Dr Google will see you now

MR Smith had been online and so there was no point in even talking about it.

Every Google search had come up with the same answer. Every website had pushed him in the same direction. Every forum was populated by like-minded people who experienced exactly what he and his dog were going through.

That’s what is so brilliant about the internet. Type in “vomiting dog” and the diagnosis pops up.

So, I listened to Mr Smith telling me there was no hope for his seven-year-old Retriever.

He had lymphoma, which was affecting his stomach, causing him to have a poor appetite and vomit regularly.

There was nothing we could do about it, apparently, and he was not prepared to watch his beloved pet suffer a long, slow, agonising demise.

Mr Smith reminded me that Retrievers have a one in eight lifetime chance of developing this condition.

In short, Mr Smith said his dog had cancer, was terminally ill and should be put to sleep.

I looked at the dog, who looked at me. I think we were both thinking the same thing.

Who needs careful history-taking, close examination, abdominal palpation, blood tests, digital X-rays, ultrasound scans, endoscopes and a little bit of medical knowledge when you have the internet?

What is the point of 34 years of experience of treating thousands of dogs with a particular condition when you can go online and virtually chat to one person who has owned one affected dog?

Why have a pharmacy stocked with clinically trialled, safety tested, potent medications when you can purchase unregulated “natural” rubbish marketed by unsubstantiated claims of unbelievable efficacy?

I am glad to say Mr Smith did listen to reason. He accepted there were many possible causes of his dog’s illness and allowed us to examine and X-ray his dog.

Once anaesthetised, we opened his stomach and removed the ankle sock that had probably been in there for weeks. Mr Smith hadn’t missed it as the internet told him his washing machine was “eating” them.