Benji was rushed into VetsOne and sadly his owner had to leave him at the door with the staff because of the Covid 19 nationwide lock down restrictions “we went home and waited for the phone call to say he would have to be euthanised”.

Our veterinary care team managed to stabilize Benji with intravenous fluids, warmth, opioid pain relief and close monitoring from the veterinary team. Once Benji was stable it was time to do some diagnostics to check him over more closely. It was quickly apparent that his giant fall had left him battered, swollen and bruised. He could not stand alone radiographs where done and luckily there was no broken bones or internal bleeding but poor Benji had sustained some spinal damage. To what degree he would be affected was a wait and see situation.

After 48 hours in our intensive care unit Benji was bright, social, eating, drinking and going out to the loo with assisted help. There was a glimmer of hope as he had been spotted moving a toe! Small steps but still defiantly a step in a right direction. Poor Benji still could not stand with all four feet his back legs were still not functioning like they once did. So a decision was made to send him home to recover under the watchful eye of his owner. Taking your pet home to recover is a huge responsibility “I had to learn to toilet him. Looking after him was a full time job and although I’ve always respected what Veterinary nurses do I have a whole new perspective on what they do. The first couple of nights I got about 2 hrs sleep. He was restless and uncomfortable, not eating well, had to be hand fed After a couple of days he moved his foot slightly when I tickled his toes”.