Our final year vet student Noah Carello, who was proud to be involved in the care of Ariel for her supernumerary limb amputation, said: “As a part of our surgery rotations in final year, we are tasked with assisting in consultations and admissions as well as kennel duties, client communications and maintaining patient records. Students can also scrub into their patients’ surgeries, which in this case was Ariel’s amputation. The entirety of Ariel’s case is extremely fascinating, and I am lucky to have been able to take part in this unique learning experience. While the supernumerary limb is anything but a normal presentation, applying the understanding of regular anatomy helped with surgical planning and proved useful from a student’s perspective to feel confident with the approach to a hindlimb amputation. Despite pursuing a career in large animal medicine, this case emphasized the concept that having a logical approach to any procedure and through applying many of the same basic principles, most things are achievable and not as daunting as they may appear.”

Langford Vets' hospital director Vicki Black added: "Ariel was a complicated little dog whose care required close collaboration across a number of our specialist teams, including orthopaedics, soft tissue surgery, anaesthesia and radiology. As part of the University of Bristol we are a centre committed to career-long learning and are proud to innovate and treat pets like Ariel.”