‘Oliver’ arrived at our place as a foster, having been left unclaimed at the pound; a quiet and sick, skinny little boy with the largest abscess on his neck I had ever seen. In the first few weeks with us, it was a never-ending round of vet trips; with not only the usual vaccination and desexing visits but him also having to undergo two surgeries (and messy recovery periods) on his throat. Unfortunately, with the abscess still unresolved, the vet then advised that ‘Oliver’ would require a CT scan in Christchurch to diagnose the root of the problem and whether further treatment was an option.

However, with the cost of a CT scan in Christchurch prohibitive, and ‘Oliver’ happy in himself, it was decided we would ‘wait and see’ how things went over the next couple of months. Although, as I left the surgery, the vet quietly advised me that, in his opinion, I should not get too attached to ‘Oliver’ as we would eventually need to consider his quality of life and that euthanasia might be the kindest option 🙁 Fortunately, for ‘Oliver’, it was too late for us not to get attached, as this boy already held a huge place in our hearts. When the abscess ruptured spontaneously again the day following his last vet visit, this time I treated it at home with poultices to draw it. After a few weeks of home-made poultices, the wound healed and the swelling resolved.

A few months down the track, I’m happy to say there has been no further recurrence of swelling and his abscess appears to be resolved :):):) Loki, as we now call him (named after the god of mischief), has gone from a sick and quiet little boy to a boisterous and chubby, cheeky monkey. A typical young bully x, he has chomped his way through carpets, door panels and even our outside phone cable when we made the mistake of leaving him home alone, but we wouldn’t be without his funny little face for the world. With huge thanks to DRD, we officially adopted Loki (named after the god of mischief) in July – my first foster fail 🙂