Hi Sarah. Hi Scott. Hello Badge. How are you mate? You alright?
"You're very happy boy today. Goodness me,"
I can see why you've come in. Yep it's not slowing down.
"It is not, it's quite monstrous at the moment, isn't it mate?"
Alright, alright. Yes was that a bit tender. Come on let's keep the
happy, happy boy. Hey, the waggy tail is what we want.
"Come on then Badge, you're going to come this way."
Come to the consult room. Good boy. Good boy. Well done.
Good lad, in you come. There we go, well done.
"So it's been a few weeks since we've seen each other"
"and unfortunately, that has grown, hasn't it?"
Yeah, it's definitely it's not slowing down. No.
"And how's he being affected by it do you think?"
Well, I think slowing down. He's, you know, he's
"not as inclined to sort of go for a walk as much as he was."
You can tell it's just really cumbersome and it's awkward.
"He's finding it hard to find a comfortable spot to sit down."
This is a massive tumour. "It's really pulling
his weight off to one side," which will be affecting
"his balance, will be causing an increase in arthritic development"
in the back legs. "There's a lot of
negatives to this thing " "besides the fact
that it's stretching the muscles" "that it surrounds
and causing him discomfort." "He still wags his tail
whenever anyone goes near him." He still wants to go for a walk,
albeit a short one. "So I feel like we're doing him
an injustice if we just leave it." Okay. It's a hard decision. It's
a very hard decision. It is, it is. And we flip flop
about it constantly whenever we see each other don't we?
This is not the first time "that we've considered
removing Badger's tumour." "It's a slow growing sarcoma
which is a malignant type of tumour," "but it's one that
doesn't tend to spread. " "It just continues to regrow
in the same site." "Now unfortunately,
the size of this tumour" "and where it is means that
we can't ever remove it completely." "So unfortunately,
it keeps growing back" "and this is now the third time
that's happened. " "So I think what we might have to do
is just pop a muzzle on him." "All right, champ. It's Hannibal
Lecter time. Yep come here, Badge." "He's a gentleman
until he's challenged," "and then he turns into
a bit of a, a bit of a beast. Yes." Don't you mate?
You just know your own mind, don't you? Yes, ok. You ready Sarah? Going to pop him up.
Good boy, good boy, good boy. Wow. This tumor is absolutely huge.
So to see it coming out "from his chest, it's
almost like he's got an udder." Isn't that like,
it's just. It's like a cricket ball "and it's sort of that hard
as well. It's huge." "There's positives
and negatives. Yeah. " "But I think the thing is,
is that he is a lovely," "otherwise healthy family dog.
Yeah. Except for this." "So if I can rid him
of this one last time" and give him the, you know, old
"age, genteel life enrichment that he deserves."
Well, I think he deserves it. Yeah. Yeah. "The worst thing would be for him
to not come through surgery." "I think we haven't
got a choice now." "He's just, you know,
he's in too much discomfort." I think we've got to do it.
So, yeah, I am worried. Cheerio boysy. Be good.
Come through it. "Okay, alright. Thank you.
Love to you in the family." "
See you later bye, bye. Say, bye mummy. Say bye. "
"Oh I know, you've got to be such a brave boy."
"Sarah. Badger is our 12 and a half year old Irish"
"Wheaten Terrier that we've had since he was about six months old"
"and he's been the best dog we could have ever wished for."
"There isn't a day that goes by that
I don't find him" dressed as a witch or a fairy,
you know he's just been an amazing part of the family.
But Badger's been battling a massive, low level malignant tumour.
Sore isn't it? "And despite two major surgeries,
it keeps growing back." "So we're sort of worried
that if it isn't addressed, it's" "going to split the skin
because it really is stretched" "and it's like, sort of,
it goes all the way underneath." "Sort of almost like a sort of
tennis ball size" "and then this bit underneath it,
it's pretty grotesque." "We sort of promised ourselves
that we wouldn't operate again." "Scott's done both operations
previously, and we kind of drew" "a line under it and went, right,
that's we're done." We're not going to do that again
"but it sort of got bigger and bigger"
"and, you know, he's relatively happy in every other way"
"and we're now, kind of, like back in the situation of what do we do."
Badge, do you wan't to go for walkies? Yeah. C'mon on fella.
Come on. Hey. Heya.
So Badger's back Nath. Yes. He says with a worried
look in his eye. He's a really sweet dog
but just not the best patient. Agreed, hence the muzzle.
Regan I don't know if you have met Badger. No, I have not, that is crazy.
"Yeah, it's not his most attractive feature. He's a champ."
"No, unfortunately, I'd love to say that"
it's the first time we've removed it but it's actaully our third.
