French bulldog Hughie to get care from TV’s ‘Supervet’

Four-year old French bulldog Hughie was injured while playing tug of war with his owner Wesley Guilbert on Saturday.

He now requires treatment on a condition known as intervertebral disc disease, a medical emergency common in his breed.

‘Basically the intervertebral discs in his back are like shock absorbers with a gel-like substance in between them, but one of them has burst and it’s squeezing on his spinal cord,’ Mr Guilbert said.

‘If it isn’t treated immediately then there’s a chance that he could be paralysed and lose the use of his back legs.’

There are no specialist neurologist vets in Guernsey, so he will travel with his owner and Mr Guilbert’s brother-in-law Martyn Hicks to Godalming in Surrey tomorrow, where he will be treated by Professor Noel Fitzpatrick – star of television show ‘The Supervet’.

Hughie is insured, but only up to a cost of £5,000 per condition, per year, said Mr Guilbert's sister Kris Hicks.

The surgery is expected to cost about £7,500, and a fundraising page to help Mr Guilbert pay for the treatment, as well as travel expenses, has been set up. More than £1,000 has already been raised.

Mr Guilbert said he quickly realised his dog was injured at the weekend and took him to the vet.

‘He was admitted for a CT scan straight away and the vet was pushing and checking his spine, I couldn’t bear to be in there with him, it was too upsetting,’ he said.

To help Hughie cope with the pain, several drugs have been administered, including a fentanyl patch, a painkiller called loxicom and a nerve blocker known as gabapentin.

‘Any dog with short legs and a long back is sadly at risk of this sort of injury, I have a dog that went through something similar,' said Mrs Hicks.

Presently, Hughie is confined to a cage, and is only allowed out for five minutes twice a day.

He will be travelling with Mr Guilbert and Mrs Hicks’ husband in a cage in Mr Hicks’ Land Rover on Condor today, with the trio staying in the UK for at least a week.

Hughie will have to stay in the cage for six to eight weeks following his surgery.

‘Hughie is in such good condition for a Frenchie so it’s incredibly unfortunate that this has happened to him,’ Mr Guilbert said.

‘I have spoken to Noel and he told me that he does about 10 of these surgeries a day – he’s the best in Europe for this sort of thing.’

He added that he was grateful to those who had already donated to the fundraising page.

‘Raising over £1,000 in 48 hours is incredible and I just want to say “thank you” to the kindness of people, it makes me emotional.’

• You can donate here.