Jerry's Story
26 Aug 2020
Everyone loves Jerry!!
We would like to share Jerry's story with you…
Jerry is a 26 year old Shetland pony who was presented by his owner with a large mass on his right stifle.
Jerry had recently been purchased and it was only when he arrived several weeks later that the lump was discovered; presumed by the previous owner to be caused by a kick from a much larger horse.
Within a week his new owner called us, concerned that the mass was getting bigger. A biopsy was taken and scans were done to ascertain what this mass was. The mass continued to grow rapidly and got to such a size that Jerrys mobility and quality of life were at risk, surgical intervention was now the only option for Jerry’s welfare. You will see by the pictures just how big this mass grew, it was a cancerous non-malignant lymphoma that was roughly the size of a rugby ball and weighed around 2.5kgs.
Jerry was brought to our Rathmelll clinic where vet Paul Smith was ready to perform the delicate surgery under General Aesthetic. General Aesthetic always comes with a degree of risk, and given Jerry's age and small size, he was a very special patient.
The surgery went well, the huge mass was removed and Jerry was left with a very neat surgical site. He stayed with us at the hospital for a few days for his initial recovery then went home to his family. Jerry has continued to go from strength to strength with his loving owners and is now a very happy and much loved pony.
Carin, Jerry's owner kindly gave these words
Isabelle and I have been astounded by the care that the practice has given Jerry. Because of his age we thought that the vets may not agree to the operation that he required, the opposite was true. Right from early in Jerry’s care, Michael, Claire and Paul didn’t once say you shouldn’t go ahead and the same was true when Paul carried out the operation with Lorna.
What all the vets did say was that it was a risk because of Jerry’s age but the support and care that they gave to Jerry and ourselves was first class, right down to Claire giving Jerry a big hug from everyone in the practice on her last visit and Carole and Amanda enquiring about him whenever we ring the practice. Jerry is Isabelle’s much loved Shetland, and Paul has given him the best possible chance. We cannot thank you all enough.