James Herriot's Dog Stories Read online

  In the operating room I hoisted Dan on to the table. He stood without moving as I examined the hip. There was no doubt about it at all – the head of the femur was displaced upwards and backwards, plainly palpable under my thumb.

  The dog looked round only once – when I made a gentle attempt to flex the limb – but turned away immediately and stared resolutely ahead. His mouth hung open a little as he panted nervously, but like a lot of the placid animals which arrived on our surgery table he seemed to have resigned himself to his fate. I had the strong impression that I could have started to cut his head off and he wouldn’t have made much fuss.’

  ‘Nice, good-natured dog,’ I said. ‘And a bonny one, too.’

  Helen patted the handsome head with the broad blaze of white down the face; the tail waved slowly from side to side.

  ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘He’s just as much a family pet as a working dog. I do hope he hasn’t hurt himself too badly.’

  ‘Well, he has a dislocated hip. It’s a nasty thing but with a bit of luck I ought to be able to put it back.’

  ‘What happens if it won’t go back?’

  ‘He’d have to form a false joint up there. He’d be very lame for several weeks and probably always have a slightly short leg.’

  ‘Oh dear, I wouldn’t like that,’ Helen said. ‘Do you think he’ll be all right?’

  I looked at the docile animal still gazing steadfastly to his front. ‘I think he’s got a good chance, mainly because you haven’t hung about for days before bringing him in. The sooner these things are tackled the better.’

  ‘Oh good. When will you be able to start on him?’

  ‘Right now.’ I went over to the door. ‘I’ll just give Tristan a shout. This is a two-man job.’

  ‘Couldn’t I help?’ Helen said. ‘I’d very much like to if you wouldn’t mind.’

  I looked at her doubtfully. ‘Well I don’t know. You mightn’t like playing tug-of-war with Dan in the middle. He’ll be anaesthetised of course, but there’s usually a lot of pulling.’

  Helen laughed. ‘Oh, I’m quite strong. And not a bit squeamish. I’m used to animals, you know, and I like working with them.’

  ‘Right,’ I said. ‘Slip on this spare coat and we’ll begin.’

  The dog didn’t flinch as I pushed the needle into his vein and, as the Nembutal flowed in, his head began to slump against Helen’s arm and his supporting paw to slide along the smooth top of the table. Soon he was stretched unconscious on his side.

  I held the needle in the vein as I looked down at the sleeping animal. ‘I might have to give him a bit more. They have to be pretty deep to overcome the muscular resistance.’

  Another cc and Dan was as limp as any rag doll. I took hold of the affected leg and spoke across the table. ‘I want you to link your hands underneath his thigh and try to hold him there when I pull. OK? Here we go, then.’

  It takes a surprising amount of force to pull the head of a displaced femur over the rim of the acetabulum. I kept up a steady traction with my right hand, pressing on the head of the femur at the same time with my left. Helen did her part efficiently, leaning back against the pull, her lips pushed forward in a little pout of concentration.

  I suppose there must be a foolproof way of doing this job – a method which works the very first time – but I have never been able to find it. Success has always come to me only after a fairly long period of trial and error and it was the same today. I tried all sorts of angles, rotations and twists on the flaccid limb, trying not to think of how it would look if this just happened to be the one I couldn’t put back. I was wondering what Helen, still hanging on determinedly to her end, must be thinking of this wrestling match when I heard the muffled click. It was a sweet and welcome sound.

  I flexed the hip joint once or twice. No resistance at all now. The femoral head was once more riding smoothly in its socket.

  ‘Well, that’s it,’ I said. ‘Hope it stays put – we’ll have to keep our fingers crossed. The odd one does pop out again but I’ve got a feeling this is going to be all right.’

  Helen ran her hand over the silky ears and neck of the sleeping dog. ‘Poor old Dan. He wouldn’t have jumped over that wall this morning if he’d known what was in store for him. How long will it be before he comes round?’

  ‘Oh, he’ll be out for the rest of the day. When he starts to wake up tonight I want you to be around to steady him in case he falls and puts the thing out again. Perhaps you’d give me a ring. I’d like to know how things are.’

  I gathered Dan up in my arms and was carrying him along the passage, staggering under his weight, when I met Mrs Hall. She was carrying a tray with two cups.

  ‘I was just having a drink of tea, Mr Herriot,’ she said. ‘I thought you and the young lady might fancy a cup.’

  I looked at her narrowly. This was unusual. Was it possible she had joined Tristan in playing Cupid? But the broad, dark-skinned face was as unemotional as ever. It told me nothing.

  ‘Well, thanks very much, Mrs Hall. I’ll just put this dog outside first.’ I went out and settled Dan on the back seat of Helen’s car; with only his eyes and nose sticking out from under a blanket he looked at peace with the world.

  Helen was already sitting with a cup in her lap and I thought of the other time I had drunk tea in this room with a girl. On the day I had arrived in Darrowby. She had been one of Siegfried’s followers and surely the toughest of them all.

  This was a lot different. During the struggle in the operating room I had been able to observe Helen at close range and I had discovered that her mouth turned up markedly at the corners as though she was just going to smile or had just been smiling; also that the deep warm blue of the eyes under the smoothly arching brows made a dizzying partnership with the rich black-brown of her hair.

  And this time the conversation didn’t lag. Maybe it was because I was on my own ground – perhaps I never felt fully at ease unless there was a sick animal involved somewhere, but at any rate I found myself prattling effortlessly just as I had done up on that hill when we had first met.

  Mrs Hall’s teapot was empty and the last of the biscuits gone before I finally saw Helen off and started on my round.

  The same feeling of easy confidence was on me that night when I heard her voice on the phone.

  ‘Dan is up and walking about,’ she said. ‘He’s still a bit wobbly but he’s perfectly sound on that leg.’

  ‘Oh great, he’s got the first stage over. I think everything’s going to be fine.’

  There was a pause at the other end of the line, then: ‘Thank you so much for what you’ve done. We were terribly worried about him, especially my young brother and sister. We’re very grateful.’

  ‘Not at all, I’m delighted too. He’s a grand dog.’ I hesitated for a moment – it had to be now. ‘Oh, you remember we were talking about Scotland today. Well, I was passing the Plaza this afternoon and I see they’re showing a film about the Hebrides. I thought maybe . . . I wondered if perhaps, er . . . you might like to come and see it with me.’

  Another pause and my heart did a quick thud-thud.

  ‘All right,’ Helen said. ‘Yes, I’d like that. When? Friday night? Well, thank you – goodbye till then.’

  I replaced the receiver with a trembling hand. Why did I make such heavy weather of these things? But it didn’t matter – I was back in business.

  It so often happens that spectacular cures go unnoticed and unappreciated, but how wonderful that this one should further my courtship so beautifully. Reducing a dislocated hip is truly dramatic and it couldn’t have happened at a better time. It is surprising how easily a hip can pop out of place. Just as it is deeply satisfying to a vet to convert a lame dog to a sound one with one quick click, it is similarly alarming to an owner to see a pet suddenly transformed into a three-legged cripple for no apparent reason. It can happen so simply. Jumping for a ball. Falling off a chair. It must be one of the worst panic-instigators.

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