Sydney's Nose Suffers a Thorny Problem

Sydney, a one and half year old West Highland terrier from Botley, is recovering after getting a six cm bramble twig wedged up his nose.  The twig was almost the same length as his nose, according to Pet Doctors vet Emily Ward-Smith, who has been caring for him.

Sydney’s owners, Kath Holliday of Botley, and daughters Amy (10) and Laura (7), had been mystified by his change in behaviour which started around 20 November.  Suddenly their beloved dog seemed distressed and was constantly sneezing.  He was also suffering regular nose bleeds.

Vet Emily Ward-Smith examined Sydney and found the twig deeply wedged right up in his nose where it was causing him great discomfort and the threat of serious, even fatal, injury.

Commenting on his plight, she said:  “We put Sydney under general anaesthetic to investigate the problem and, at first, could see no sign of an obstruction.  Just as I was about to stop looking, I found the twig buried deeply into the lining of his nose and covered with blood.   I’ve never seen such a long twig caught in the nose of such a small dog and it must have been causing him so much pain.  It could also have migrated to another part of his sinuses where it could have caused more serious harm.
I’m glad to say that with the help of painkillers and antibiotics, he’s now making a good recovery and should be up to his old tricks by Christmas.”  

Kath Holliday added:  “We couldn’t understand why our happy dog had suddenly   become so down and was sneezing and bleeding from his nose constantly.  When Emily showed us the length of the twig she’s removed, we couldn’t believe it.  It seemed to defy logic that he’d managed to sniff such a long twig right up into his nostril – but there it was!  And it was causing him so much misery too.  

We’re so relieved that he’s getting back to his old self.  We’ll be keeping a close eye on him in the garden from now on though – and his experience has given us an incentive to dig up the brambles!”

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