I first saw Scruffy sitting in a pet shop window.
I had recently lost my loved St. Bernard Noni. She was adopted at 5 years by me and I had four beautiful years before losing her suddenly shortly after she turned nine years. She was a 75 kilo gentle giant and I was hurting from her loss.
All thoughts of not buying a pet shop puppy, as most come from puppy factories, went straight out the window. It was just before Christmas and he became our family’s Christmas present and he was adorable. He joined Seth our American pit bull and my several cats and other animals I had.
He came with a 7 day health check. He passed with flying colors. He had his third and at 5 months he was de-sexed. He was an active and beautiful little guy.
At approximately 9 months of age I was able to have a holiday and my daughter was looking after Scruffy whilst I was away. I got a phone call whilst I was away telling me Scruffy wasn’t right. He was sitting on the step and not wanting to run around. I had no idea how sick he was.
Two days later I was home and I immediately rushed out to check Scruffy. I was horrified at what I saw. He was limp and just lying in his basket. He sparked up on seeing me and seemed okay again. But he fell over two or three times for no reason. What was wrong. Was it the small bite he took of a toadstool before I went away or something else?
My usual vet clinic was booked out so I rang another vet clinic I had used connected to the local animal shelter and immediately took him to this vet. I had no idea of what I was facing.
THE DIAGNOSIS