I thought we’d had our fair share of health issues with Bob’s traumatic illness and eventual recuperation at the end of last year. So I wasn’t ready for another emotional rollercoaster with Reg. And nor did I think we’d have yet another phone conversation about ‘calling it a day’ - a horrid conversation at the best of times but certainly not so soon after Bob.

It began with a long awaited trip to the beach - a fun day particularly planed with Reg and Bob in mind. After all, lockdown had prevented us from taking the trip until now so it was long over due. We love West Wittering and the boys love it too and we really needed to get out of London for the day. We left at 6am to avoid the traffic and heat of the day - it’s very exposed and we were determined to be sitting in a cool shady pub by midday and not put the boys at risk of too much sun.

We had a lovely beach walk and Reg was especially happy to be there - you can certainly tell when they are enjoying a walk more than usual - and it makes it all the more worthwhile. So we left West Wittering just as it was getting really hot - which coincidentally was when it looked like the rest of the world was turning up. We had a lovely lunch in the cool and headed back home.

We hadn’t been home long before Reg started being sick. Our hearts sank but we’ve been here before - he was sure to have found something disgusting to eat on the beach despite being super, super careful We’ve had too many scavenging incidents recently - with all the lockdown picnics taking place. Raisingate being the most dramatic where they found a huge (and a cynical me would say a rather suspicious amount) of raisins on a nearby Common which resulted in expensive vet treatment. Scavenging has been a theme of our walks over the last year and a half - there’s been SO much rubbish left around it has made for very stressful time.

So we monitored him but the sickness continued. We wondered if he had had too much sun but we’d been so careful it seemed unlikely. He was calm and because it was Bank Holiday (of course) we decided not to take him to the emergency vet. We’ve been here before and usually within 24 hours he’s brought everything up and is back to normal.

But the signs were there - nothing much was coming back up and every few hours he would let out a terrible howl - making us feel totally helpless. When we took him to the vet he couldn’t see anything obviously wrong - no tension in the stomach and gut so we decided to leave him another day or so. But it continued and the vet xrayed and scanned Reg twice and couldn’t see anything, but he so obviously wasn’t himself. Reg was unhappy and the vet was quick to point out that despite the scans there could still be something stuck.

He fortunately made the call to send him to a specialist referral centre. I was able to sit with Reg while we waited to go. He looked at me so intensely - it’s normally a look to remind me it’s feeding time but it certainly wasn’t food he wanted on this occasion. It was a long drive to Winchester and a long admission.

The admitting vet talked me through absolutely every possibility of what it could be. I’ve had this with Bob - it’s not a happy talk but one that’s very necessary. I’ve found out that the ‘outside chance’ tends to happen to us! He also mentioned he’d quickly scanned Reg and couldn’t see anything stuck - he wasn’t excluding it but needed to leave it to the expert scanners - it really is a specialist role because the next day despite all the previous xrays and scans they did see something stuck between the stomach and small intestine and a really inflamed angry pancreas too.

We went ahead with the operation. Since Bob’s nightmare I decided that insurance was the way to go and Reg was relatively easy to insure despite being nearly seven. The tests and operation was definitely going to exceed the insurance ceiling but it had to happen and quickly.

Well that should have been the end of it - a slow quiet recovery and back home as soon as possible. But he was not picking up and a few days later the vets confirmed he had a fever which was not responding to antibiotics. Another scan later confirmed the worst - septic peritonitis, and the options were clear. We either say goodbye or we spend another huge amount of money (and I mean huge) opening him up to clean everything out to try and get on top of it - there was a 50:50 chance of success. My husband was adamant that we would never forgive ourselves if we didn’t try and give him the best chance of making it. After a day of huge stress we just had to wait

When Bob was ill, Reg really missed him - constantly looking for him on walks and feeling very alone and out of salts. Bob really relished this time at home alone - ten days in fact and honestly I don’t think Bob gave Reg a thought. But when Reg eventually came home he did make a huge effort to greet him and attempt an early lick of his wounds!

Recovery is going to be slow - there’s lots of medication to administer, a feeding tube to clean and a huge amount of stitching which makes carrying difficult but we’re so glad we took the risk and gave Reg this chance. Unlike Bob’s illness this was self inflicted - we can’t figure out what Reg had eaten but it’s large and definitely not food. Why he would do this is worrying. We don’t have soft toys in the house because it’s all about destruction and sometimes eating too but what he ate on this occasion he’d found out and about - we will never know where - but he can never do it again.

The scavenging is always going to be a worry despite training I have been trying out on Bob - I’m no expert but regardless of my high value treats I think the whiff of a chicken sandwich is always going to win the day for Reg and Bob - but I’m happy to be proved wrong. We’ve considered muzzling both the boys too but there’s something that doesn’t feel quite right about it - despite the risks.

We want to thank all Reg’s well wishers. It’s difficult when something goes wrong as Reg&Bob’s Instagram is always active and their absence doesn’t go unnoticed but I was adamant I wanted to keep this particular trauma to ourselves. His recovery is on-going but definitely well underway and I hope it’s not too rash to feel confident for him.

We now have the vets to pay - it’s a huge amount of money but we’re delighted we chose to go ahead. It’s our choice and our responsibility but it’s a harrowing decision because finances often dictate whether you can continue to treat and take the extra risks to give your dog a chance - and that’s hard.

So it’s the perfect time for a sale and as Reg has been so brave and purple is the colour for bravery I’m now offering any purple collars and leads at a fabulously discounted price - still the same hardwearing, machine washable, stylish collars and leads but at an even better price. So if you like purple, like we do you can check out the offer here (offer now closed) And meanwhile we’ll keep Reg on the road to recovery and try and figure out how we’ll prevent this ever happening again.

If your dog has had a similar issue - we’d love to hear and any training tips are always welcome!

Reg at the vets- another emotional rollercoaster

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