Vets in Haywards Heath save puppy’s eyesight: Cuckfield couple overjoyed at adorable Woody’s recovery

A couple from Cuckfield have said they will be ‘forever grateful’ to the team at Mewes Vets in Haywards Heath for saving the sight of their puppy Woody.
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Owners Susan and John Osborne said their eight-month-old labrador retriever injured his left eye with his claw two weeks ago, which resulted in a corneal ulcer.

“We think he had an ear infection and he moved his claw across to scratch his ear and damaged his eye,” said Susan.

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Susan, 70, and John, 64, feared that Woody would be left with permanent damage to his eye, which would have been ‘catastrophic’.

Mewes Vets practice director and vet surgeon Julia Mewes with Woody, the eight-month-old puppy from Cuckfield. Picture: Susan Osborne.Mewes Vets practice director and vet surgeon Julia Mewes with Woody, the eight-month-old puppy from Cuckfield. Picture: Susan Osborne.
Mewes Vets practice director and vet surgeon Julia Mewes with Woody, the eight-month-old puppy from Cuckfield. Picture: Susan Osborne.

But Susan said that nurses and vets at the practice in Haywards Road helped Woody recover fully by giving him special eye drops for ten days.

They used the serum from his own blood to help the cornea heal, extracting Woody’s antibody rich plasma by putting his blood into a centrifuge.

“I thought that was extraordinary,” said Susan.

“I knew they did that with humans but I didn’t know they did it with dogs,” she said, adding that Woody had to have injections as well.

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Susan, who is a communications consultant with the NHS, thanked the staff at Mewes Vets for their dedication.

“It was difficult because Woody had to have drops in his eyes every couple of hours and that’s not a natural thing a dog would want to do,” she said.

Woody had to stay with the vets too, which probably worried him, said Susan, but the staff took good care of him.

The puppy has now received a clean bill of health from practice director and vet surgeon Julia Mewes.

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Julia said: “Since 1996 we’ve been providing exceptional care to dogs, cats, rabbits, exotic pets and probably all other domestic animals you can think of.”

“We’re truly passionate about keeping pets happy and healthy,” said Julia.

Susan and John do not have any other pets and said that Woody is the first dog they have ever had.

“We’ve always had jobs that took us into London,” said Susan, adding that when her husband retired from sports journalism they decided to get a pet.

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“We found Woody and fell in love with him really,” she said, describing the puppy as boisterous, but also gentle and loving.

Susan explained that they had to put Woody’s training on hold while he got better but they are now ‘back on track’.

“He’s only eight months old and we hope he’s got a long and happy life ahead of him,” she said.

“We’re hoping that, with our retirement, we’ll grow old and gracefully with him because labrador retrievers live on average 14 years.”

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“We’re expecting him to be with us and be our companion for that time and to integrate into our family,” said Susan.

“We’ve got children and grandchildren and they’ve been to see him,” she added.

“The grandchildren particularly love him so we’re hoping there’s going to be a lot more of that in the months and years to come.”

Mewes Vets has been named Best Vets in West Sussex 2021.

Visit themewesvets.co.uk to find out more.