This is the man who operated on Scoobs nearly 4 years ago, performing a dorsal laminectomy to help my boy walk properly again. It was a rather intense convalescence, as I was supposed to limit his activity for a few weeks yet the stupid mutt decided that trying to jump a 2 foot garden wall was much more fun. AARRGHHHH!!!!!!! It DID fix the lameness and occasional stumble but left him with a slightly wonky tail. Compared to the alternative - accidental severance of the spinal cord - it seemed a small price to pay.
This was taken about 6 months after surgery. Isn't he happy?!
All was well for a couple of years before the symptoms returned. Another visit to Noel showed that not only was scar tissue forming at the old op site and compressing the spinal cord again, but that a pinch point (caused by a bulging vertebral disc being directly under a bony overgrowth of arthritis) just below the neck was also causing problems. Given that Scoobs was 9 by then we all decided that his age was definitely against him and we should, instead, take a palliative approach to his care. A & I must have done something right as we had another fun-filled (and very expensive) 15 months with our wonderful hound.
Noel can come across as a bit gruff but his heart is most definitely in the right place and he is dedicated to the animals in his care. I have seen him become distressed after being unable to help a dog (and having to PTS on the operating table). I have seen him pull an 18+ hour shift (at the old place) when the portable - on the back of an artic - MRI broke and it took several hours to get a replacement. Did he cancel everyone? Nope, he stayed there till past midnight making sure every animal got the scan they were there for. He understood the anxiety being there was putting on the pets and the efforts we owners went to to be there in the first place, not to mention the nervous fits caused by our beloved animals going under a general anaesthetic. General anaesthetic is inherently more dangerous for animals than humans, especially the elderly kind like our pooch was.
So, hats off to the man!!!! If I ever have another dog, not that I'm planning that right now, and it needs neuro-orthopaedic help, he will be the one I expect to see.
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