German Shephard puppy from Fenland finds new lease of life after being unable to keep food down

A German Shepherd puppy with a rare condition that made him regurgitate after eating is now loving life after specialist treatment.

Little Bailey’s illness meant his stomach, spleen and the start of his small bowel were all in his oesophagus which required emergency surgery at Linnaeus-owned DWR Veterinary Specialists in Cambridgeshire.

The oesophagus is the connecting tube between the pharynx and stomach which transports food and drink.

Bailey’s owner, Kim Abbott from March, said: “Bailey being a puppy always loved his food, but after we had him for one week he didn’t want to eat or drink anything and just laid by the back door crying.

“Obviously, we were concerned and didn’t know what was wrong, so we rushed him to the emergency vets who carried out x-rays and referred us straight away to DWR.

“We didn’t know if our little boy was going to survive such a serious problem as most dogs with his condition don’t usually make it past a couple of months. We were also concerned as it was a high-risk procedure.”

Rachel Hattersley, specialist in small animal surgery and head of theatre at DWR Veterinary Specialists, said: “X-rays had been performed prior to referral and raised suspicion for a gastro-oesophageal intussusception where the stomach telescopes inside in the oesophagus.

“This is a rare condition and is usually associated with an abnormal oesophagus that a patient is born with.

“We carried out surgery to correct his abnormalities, and while Bailey’s mega-oesophagus means he continues to have issues with regurgitation and aspiration pneumonia, this has responded well to medication to help with movement of the muscle in Bailey’s oesophagus and he is now much happier and healthier and back with his grateful owners.”

Following the successful operation, Bailey’s owner Kim said: “Bailey is loving life! He is now back to being a puppy, so full of energy and constantly wanting attention and to play with our other dogs.

“Now he has been given the all clear by Rachel we have begun puppy training with him so we hope to take him out on adventures regularly.”