He had tetanus and I was brokenhearted when it seemed as if he wouldn’t pull through. But he worked hard, made a full recovery and helped to change someone’s life
When I first met Orlando, he was about eight weeks old. I’m a puppy raiser for the charity Guide Dogs; the puppies come to live with us in Swanley, Kent, until they are 12 to 18 months old. I started training him, but one day, I noticed he was shaking his head, which can mean there is something wrong with a dog’s ears. We took him to the vet and, on the second visit, we were told to rush him straight to the Royal Veterinary hospital because he had tetanus.
Dogs aren’t vaccinated against tetanus because it is so rare, and I don’t think I realised how unwell Orlando was. For the first week it was terrifying. He became completely paralysed and I was awake every night expecting a call to say that he had died. He was too sick to carry on training as a guide dog. He had to learn how to eat, walk and do almost everything again.