As one of the equine vets at South Moor Vets I only treat horses; I’m comfortable when my patients weigh half a tonne and live in a field! When it comes to dogs, however, my knowledge is rather more… patchy. Thankfully, somewhere in the depths of my university education, some small-animal knowledge remains. Recently, I noticed that my own dog, Mabel, had a small amount of pus-like discharge from her vulva. Even my slightly rusty dog-vet brain knew that this was one of those occasions where you don’t just “keep an eye on it”.

Pyometra is a potentially life-threatening infection of the uterus, most commonly occurring in female dogs that haven’t been neutered, in the weeks following a season. It can be described as either “open”, where infected material can drain through the cervix and may be noticed by the owner, or “closed”, where there is no discharge at all. Closed pyometras can be particularly dangerous because the infection can progress unnoticed until a dog becomes seriously unwell.

And, because animals have an impeccable sense of timing, I was due to go on holiday the following day.

Mabel was promptly sped to our Ivybridge practice, where the vet gave her a thorough clinical examination and performed a POCUS (point-of-care ultrasound) scan. Thankfully, there was only a very small amount of fluid within her uterus and Mabel herself was well, so she was able to come home with antibiotics while we made a plan.

Ultimately, the definitive treatment for pyometra is surgery to remove the infected uterus and ovaries — essentially a spay. Which, of course, is something I probably should have arranged years ago. But in true “vet with their own animal” fashion, I had simply never got around to it!

So yesterday, it was Mabel’s turn to become the patient.

I dropped her off bright and early, feeling considerably more nervous as an owner than I ever do standing on the veterinary side of things. Mabel was a little worried too, but the nursing team immediately set about making a fuss of her and helping her settle in. I even had a slightly emotional moment with Sophia on reception when admitting that I was nervous about her operation.

Thankfully, everything went perfectly. By midday I had received a photo of Mabel recovering comfortably in her kennel, which was exactly the reassurance I needed.

I collected her at two o’clock after a thorough and reassuring discharge appointment, and she came home sporting a rather fetching branded recovery vest.

Being on the other side was a useful reminder of just how much the little things matter when your own animal is the patient. From the fuss Mabel received when she arrived, to the update after surgery and the time taken to explain everything when she went home, the whole team were fantastic.

Mabel is now recovering well — and I came away feeling very proud to call them my colleagues.