In 2018 our local vet told us Ferris’s only chance of survival, after being missing for 72hours was to get him to the Royal Veterinary Hospital. But he might not make the journey. He’d been laying in the drive of a distant neighbour for around 48hours, unable to move. It was only after our efforts to find him by handing out posters that she called the vets to take him in. They had tried to help him as best they could but there was no sign of improvement and they didn’t have a needle small enough to drain the fluid in his lungs.  

After the most distressing car journey of our lives we got him to the Royal Veterinary Hospital and after a night of uncertainty, he made it to the morning. No one was really sure what had happened, there was a build up of fluid and it could have been sepsis. When they called us in in the morning we expected the worse and almost got it, until his blood results came back and they proved that whatever the vets did that night meant he was improving.

It was the emergency and continued care of the vets and veterinary nurses that he made it to Christmas and made a full recovery. 

Last November we weren’t so lucky. And there is a Ferris shaped hole on my bed every night, and in our family. 

Not only was he my everything, he also was the best cheerleader. Through lockdown seeing him on my runs always made them far more enjoyable. Let’s hope I can get through 26 miles for him!  

The Animal Care Trust exists to support the Royal Veterinary College's wide range of clinical, research and educational activities aimed at improving animal health and care. Your generous donations help us to support over 20,000 poorly pets a year, giving our patients access to innovative treatments and the best facilities to keep them comfortable while they are in our care. It is only thanks to the overwhelming generosity of our supporters that the Royal Veterinary College can keep advancing veterinary medicine and saving animals' lives.