PET OF THE MONTH – MAY 2026!

PET OF THE MONTH – MAY 2026!

 

Pet of the month for May goes to this beautiful girl, Indie!

Indie first came to visit us after her owners noticed ongoing swelling of one of her back toes. At first, it was suspected to be an infected nail bed, which can sometimes present with swelling, discomfort, and lameness. X-rays were taken and showed some changes to the bone within the affected toe, raising concern that there may be something more going on.

Indie was started on a long course of antibiotics in the hope that this was an infection or inflammation, however despite treatment the swelling did not improve. Due to the persistent changes and ongoing discomfort, the decision was made to surgically amputate the affected toe and send the tissue away for histopathology testing.

Unfortunately, Indie’s results came back as subungual squamous cell carcinoma.

Subungual squamous cell carcinoma is a type of cancer that develops in the tissues of the nail bed or toe. It can often look very similar to chronic infection, inflammation, or nail trauma in the early stages, which can make diagnosis challenging. The good news is that when caught early and the affected toe is fully removed, surgery can often be very successful in managing the disease. Great news Indie’s results came back that margin where clear!

 

Indie has been such a brave girl throughout all of this, and is so lucky to have a wonderful mum and dad who always make sure she gets the best treatment. She has been an absolute superstar, and we look forward to seeing her continue to recover.