Almost a tragedy…

We’re celebrating Jag today!

On Monday night, June 8, Jag had colic so bad the vet was sure he wouldn’t make it. We thought so, too. His pain was so extreme that it looked like the end of the road for this gentle soul. Dr Farshad Maloufi, of AgWest Veterinary Group, did everything he could to lessen the pain and make him comfortable but still, we all thought it was just a sad, temporary respite before the end.

Gene didn’t want to leave Jag at Valley Therapeutic, where he spends most of his time these days, even though the girls were prepared to spend the night in the arena, ready to call the vet again when – not if – his pain came back. Jag had been with Gene for almost 20 years and he didn’t want to abandon him at the end. So we put him in the trailer, hauled him the short distance home, and set him up in the arena.

At about 2:00 am, Gene went out to check on him. When he got there, Jag was lying on his side. Gene was sure he was dead.

But when he shined his flashlight on him, Jag jumped up, snorted, farted and took off running. Gene called his name and Jag came trotting back.

And he’s been fine ever since! We’ve kept him quiet these past few days but when we took him on a ride with the Girl Guides on Saturday morning, he was his old, happy self. And then, yesterday, he went back to work at Valley Therapeutic, where he is much loved and very well taken care of. We’ll still bring him home to help out with the occasional trail ride through the summer but hopefully he’ll have many years yet to make a difference for the riders at Valley Therapeutic.

A big thanks to the people at Valley Therapeutic who spotted Jag’s colic early, and a heartfelt thanks to Dr Farshad Maloufi of AgWest for saving Jag’s life.

Whew!

Tara Peterse