Dr Jerry Dunne with Qira
Medivet Team (and Mum) Ensure The Futures Bright For Qira
6 years ago 
1810 views
Posted
22nd June, 2018 12h27
A nine-month-old Belgian Shepherd facing an uncertain future has been saved by veterinary teamwork at Medivet - and the mum of one of the vets.
The dog, Qira, fractured her left hind limb while playing on 31 May. Her owner took her to Medivet in Flitwick in Bedfordshire, where she was examined by Branch Partner Dr Nicolas Caron. Qira’s owner was unable to afford the cost of surgery to repair the fracture so Dr Caron contacted the team at Medivet’s 24-hour veterinary hospital in Hendon. The two Medivet practices worked together with her owner to have Qira signed over to the charity ‘All Dogs Matter’ and agreed to carry out the surgery in their own time so that she could be re-homed.
Surgery was carried out on 3 June by Dr Pedro Guimaraes, who is studying for a post-graduate certificate in surgery, under the supervision of Dr Jerry Dunne, Branch Partner and Senior Surgeon, at Medivet Hendon. On hearing of her plight and seeing photos and videos sent to her by Jerry, his mum, Ann Dunne, who lives on a farm in County Cork, Ireland, fell in love with Qira and has now adopted her. Jerry Dunne will be taking her to her new home in Ireland as soon as her recovery is complete.
He explained: "Qira is a lovely, young dog and we wanted to give her a chance. A CT scan revealed a long spiral fracture of the left femur extending from the proximal. While complicated it was perfectly repairable. As Pedro is our Junior Surgeon and working towards a surgical certificate, we saw Qira as a perfect case for him to lead on under supervision from me and we did the surgery on a day off. Two of our nurses kindly volunteered to help with the anaesthesia and we were all very pleased with how the procedure went."
Dr Nicolas Caron at Medivet Flitwick added: "One of the things that really sets Medivet apart is our Partnership ethos. It encourages us to collaborate with other Medivet practices and vets, and to work cases together to help diagnose and treat our patients. Qira is a perfect example of this. I worked with my colleagues at Hendon to agree the best approach to her situation, and Jerry and Pedro did a great job on the fracture. It’s great to know that, between us, we’ve given her a future – and, because she’s with Jerry’s mum, we’ll be kept up to date with her adventures too."
Jerry continued: "Qira is making an excellent recovery and I’ll be driving to Ireland with Pedro soon to introduce her to Mum and her new home, where she’ll have plenty of countryside to enjoy. She’ll have a wonderful life there and I know Mum will spoil her rotten."
Medivet is an independently-owned network of 250 veterinary practices, and 15 fully-staffed 24-hour veterinary centres across the UK, of which six are 24-hour veterinary hospitals. Underpinned by its partnership ethos, it is forging a national network of partner-run practices, offering outstanding veterinary care to patients all under one roof.
For further information:
Emma Pelling, Medivet
Tel: 01923 470037/07852251493
OR
Emma Tiri, Medivet
Tel: 01923 475559/07746500707
OR
Rebecca George, George PR
Tel: 01449 737281/07974 161108
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