Amy knew that Prince was a handsome looking dog, and she would get admiring looks wherever they went. The film 101 Dalmatians hadn’t been her only reason for choosing him, but it definitely planted a seed. As well as his striking looks, he was friendly and had a boundless energy that suited their busy lives.
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A worrying sign
One of their favourite activities was running in their local woods and that was when Amy first noticed that there was a problem. Being a typical male dog, he insisted on urine marking the trail regularly as they went. Amy liked to think she was reasonably fit but most days Prince would still run rings around her, racing backwards and forwards and barking at her to keep up.
To start with today was no different but suddenly Amy realised Prince was nowhere to be seen. When she turned to look behind her, she was relieved to see him, performing his regular habit of weeing on a nearby tree, but something wasn’t right. She turned back and, as she approached him, she could see he was trying to urinate but only passing urine in short spurts. He groaned slightly as she drew near. Her presence seemed to help and within a few seconds he was jumping around her ready to carry on their morning run.
The rest of the run passed uneventfully. After some breakfast and a good drink when they got home Prince installed himself in his bed, whilst Amy sat at her computer ready to start the day’s work. But she couldn’t forget what had happened in the woods that morning. Prince had looked so uncomfortable, and she hated to think he might be in pain. So she made the decision to call her vet practice and get him checked over.
A trip to the vets
The receptionist was lovely as always and patiently listened to her account of the morning’s events. She agreed that what Amy had seen was concerning and suggested an appointment with the veterinary surgeon later that day. She recommended that Amy try to bring a urine sample in with her to the appointment, if possible, as that could help the vet diagnose the problem.
The urine sample itself proved a little tricky. But, after lots of funny looks from Prince and several passers-by she finally succeeded, and they were soon off to their appointment. Emily the vet listened carefully to Amy’s concerns. They then gently examined Prince from head to toe, whilst one of the nurses whisked the urine sample away for testing. Amy couldn’t help but notice how Prince winced as Emily felt his tummy, and Emily explained that she was concerned that he was painful around his bladder.
The nurse popped his head back round the door and handed Emily the results of the urine tests. Emily frowned slightly as she read through the results. She explained to Amy that Dalmatians were prone to urinary problems and could develop a specific type of bladder stone. With the signs that Prince had been showing and the results of the urine tests she was concerned that he had stones and recommended that Prince was booked in the following day for some further tests.
Further investigations
The following morning, bright and early, Amy dropped off a slightly confused Prince who was wondering why he hadn’t had his usual breakfast and early morning run. The nurse was lovely and very reassuring as she ran through the consent form and what would happen. And Prince trotted happily up the corridor after her as Amy gulped back a worried tear. The morning dragged and Amy found herself struggling to concentrate on her work as she waited to hear back from the vets.
At lunchtime finally her mobile rang. It was Ed, one of the vets who remembered Amy and Prince from their vaccine appointment. He gently explained that the x-ray and ultrasound scan had shown that Prince had stones in his bladder. They were too large to pass in his urine. And, unless he had them surgically removed, they risked blocking the outflow of urine from his bladder which could make him seriously ill. Amy was devastated but knew that Prince would have to have the surgery. So he was booked in for the following day.
Swift surgery
Amy didn’t sleep much that night. But she knew that Prince was in good hands when she dropped him back at the practice the next morning. Nevertheless, she was very relieved when Ed the vet finally phoned to tell her that Prince’s surgery had gone well, and he was recovering nicely. Finally, the time came to collect him. He was groggy, and staggered slightly drunkenly out of his kennel. But his tail still wagged as he nuzzled happily into Amy’s hand.
Prince’s recovery
Just a few days after surgery, Prince was back to his happy bouncy self. He clearly hadn’t been listening when the discharge nurse said he needed to rest for 10 days! Amy knew that she would have to keep a close eye on him. And he would need a special diet, medication and regular tests to reduce the chances of the stones coming back. The tests and surgery all added up. With ongoing costs Amy was immensely grateful that she had taken out pet insurance for Prince, which had covered some of the costs. However worrying the whole thing had been, she knew it would have been so much worse if she’d had to worry about how she was going to pay for it all as well.
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