Neil McIntosh

In this week's Vet column, Neil McIntosh discusses flat faced dog breeds and the health issues they can face.

Tumour vigilant. That’s the correct expression. Tumour vigilant. Those of you who have a pet that has had surgery to remove mammary tumours, mast cell tumours or any other type of lump or bump that is excess to requirements will know exactly what I mean. Tumour vigilant. It’s partly a state of mind and partly practical. It can keep you awake at night or allow you to fall deeply asleep. It can have you painstakingly feeling every square centimetre of your dog’s skin or palpating each of the ten mammary glands on a daily basis. Tumour vigilant. It can drive you mad but it can also save a life.

Murphy and his owners were amongst my favourites. Always pleasant, considerate and well-groomed, Murphy reflected his owners’ attitude towards life. They were model clients; they turned up on time, followed instructions to the letter and cared deeply for his welfare. So, when Murphy started bleeding from his bottom, his owners were very worried. Having just turned fifty years old themselves, they had each received the little cardboard package from the NHS in the post that starkly reminded them of their advancing years and suggested they might send a stool sample back for testing for bowel cancer. It put the thought in their heads that Murphy, their black Labrador who was similarly middle aged, might be afflicted by the dreaded big C. And so they did what many people do under these circumstances. They did nothing.

Just as I started to unwrap my fish supper, my brain cells glowed and I remembered ‘Madonna’. Now I am not talking ‘Material Girl’, Papa Don’t Preach’ or even ‘Like a Virgin’. Oh no. The Madonna I was thinking about was a female Koi Carp whose abdomen became terribly distended.

THE very best thing about this veterinary malarkey, (sorry, I mean this very important, super serious veterinary job), is you never know what is going to happen next

CHATTING with my now grown-up children, we discussed the smells of the various stages of life

IT was twenty-six years ago that the (now discredited) Doctor Andrew Wakefield claimed a link between human vaccination and enterocolitis and autism.

LAST week, I told you about Gus, an apparently amiable, gentle giant of a dog who suddenly and without warning killed a host’s cat when he was attending a house party with his owner

I FIRST met Gus when his owner offered to give me and my then young family a lift to a friend's house

I just spent a few quality days with my wee sister