When Odie the cavoodle needed emergency surgery, the veterinary staff showed why they are the unsung heroes of healthcare | Ranjana Srivastava

The vet's diagnosis of it could be a stomach bug or lymphoma' was not exactly reassuring but, admittedly, the patient was wagging his tail

Speaking on a panel with me, a paediatric anaesthetist says that every time she takes a patient into theatre, she says to the parent, I will take good care of your child". Somehow, just imagining this solemn promise makes me tearful although I don't even know that a variation of these words is headed my way.

For the past week, our cavoodle Odie has been vomiting. The vet's diagnosis of it could be a stomach bug or lymphoma" is not exactly reassuring but, admittedly, the patient is wagging its tail.