A FACELIFT for a dog may sound barking mad – but when your best friend is struggling to see because of all the wrinkles and folds, going under the knife can turn out to be a howling success.
Such was the case for Chief, a three-year-old basset hound who has a new lease on life after a little nip and tuck.
Bassets are famous for their droopy eyes and jowls, their expressions giving new meaning to the term hang dog.
Sometimes, however, the force of gravity can get a bit much – and for Chief it was severely impacting his life.
The skin around his eyes was so floppy it was affecting his vision. “As he grew and became bigger, so did the problem with his sight,” says Chief ’s owner, Tracey McDermott, who lives in Dublin, Ireland. “We would call his name and he’d lift his head and try to see where we were, but you could see he was struggling.”
By the time she took Chief to Dr Mike Woods, a veterinary ophthalmologist, there was an entire fist-full of loose skin on her pet’s head.
Mike told her the best solution would be to give the hound a full facelift – or rhytidectomy as it’s formally known – and brow lift.
And so earlier this year Chief went under the knife in a procedure that took two hours and resulted in the removal of a kilogram of skin.
Mike, speaking to YOU via video call from his office at the Primrose Hill Veterinary Hospital in Dublin, explains an incision was made behind Chief ’s ears to remove the excess skin, which was about 30cm in length.
This story is from the 5 October 2023 edition of YOU South Africa.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the 5 October 2023 edition of YOU South Africa.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
BALLON IN THE BAG
Manchester City midfielder Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante says his Ballon d'Or win is a victory for Spanish football
IT WAS ALL A LIE
A new doccie exposes the Grey's Anatomy writer who fabricated her life story
'I WILL NEVER GIVE UP'
After her husband, anticorruption activist Alexei Navalny, was poisoned and murdered by the Kremlin, she became the public face of Russia's opposition. In this candid interview Yulia Navalnaya opens up about life on the run, her perilous family life and why she's continuing her husband's fight to save their country
AGREE TO DISAGREE
Trevor Noah on how his childhood squabbles with his mother inspired his delightful new book
PAUSE THE CLOCK
Researchers have discovered that the ageing process spikes at 44 and 60. Here's what you can do to slow it down
MPOOMY ON TOP
We chat to SA's most popular female podcaster about love, loss and her booming success
MY BROTHER IS NOT TO BLAME
Tinus Drotské says his sibling, ex Bok Nǎka, is the victim in the brawl with a neighbour that landed up in court
MATT THE RECLUSE
A year after his friend's tragic death, the actor continues to shun the spotlight
A LEAP OF FAITH
After her husband tried to kill her by tampering with her parachute she thought she'd never trust a man again-but now she's found love
THEY'RE MY KIDS!
This West Coast woman treats her monkeys as iftheyre humans and animal activists are not happy about it