Hunters Lodge Veterinary Practice

03/10/2026

This is Buzz, owned by our nurse Helen. Buzz has a long history of digestive problems and was diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease and a hiatal hernia several years ago. He has been doing well with a specialised diet and medication but Helen noticed he was struggling to keep some of his food down. He sometimes looked uncomfortable after eating. We took some radiographs of his chest and abdomen and found that he had developed megaoesophagus. This means his oesophagus was not working properly and could not contract and push food into his stomach in the normal way. Consequently, he would regurgitate which risks him developing aspirational pneumonia. Fortunately, Helen has a handy brother in law who made Buzz a special contraption to help with his feeding. See below. It's worth a look 🥰

01/10/2026

This is Peggy, posing for the camera. Any idea of her breed?

24/09/2026

Wow what a response to Finn's story 🥰 We are somewhat overwhelmed by all comments of support for our wonderful practice. Finn is coming in next week for a follow up so we will be able to give an update then.

Thinking of becoming part of the Hunters Lodge Family? New patients are always welcome at our practices in Guildford and Ewhurst in Surrey. If you are looking for an independent practice with a highly experienced team who love what they do, then give us a call. We would love to meet you.

16/09/2026

Guildford, Surrey. UK
This is Finn and he is a once in a lifetime case. His owners brought Finn to the practice as he was a bit off his food and they were worried about his teeth. He has lost a bit of weight but he was still bright and still ran around on walks. A preanaesthetic blood test showed he was slightly anaemic which for a sight hound is pretty significant. They usually have a higher red cell count than other breeds of dog. We thought something else was going on so Finn has an ultrasound of his abdomen which showed a lump in his spleen and an odd looking mass in his abdomen. After discussing options with his owners Finn was booked in for an exploratory surgery to investigate the mass. The day arrived and Finn was taken to theatre for his surgery. Vets Helen and Nicole were to operate together. Our nursing team Helen , Gemma and Jocelyn were on hand to monitor Finn's potentially risky anaesthetic and assist the vets in organising everything they needed during the operation. On opening Finn's abdomen Helen located the spleen and located the abnormal part of the spleen. She then found the other mass attached to the spleen that filled his abdomen. It was enormous and took up most of the space pushing his organs to the sides of his abdomen. No wonder he was off his food. We made an incision the whole length of his abdomen but were unable to exteriorise the tumour. It was just too big. So we had to make another incision at 90 degrees to the original incision to make more room. After quite a bit of manoeuvring and with our arms up to the elbows in Finn's abdomen we finally managed to get the spleen and tumour out. It was like birthing a baby! It turns out that was the easy part. We then had to meticulously tie off the blood vessels that were closely attached to the stomach being careful not to affect the blood supply. Nicole valiantly held the huge mass whilst Helen tied everything off. It was a bit of a work out for Nicole. After 3 hrs the tumour was out and Nicole's arms could have a rest. We put the tumour on the scales and it weighed in at a massive 4kg!!! The biggest abdominal tumour we have ever seen. Finn was sent home the following day and has recovered very well. The results from the pathologist came back to show that the mass was a myelolipoma which is a very rare tumour. The lab had never seen one anywhere near this size. And the best bit, it was benign so Finn should now make a full recovery and the mass should not return. Well done to the whole team for all the hard work involved with this challenging case.

We have included some photos of the tumour in the comments so it does not appear on your feed. If you are feeling brave have a look.

20/08/2026

There has been a recall of Years food due to a link between the food and dogs developing dry eye. We had a client come into the practice tonight to check their dog's eyes as they feed this food and were concerned about the recall. Unfortunately after testing their dog's eyes they too have developed the condition. The eyes appeared completely normal but the tear production was zero. The eyes do not have to look red or sore to have developed dry eye. If you are concerned about your dog then please get them to the vet and have their eyes tested. The sooner we can treat this condition the better the outcome.

28/07/2026

https://www.ewhurstcarnival.co.uk/

We are proud to sponsor this lovely event on 1st August. Out vet Kate will be running the dog show so go along and say hello.

Ewhurst Carnival presents EWFEST free music festival. Raising funds for the community. Fun Dog Show

02/07/2026

This is Podling. Can you guess his breed?

02/07/2026

We had some unusual visitors today at the practice. Here for their annual vaccinations.

01/07/2026

Male Jack russell cross handed in to our Ewhurst practice. No chip. Please contact us if you have lost your dog.