OM Magazine, Issue 181, June 2024
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18th June 2024
A Plympton animal charity is facing vet bills totalling tens of thousands of pounds after a spate of bulldog breeds arriving with breathing difficulties.
Woodside Animal Welfare Sanctuary is currently caring for four bulldogs, with a further 22 on the charity’s waiting list.
The majority of these dogs will require corrective surgery for hereditary breathing difficulties, at a cost to the charity of around £2,000 each.
Stitch, a three-legged English Bulldog X, is among the most recent arrivals to have surgery to widen her nostrils. The friendly two-year-old dog has recovered well from the procedure and is now close to finding her forever home.
Kennel supervisor Kelly Beutner said: “More often than not the brachycephalic breeds, which include Pugs, bulldogs and bull crosses, need their nostrils widened and sometimes their palates shortened.”
In addition to substantial surgery bills, Kelly said the cost in time to care for each animal post-treatment was enormous.
“The aftercare is considerable,” she said. “If they have had their palate shortened, they have to have ice in their water and small balls of soft food prepared and hand fed to them so that it doesn’t disturb the healing process. It is labour intensive afterwards.”
Since the start of summer, Woodside, at Elfordleigh, has been inundated with requests to help animals with breathing difficulties and other health conditions.
It is coping with an influx of animals needing additional care for heart conditions, skin problems, cancer and amputations, which is pushing its monthly veterinary bills beyond £10,000.
Maggie, a Pocket Bully, arrived at the Sanctuary with a severe skin allergy that had caused much of her coat to fall out and sores to develop.
She received regular veterinary care and treatment, including medication and medicated baths, to heal her skin. Similar treatment was required for Oakley, a five-year-old Pug with a severe flea allergy, who also needed surgery to correct his airways.
Other poorly animals recently taken in and cared for by Woodside include Bella, a Saluki dog diagnosed with cancer and her blind companion dog, Rupert, and a nine-week-old Pomeranian with a Grade 5 Hearth Murmur.
Senior Manager Debbie Haynes said the spiralling bills were in addition to costs faced by the charity for routine medical care and spaying/neutering.
“After surgery, it can take around six weeks for a dog to recover so the time they spend at Woodside can be considerably longer,” she said.
“A flea allergy is the most common but there are also food and other allergies, and it can take time to find a cause. When the skin is very sore it can take a long time for it to heal.”
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