As featured in ITV West Local News
On Tuesday 4th July Langford Vets held a Heroes Tea Party to celebrate the recovery of Stanley and Barney, two unrelated Labradors who remarkably were treated at the same time for tetanus, an unusual and often fatal condition. They were both hospitalised in our Small Animal Referral Hospital for almost 1 month during February of this year, winning the hearts of all our teams as they bravely battled their disease. The care of these two dogs really was a whole team effort and is a typical example of our excellence in multidisciplinary specialist animal care.
As featured in ITV West Local News
On Tuesday 4th July Langford Vets held a Heroes Tea Party to celebrate the recovery of Stanley and Barney, two unrelated Labradors who remarkably were treated at the same time for tetanus, an unusual and often fatal condition. They were both hospitalised in our Small Animal Referral Hospital for almost 1 month during February of this year, winning the hearts of all our teams as they bravely battled their disease. The care of these two dogs really was a whole team effort and is a typical example of our excellence in multidisciplinary specialist animal care.
Barney and Stanley both developed tetanus from a small wound as is often the case, this occurred as a complete coincidence on almost the same day just 100 miles apart. We are proud to work closely with their local vets at Garston Vets Frome and Maes Glas in Bridgend who had initially been taking care of them, however once their disease began to progress they contacted our Emergency and Critical Care (ECC) and Internal Medicine teams to organise referral, recognising our expertise in intensive care these dogs were likely to need.
During the time both dogs were hospitalised our teams demonstrated incredible commitment and adaptability to their care. Our dedicated ICU team comprising of our exceptional day and night nurses including two Veterinary Technician Specialists in ECC, interns, and animal care assistants, worked closely on nursing these two lovely dogs in collaboration with our ECC and Internal Medicine specialists and residents. In addition to those directly involved in their nursing, we saw contributions from many of our other teams including; surgery, neurology, anaesthesia, physiotherapy, purchasing, insurance, front of house, and even the maintenance team (with a tetanus friendly fire alarm drill!). Severe generalised tetanus meant both dogs were extremely sensitive to any stimuli (including light), to allow their bodies to recover (this happens by regrowth of the nerve endings) a fine balance between relaxing them to avoid muscle spasms and providing ongoing support including nutrition was achieved through our outstanding nursing and intern teams.
During the time both dogs were hospitalised our teams demonstrated incredible commitment and adaptability to their care. Our dedicated ICU team comprising of our exceptional day and night nurses including two Veterinary Technician Specialists in ECC, interns, and animal care assistants, worked closely on nursing these two lovely dogs in collaboration with our ECC and Internal Medicine specialists and residents. In addition to those directly involved in their nursing, we saw contributions from many of our other teams including; surgery, neurology, anaesthesia, physiotherapy, purchasing, insurance, front of house, and even the maintenance team (with a tetanus friendly fire alarm drill!). Severe generalised tetanus meant both dogs were extremely sensitive to any stimuli (including light), to allow their bodies to recover (this happens by regrowth of the nerve endings) a fine balance between relaxing them to avoid muscle spasms and providing ongoing support including nutrition was achieved through our outstanding nursing and intern teams.
Vicki Black, Hospital Director said “The amount of hard work, expertise, and love for these two dogs really was incredible to witness and a great example of what Langford does so well. There really isn’t a person I wouldn’t like to say a huge thank you to for their hard work. I wholeheartedly believe we really are the best place for your pets and am very proud of my team.”
Langford Vets invited Stanley, Barney, their families and referring vets back to the Small Animal Hospital to meet each other and to be reunited with the veterinary teams who cared for them so diligently for many weeks. They celebrated with ice-cream from local supplier Chew Moo's and a doggie birthday cake baked by Stanley's owner to celebrate his third birthday this week. Barney and Stanley were presented with personalised 'Langford Hero' bandanas and their owners received flowers and cards with personalised messages from their care teams. It was a lovely opportunity for the owners to chat about their shared experiences during a worrying time. Both dogs seemed especially please to be reunited with their primary vets Jenny and Holly, recognising them immediately and bounding over with tails wagging. Stanley and Barney enjoyed a relaxing walk in the grounds while their owners were given a tour of the hospital facilities where the dogs had been cared for. Our team are thrilled to see the dogs doing so well.
Barney's owner Ian had this to say about their experience:
"Barney became ill a few days after injuring a claw. When our local vet diagnosed Tetanus we were shocked and devastated, knowing that, although extremely rare, when a dog gets generalised tetanus the chances of survival are at best 50:50. We were referred to Langford Vets and will never forget arriving there on a cold rainy evening in February with Barney unconscious and stiff as a board.
For the first couple weeks of treatment, we didn't know from day to day if Barney would survive. Holly and the team at Langford called us twice a day with updates on his progress. The day they called to say that he had lifted his head and wagged his tail was wonderful news.
The care that Barney received, and we received, was exemplary, both during his stay at Langford and afterwards, as the recovery from Tetanus takes many weeks of therapy at home after discharge.
Thanks to the team at Langford we now have a healthy and active dog again.
To return to Langford for the Tea Party was a joy, seeing the dedication and affection towards Barney of the entire team was very moving indeed. Paula and I are eternally grateful for their hard work."
If you are a vet and you need urgent advice on a tetanus case please call us 0117 3940513
