A BELOVED dog who collapsed with heatstroke while out for a walk last month and spent six days in the canine equivalent of intensive care has made a miraculous recovery.

Reggie, a three-year-old golden retriever, was given a 10 per cent chance of survival and at one point was so close to death that his owner, 28-year-old Emma Moses, was called in to say goodbye.

But, thanks to the round-the-clock care of staff at Vets Now in Langstone, Reggie is now back to his old self. And now his family have shared his story in the hope it helps other pet owners understand the dangers of heatstroke.

South Wales Argus:

Ms Moses said her partner Josh was out walking Reggie in Newport last month when the dog lay down and became unable to walk.

“It had been a bit of a heatwave for a few days before, but it was overcast so we never even thought it might be heatstroke,” she said.

Initially she thought Reggie may have hurt his paw and took him to the vet to be looked over. But later that evening he began being sick and having diarrhoea - and then started having a seizure.

“I phoned Vets Now who told us to get him to them as fast as possible,” said Ms Moses. “He was shaking so hard he was rocking the car. He was foaming at the mouth; his jaw was locked, and you could see in his eyes he really wasn’t there.

“When we carried him out at the clinic, his tongue was hanging out and he was a dead weight. It was just horrendous.”

South Wales Argus:

Vets found Reggie had already suffered major organ failure, including damage to his liver and kidneys, and had serious issues with his blood.

Hannah Fisher, the admitting veterinary surgeon, said: “Reggie was in a very bad way and our first task was to try to stabilise him.

“We gave him intravenous fluids and started a plasma transfusion, and his heart rate slowly improved.

“His temperature also started to drop thanks to some active cooling.

“But his prognosis remained poor as he’d suffered organ damage and coagulopathy, which can lead to blood clots and bleeding.

“We agreed with his owner to do everything we possibly could but because he was so ill, there was a prospect of putting him to sleep on welfare grounds.”

South Wales Argus:

Reggie was given intensive one-to-one treatment, more plasma, and two blood transfusions from staff dogs, and slowly began to improve.

On the first evening, Ms Moses was told they’d call her if things took a turn for the worse.

“I was too scared to sleep in case I missed the call,” said Ms Moses.

“When they did phone it was to say it really wasn’t looking like he was going to make it.

“He’d had two plasma transfusions the following day and they said the last thing they could try was a full blood transfusion, but he only had a 10 per cent chance of survival.

“We were in bits, but we just wanted them to do everything they possibly could. I felt that somehow he was going to make it despite being told he could go at any time.”

But thankfully, after six days of care - in which Ms Moses said she didn't sleep and watched her beloved pet every minute - he pulled through, and is now back to his old self.

South Wales Argus:

“I still can’t believe he’s here," said Ms Moses. "We’re so grateful that Vets Now were there and did such an amazing job.

“Although he wasn’t showing any obvious signs of heatstroke, the vets think he’d overheated despite not being out in the sun on the days when it was really hot.

“So, if you think something’s wrong you need to get help as fast as possible.”

The Vets Now clinic in Newport is one of a nationwide network of Vets Now clinics and pet emergency hospitals that are open seven-days-a-week to treat any pet emergencies, with a vet and vet nurse on site at all times.