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Cody's Remarkable Journey: A Labrador's Path to Healing and Happiness

At Shepton Vets, we believe every pet deserves the chance to live a happy and healthy life. Sometimes, our furry friends come to us with a few mysteries, and it's our duty to unravel them. One such story is Cody's, an adorable Labrador puppy who embarked on an extraordinary journey with us.

Cody's tale began when he was just 8 weeks old, brought to us by the compassionate Buddys Rural Animal Rescue (BRAR). He had a mysterious lump under his chin, and while he was bright and happy, Cody's lack of appetite raised concerns. Our investigation into Cody's condition not only highlights the importance of timely veterinary care but also showcases the incredible bond between humans and animals.

Cody the gorgeous Labrador puppy came in to see us with a bit of a mysterious lump under his chin when he was only 8 weeks old. We didn’t know much about poor Cody as he was brought in as a rescue by Buddys Rural Animal Rescue (BRAR).  

Cody was quite bright and happy when we saw him, but he didn’t have the normal greedy appetite you would expect for a Labrador puppy, so we suspected the lump was causing him some pain. We checked him over and he seemed very well otherwise, his teeth seemed normal and his lymph nodes (the glands under their chin) seemed normal and we suspected neither were related to the lump. We started our investigation by taking a sample of the lump with a needle (a fine needle aspirate) to send away to a laboratory to look at the cells under a microscope (cytology). The results came back to show that the lump was inflammatory as there were many white blood cells called neutrophils, but it did not show any bacteria. This meant that there was sterile inflammation and no nasty cells to indicate any kind of tumour. According to BRAR who were looking after Cody, he still wasn’t eating very well, and they suspected the lump was getting much bigger.  

We made the decision to investigate the lump. Cody was carefully anaesthetised. Being so young we are careful not to starve them before an anesthetic as they can easily get low blood sugar levels. We clipped the area and used out ultrasound machine to look inside the lump. We have included a picture of the ultrasound; you can quite clearly see a fluid filled capsule (the darker bit) and then within that you can see a faint white line. If you look at the scale on the right-hand side of the picture (it’s in cms) you can see how small this line was. This made us quite confident that there was a foreign body inside the lump causing all the inflammation. We proceeded to surgery and opened the lump up. Initially we didn’t find anything, but as we were so confident that there was something inside and that from the ultrasound it was quite near the far side of the lump we kept looking and started taking out some of the tissue inside the lump. With great satisfaction we then removed a very small grass awn from the lump (we have a video on our social media pages). The lump was then flushed with sterile saline and sutures back together. Cody went home with some anti-inflammatory pain relief the same day and bounced back very quickly. 

We enjoyed seeing Cody back for checkups, 2 and 10 days after his operation, he gave us some lovely puppy cuddles. He was doing well and had now got a normal greedy Labrador appetite so was obviously feeling much better! The lump had completely disappeared by his second check, and he was able to start his puppy vaccines. Cody has now found a lovely home to go to where I’m sure he will enjoy lots of running in the grass. Although we do hope he isn’t unlucky enough to get anymore awns or seeds stuck anywhere else! I think we have seen a lot of grass seeds and awns in many different places this year; including between toes, in eyes and ears and even in the lungs of a couple of dogs! Again, do see our social media pages for some great videos of these and do check your dog's regularly for any sneaky grass seeds after walks, especially between their toes! 

- Vet Rosy

Perhaps you've already crossed paths with Cody's heartwarming journey or glimpsed his adorable photos. If you're following our social media channels, you might even be privy to his remarkable transformation. We're excited to share that Cody, now lovingly known as Woody, has found his forever home and is relishing every moment of his new, joyful life. For the latest updates and more on Woody's adventures, be sure to visit both our Shepton and Wells socials and BRAR's pages too.

Cody's story is a testament to the incredible resilience of our four-legged friends and the dedication of organizations like BRAR. Some of you may recognize Cody's journey, or perhaps you've followed his progress on our social media pages. We're thrilled to share that Cody has found his forever home and is now loving life as "Woody." To learn more about his heartwarming journey and stay updated on other remarkable stories, visit both our and BRAR's social media pages. Cody's tale is a reminder of the positive impact we can make in the lives of animals in need, and together, we can continue to create countless happy endings.