Biggie's Story

13 Dec 2023

Seven-month-old French Bulldog Biggie arrived at Battersea as a stray, via a rescue centre in Wales. Little was known about Biggie’s background, but he was a typically energetic young dog with a love of play, zooming around with his canine friends and enjoying the company of his favourite humans.

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On arrival at Battersea’s London centre, it was clear to Battersea’s skilled veterinary team that Biggie’s right eye was irritated due to a prominent growth covering part of his eyeball. Battersea’s clinic team identified the growth as a dermoid, an all-too-common condition in French Bulldogs. Biggie would require specialist surgery to remove the growth, so he was quickly referred to an expert ophthalmologist.

Biggie was seen by the eye specialist and sent for immediate surgery on his right eye. The dermoid was found to be attached to various structures within Biggie’s eye, so the surgery became very intricate and delicate work, with no guarantees that the operation would be a complete success. In addition, the specialist discovered that Biggie’s cornea was pigmented, so carefully removed the area of pigmentation, to avoid the possibility of this affecting Biggie’s vision in future.

Biggie was seen by the eye specialist and sent for immediate surgery on his right eye. The dermoid was found to be attached to various structures within Biggie’s eye, so the surgery became very intricate and delicate work, with no guarantees that the operation would be a complete success. In addition, the specialist discovered that Biggie’s cornea was pigmented, so carefully removed the area of pigmentation, to avoid the possibility of this affecting Biggie’s vision in future.

Happily, Biggie’s surgery went very well, and the bouncy young dog was soon on the road to recovery.

Biggie spent his convalescence in a peaceful foster home where he could relax and have a break from staying in Battersea kennels. He got along famously with his foster carers, even being well behaved for his daily eye drop medication and subsequent check-ups with the Battersea vets.

YOU CAN HELP DOGS LIKE BIGGIE

Fostering gives you the chance to care for one of our animals in our care and have a comfortable environment to thrive in before they find their forever homes.

Though Biggie was healing well, Battersea’s vets noticed an unusual, scarred area on his eye during one of his routine check-ups. To ensure that all was well, Biggie was promptly sent for a follow up appointment with the eye specialist, who fortunately confirmed that Biggie’s eye was healing well, and that the area of concern was pigmentation, which may always be present.

Biggie’s recovery period of several weeks saw him and his foster carers grow very fond of each other and when the time came for Biggie to find his new home, his foster carers realised that the characterful, affectionate Frenchie had become such an important part of their lives that they wanted to offer him a permanent home.

Biggie is now enjoying his new life and has become something of a local celebrity, always stopping to greet his human friends on walks.

 

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