceration under her tongue, bleeding and sore.
By Julian Norton
Published 4th Dec 2022, 16:45 BST

These injuries can be very nasty, especially if the puncture extends deeply, if a piece of the twig snaps off and becomes embedded, or if the penetration occurs amongst the important structures at the back of the throat. It is especially bad if the injury is not spotted straight away, for example if the squeak is not heard. Emmy- and the mortified guest- were both lucky. The laceration was not too deep, quickly spotted and relatively simple to fix. The hardest bit was looking into her dark eyes as the anaesthetic agent trickled into her vein to send her to sleep. Exploration and then flushing with saline and antibiotic solution left the laceration clean. A neat row of dissolvable sutures finished the job. She would soon be back to normal.

I know how painful these injuries can be. One Sunday morning, when on call, a belligerent horse did not want a deep cut on its front leg to be sutured and, with speed and accuracy, kicked me in the face, driving my teeth through the inside of my lower lip. It swelled up almost immediately with a horrible stinging pain. For some reason, once I’d returned home to lick my wounds, I decided the best thing to eat would be something soft, so set about making myself a mountain of mashed potato. I’d heard that this sort of thing would help. It did nothing of the sort and there was more searing pain as each starchy mouthful stuck to the damaged tissue. There is still a thickened scar at the site of injury. I think the mashed potato was a bad idea. I didn’t offer any to the dog today.

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But Emmy’s enthusiasm is as legendary as it is carefree. Once, she spent a full afternoon playing a ball game with my little nephew, Luke. As we watched from indoors, it was hard to tell which of the two was having more fun. Luke wasn’t that good with his aim, and the ball kept going into the bushes. Each time an increasingly dishevelled Emmy would appear, ball in mouth and shrubbery in her coat, but wagging her tail with glee. Anne went out to suggest it might be time to end the game. Emmy was exhausted and it was only a matter of time before she sustained an injury. But the herbaceous border had already sustained injury, almost beyond repair. Bushes were flattened and battered, flowers had their heads knocked off and even the lawn was worse for wear, with scuffs and divots as if a rugby match had just finished.

Julian Norton had to treat his own pet this week after an unfortunate incident with a stick.Julian Norton had to treat his own pet this week after an unfortunate incident with a stick.
Julian Norton had to treat his own pet this week after an unfortunate incident with a stick.

“I think we should have a break, Luke,” came wise and cautionary words from the kitchen door, “Or maybe try to keep the ball on the grass?”

“But it’s absolutely fine,” declared Luke, with the authority and confidence that can only come from a four-year old, “If I throw it into the bushes she just goes in and gets it!”

Back to this week, and she’s made a full and complete recovery from the recent injury. Lessons have been learnt and our visitor has promised it will be balls only from now on. As for Emmy, she can’t make any promises to stay out of scrapes.