Byline: DIANE PARKES
IT is 9am and we are ready to go. The Visiting Vet van is packed up with all the necessary equipment, vet Jenny Moffett has her diary in hand and driver and vet's assistant Steve Smith is ready with the A-Z.
First call is Willenhall for a check up on Jack, a six-year-old German shepherd. Jack underwent an operation last week to remove a stone from his intestine and Jenny is popping in today to see how he is getting on.
I am warned beforehand that Jack can be a bit 'lively'.
Lively he may be, but he is also looking incredibly well for a dog who had his intestines cut open just a few days ago.
And his owners, 40-year-old singing teacher Elaine Buckland and her husband Stephen, a 38year-old learning disability support worker, are pleased with his progress.
Elaine has come up with an ingenious method for preventing Jack from licking his wound. 'He wouldn't wear the collar, he went crazy,' she says, 'so I rang the vet who suggested ripping up an old nightie and putting that on him - it is working wonders.'
Jack began being occasionally sick a few months ago but only became seriously ill last week, so Jenny believes he swallowed the stone a while ago but it then moved to block the intestine. Elaine and Stephen have kept the stone as a memento.
'We have been in the garden clearing all the stones so it can't happen again - now I don't know where to put this one in case he tries to eat it again,' jokes Elaine.
The couple give Jenny and Steve a card to thank them for their help and explain why having the vet visit them was so important.
'Jack is such a big dog and he doesn't have the best of temperaments and he can scare people at the vet's,' says Stephen. 'Having the vets come here makes it much easier for all of us. Everyone we have dealt with has been excellent.'
Meanwhile a call has come in about a dog whose mouth is bleeding in Pleck, Walsall. We have a slight gap in the day so with a bit of re-arranging, we head off to see Becky - a border collie.
Becky is a much-loved pet. Her owners 82-year-old Christopher Stroud and his wife Jennie, aged 83, are worried that at 16 years old, Becky's illness may be too serious to treat.
But Jenny has some good news for them. Becky has bad tooth decay which is making her gums bleed but it can be treated. They will try antibiotics and if this does not work, Becky may need some dental work, but she is certainly fit and healthy for her age.
The couple are relieved and agree to follow all the medication that Jenny leaves.
We are on our way to visit another patient when an emergency call comes in from Norman Durnall. His cocker spaniel Pepe has been suffering from cancer for a year but his condition has deteriorated and Norman believes it is time to let Pepe die in peace.
At the house in Darlaston we find Norman and his wife Hilda very distressed. The couple have had Pepe since he was a puppy but he is now old and very poorly, and barely able to stand on his legs.
The couple describe how Pepe has now reached a point where he can no longer eat and is not even drinking - and they feel they cannot watch him in pain. Jenny examines Pepe. With her soft Irish brogue and gentlehands, she reassures Pepe and agrees with his owners that euthanasia is the best option. It is a heart-breaking scene. Both Norman and Hilda are crying and talking to Pepe as he is put down with an injection. Jenny and Steve then leave the couple to say their goodbyes before taking Pepe with us. He will be cremated and the couple plan to scatter his ashes in the garden.
'He always loved to play there,' says Hilda.
Jenny, who has been a vet for four years before taking on the post of visiting vet in January, admits that putting an animal down is always difficult.
'You could see how much they loved that dog and it is very hard for them,' she says. 'But it is better than letting an animal live in pain and at least he didn't feel any of it.'
Back in the van, Jenny is answering calls by the minute. Vets are calling to check up on animals she has been to see, clients are calling to book appointments and Jenny is making numerous checks on families and animals she visited last week.
The Visiting Vet service is funded by four veterinary practices - Ashwood Veterinary Clinic at Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield, The Veterinary Clinics in Erdington, The Veterinary Clinic in Bearwood, and Richard Hillman practices in Walsall, Brownhills and Darlaston.
And judging by the amount of calls Jenny receives, it is a service that is greatly appreciated.
Next stop is Pelsall to see Jasmine a 12-year-old border collie cross with an eye infection.
Jasmine's owners, Alison, a 43-year-old full-time mother of nine-year-old Bethany and six-year-old Francesca, and her husband David, a 55year-old driver, are also concerned at Jasmine's age.
Jenny drops coloured liquid into Jasmine's eyes to examine her. The dog has ulcerated eyes and has already been on medication but the problem has not yet cleared up. The family plan to continue treatment but, if it is not successful, face the decision of putting Jasmine through an operation.Lunch consists of a quick sandwich on the go before we head off to West Bromwich to see Kathleen Parker and her cat Bit.
Bit was a stray who 56-yearold assistant cook Kathleen and her welder husband Malcolm, aged 57, adopted a few years ago - but she is in the final stages of a terminal illness due to chronic renal failure and a heart complaint.
'It is very stressful for Bit to go to the vets and with a heart condition we don't want her to get stressed,' Kathleen says. 'She is settled here and it is much easier for her.' Bit is doing well and Jenny arranges another check up in a month's time.
Our next stop is Erdington to check on Bertie, a nine-yearold poodle with a sore neck. The cause is a bit of a mystery as x-rays failed to show the problem but Bertie is clearly in pain as he is unwilling to lift his head. Gently Jenny examines him and then suggests a pain-killing injection.
Owner Hazel Tullah, aged 83, is worried.
'He normally comes to the door but he just wants to stay under the table,' she says. 'He is crying with the pain, it goes right through you.'
Jenny recommends a course of pain killers for Bertie and we are off again - this time to Cannock to visit German Shepherd Rebel.
Jenny and Steve have been making twice weekly visits to Rebel and his owner Christine Skeldon since Rebel underwent an operation to remove two lumps - one malign. This is to be the last visit as the dressing is removed.
Jenny and Steve have clearly become attached to their gentle giant and are sad to say goodbye. They have also built up a friendly rapport with Christine, a 61-year-old carer. Christine's husband Ron died of cancer a couple of years ago.
'When Ron was here it was him who managed it but I couldn't see how I could get a dog of this size into a three door car. My sister told me about the Visiting Vet and it has been marvellous,' she says.
It is nearly 7pm by the time the day is finished but neither Jenny nor Steve are complaining about their overtime. 'You can't judge with this job,' says Jenny, 'because you never know what each day will bring.'
CAPTION(S):
Jenny and Steve cover mainly Birmingham and the Black Country. They can be contacted on 0845 6030 999.; HARD AT WORK: Vet Jenny Moffett with dog Jasmine and cat Bit Pictures: Trevor Roberts and Tim Easthope