Oh, really? Yeah, it's a slow growing sarcoma.
"It doesn't actually spread anywhere else in his body"
"but just continues to want to live on this side of his chest"
"and you can just think how taut. It's so tight you can feel it."
"Yeah. So it's stretching all those muscles"
and that's what's so uncomfortable. "That's why you're panting
all the time aren't you mate? " Because you're just
"a little bit low level and comfortable all the time."
"So this time, third time, lucky."
Look how vascular it is as well. With Badger's Fur shaved off
"the huge scar from his two previous
surgeries is clearly visible." Alright, here we go.
"It's the line Scott is using to go in for a third time."
"It has some semblance of being fatty but it's granular."
It just doesn't have any structure. "I mean, once you
get your finger at that," I mean, it's just soft.
"Going in to remove this tumour, it is just hideous."
"It's just everything that you would think would personify cancer."
It has no structure to it. "It pulls out like
kind of wet porridge." "There's a lot of blood
supply to it as well." "It's just huge and
it's just horrible." "The nasty tumour is
especially confronting for Scott's" new nurse, Regan.
No, I didn't expect it to be, well I don't know what I was
expecting but. Not this. No Not this. No. Not
quite. 20 minutes into the
"surgery, Scott is becoming increasingly concerned."
"Badge is actually losing quite a bit of blood, removing this"
because it's just so vascular. "It's within all the muscle
layers of the chest" "and we can't control it
because the blood vessels are" "that there's no rhyme
or reason to them," "they're not growing
in the normal way. " "So, I'm just doing my best
to remove as much of the tissue" as quick as possible,
"but it's a little bit nerve wracking at the moment. "
After 25 minutes, Scott "has removed as much of the tumour
as he can safely manage." "I'm just going to, I'm
going to pull out. Close it up." I've got as much out as I can.
But suddenly, Have you got a heartbeat?
"Badger's condition starts to deteriorate."
Yeah, I have got one. It's not very strong though.
"Just need to keep a very close eye on that. "
Okay just have a listen that he's definitely got a pulse still.
"Regan put your hand underneath and feel the femoral pulse."
"I'm not sure. Can you just get James for us,"
go run into consult and ask for James. "Badger's tumour removal surgery
has now turned into an emergency," "with Badger's condition
rapidly deteriorating." "Can you just put your arm
up there and just," just have a feel for a pulse.
"Scott has called in vet James to assist."
You can't feel the pulse? All hands on deck.
"I still am in a situation where I'm sterile"
trying to complete the surgery "because we can't stop
the anaesthetic until " I've closed this massive wound.
So it does mean that I am hogtied. I can't use my hands.
"So I need my colleague James to come in and help with the CPR."
"He's taken a breath.
That's a breathe in? Yep." "Alright the breathing is
the really important thing " so just keep on breathing for him.
Don't stop. Ok I'm on two, and just see how it goes.
Have you got a heartbeat? What can you hear?
Yeah I have got one, it's not very strong. Is that him then?
Throw some adrenaline in him, same dose.
Precious minutes are ticking by but now Badger is not responding.
Can you feel anything? "Can't hear anything.
More adrenaline now? Yep."
Anything?
Badger has now been unresponsive for over 6 minutes
"and Scott is forced to make an agonizing decision. "
"Okay I'm just going to call it guys. "
Okay well, good work everyone. Okay.
It's just one of those things. Yeah. You had to do the surgery Scott,
" you can't really. Can't leave it the way it was. No."
"I think the looks on everyone's faces, I think says it all."
Everyone's completely gutted and especially Scott. Okay.
"Scott now has to make a heartbreaking phone
call." Hello.
Oh hi Sarah. Hi um
Scott here. Hey Scott. Hiya.
"Yeah I haven't got good news for you I'm afraid, Sarah."
"Yeah he passed away on the table, I'm afraid."
Oh my God. Oh what happened? Tell me.
"I got probably two thirds of the tumour out,"
"and I was just sort of cleaning up the edges before closing,"
"he stopped breathing, and this time I couldn't get him back."
Oh, no.
I was just so sure he was going to come through the surgery.
So did I. That's why I just. I'm like, I'm so sorry Sarah.
Yeah she's, uh, "she's devastated,
as you would imagine." "Straightaway as a parent,
she's thinking about the kids" "and thinking about the fact
that she decided not to tell them" "before the surgery,
thinking that they would worry" "and so, now obviously
they're going to be so heartbroken" "that they didn't get a chance
to say goodbye. She's just," you know, thinking about my kids,
and thinking about that happening to my dog. It would be very hard.
"So it's a, it's a bad, bad day."
Sorry mate.