County Antrim couple travel 1000 miles to save rescue dog from deadly liver condition

Vet Tobi Wagner with a happy Chester, and Graeme and Kathryn Arthur.

A couple made a 1000-mile round trip for a cutting-edge operation to treat their two-year-old rescue dog Chester’s rare liver condition.

Graeme and Kathryn Arthur travelled from their Northern Ireland home to Hampshire on the south coast of England for the groundbreaking operation.

Southern Counties Veterinary Specialists in Ringwood is the only centre in the UK starting to offer the German-developed procedure. And, having faced the prospect of losing their beloved border collie/springer spaniel mix, the County Antrim couple have now seen him make a full recovery.

“We got Chester from the Dogs Trust and there was no indication at first that he was unwell,” said Graeme. “But quite soon after he started passing blood, pushing his head into the floor and just looking dazed and vacant.

“We were really concerned and got him to our local vets, Firmount in Antrim, right away.

Chester with owner Graeme

“His coat was shiny, and he had other signs of good health, so they had to do lots of investigations to finally work out he had this liver shunt.

“When we read up on the condition, there were some horror stories, and you immediately think the worst. We were referred to a vet in Belfast and the survival rates we were told about seemed pretty scary.”

A rare condition seen in fewer than 0.5% of dogs, liver shunts cause deadly toxins in the blood to travel through the body. If the shunt is outside of the liver, surgery can be carried out reasonably straightforwardly, but Chester’s shunt was hidden in the middle of the liver and treating it was much more problematic.

“There are some treatments, but they often don’t fully close the shunts,” said Dr Tobi Wagner from Southern Counties Veterinary Specialists, which is part of the IVC Evidensia network of pet hospitals.

“So, the patients often require lifelong medication, a special liver diet and will eventually still die as a result of the constant toxin stream reaching the body. With this new technique, the patients can look forward to having a completely normal life.”

Having been told of the new procedure, which has only been carried out on a handful of dogs in the UK, the couple were referred and made the marathon journey to the specialist centre.

“It was obviously a really worrying time, but we had such confidence in Tobi,” said Graeme. “He explained everything so well we felt excited that there might be solution that was less risky and could solve the problem completely.

“It was a long way to go, but that wasn’t a concern as we just wanted to do the best for Chester.”

Chester with Graeme and Kathryn’s daughter

The UK vet team worked alongside the German vet who developed the delicate and lengthy procedure.

“The technique requires advanced vascular catheterisation skills,” said Dr Wagner. “The patients need to stay with us between five days and a week and the first couple of days after the operation are absolutely critical.

“Chester had complications due to bleeding and we could have lost him if it wasn’t for blood transfusions and our intensive care facilities.

“I’m convinced this will become the main treatment for these shunts and because of our expertise and ICU set up, we’ll be at the forefront of UK centres offering this technique.”

Having faced a bleak future, Chester has made a remarkable recovery since the couple made the 1000-mile round trip once more to collect him.

“He’s had no relapse at all and is just a bundle of energy,” added Graeme. “He is the absolute picture of a normal, healthy dog and we can’t thank Tobi and the Southern Counties team enough.

“It’s great that this option is now available for pet owners here in the UK.”