Molly

Distraught Brian and Lisa rush to the practice with their 20-week-old Bulldog puppy Molly who is immediately admitted as a trauma case after being run over by a car. Tests reveal a fractured front leg as well as a suspected dislocated hip, but Molly needs to be stabilised before Noel can consider surgery.

As the team struggles to make her more comfortable, tests show that she also has a range of genetic problems including slipping knee caps and hip dysplasia on both sides, as well as another major complication, brachycephalic airway syndrome. This is unfortunately common in short-nosed dog breeds and means she is struggling to breathe.

In the light of so many worrying discoveries, Noel now has to dramatically revise the original prognosis and break potentially devastating news to Molly’s family.

“In every case we have a tightrope to walk between fixing that animal, getting that animal out of pain, and doing the right thing,” says Noel.