Finding a vet who was genuinely knowledgeable about French Bulldogs took some time to say the least. A few vets were great with general dog care, but not all were familiar with the breed. Visiting the vets was such an ordeal, as Mimi would pant excessively due to stress. I did hear a few times whilst in the hunt for a vet "let's give her some water, she seems thirsty". She wasn't thirsty, she was stressed. As an owner that would immediately put me off as they don't understand Mimi or her breed, and I'd be straight on the hunt for another vet.
Mimi has always had a few health issues. She would be sick daily, when she ran for more than a 5 second period or played with another dog. No one could ever answer why she did this, they would just say "French bulldogs have digestive issues". I've had a few really scary situations with her where I thought we would lose her due to her overheating, just from walking. I'll be honest it wasn't even excessive heat, it could be a summer evening at around 9pm, or even a long walk in fair conditions.
"The snoring was horrendous — you couldn't hear the TV and if I was upstairs you could still hear her."
If Mimi was ever ill, just a sickness bug or anything similar, her stress would always affect her breathing. It was only a matter of time before the breathing would have got her into trouble. I was offered nostril widening from multiple vets, however the surgery would only widen her nostrils. I was later advised this is NOT full BOAS, and wouldn't even help her in her case as her breathing issues were severe.
I managed to find a brilliant local vet for her care however BOAS surgery was pricey, and in my opinion they didn't have enough cases to make me feel confident with them putting her under given her history. I was stuck between local vets with not enough experience — if they even offered that procedure, a lot didn't — or referral centres which I could only describe as our version of private health care. In my case it was unaffordable, with some asking for £5,000 plus £500 for the consultation alone.
I then found Dr Faheem Ilyas who was doing BOAS day in, day out. I hadn't met him at this point and asked him before I travelled if he would speak to me via the phone, which he happily agreed to. In fact, he spoke to me multiple times in relation to Mimi. He sounded brilliant, really knowledgeable and had a really calm nature about him.
"Dr Faheem told me BOAS would improve Mimi's quality of life. This was an understatement of the century."
He told me Mimi would be his only BOAS of the day as he liked to keep his eye on them and they are first in. This turned out to be true — when booking Mimi in I heard another surgery (non-BOAS) ask if they could be first. I heard him advise that's not possible as he has a BOAS booked in. He stayed true to his word again; I felt like I made the right choice.
On the day of the surgery I was a mess, I was crying. Dr Faheem gave me realistic expectations and was genuinely kind to me and Mimi. He has such a nice nature, really easy going and easy to talk to. He said he would do his absolute best for her but had to tell me the risks. It was my only shot and I had to do it, and believe me it was the best decision I made.
"Dr Faheem called me himself to tell me how the surgery had gone. Everything went well and Mimi was recovering well."
The one thing that stood out was Dr Faheem advising he couldn't do much with her nose given her face shape. He said while she was under he tweaked it, but in all honesty didn't believe it would change much for Mimi. This was the surgery a lot of vets were offering, which they considered would improve Mimi, when actually the other parts of the surgery would make a big difference to her.
Lastly the WhatsApp — the nurse messaged me to check we got Mimi home safely and was on hand if I had any problems. Mimi was absolutely fine on the drive, just a little sleepy. They messaged me every day to check in, or I could message them. The surgery was on Thursday; come Saturday morning Mimi was sick. I was panicking, thinking the stitches would open. I texted the number and immediately the nurse called me and talked me through it. There was no blood in it, which was a good sign, so they were happy with her but gave me tips on how to get more medication in her, as she was being a pain spitting them out.
After that, onwards and upwards — Mimi was on the mend. She actually wasn't as bad as I thought she would be and recovered really quickly, never once refused food. After about four or five days she was full of life, back to her normal self.
"Three months have gone by and I cannot stress enough — if you have a brachycephalic breed who has difficulties breathing, please, please reach out and do not hesitate having this surgery."
Mimi's no longer sick daily, never regurgitates, she runs now, plays with other dogs, plays with the kids, no longer snores (a very faint sound but not what I would consider snoring). I can't really describe how much of a difference it's made to her.
Thank you so, so much Dr Faheem — I cannot thank you enough!
— Kimberley Lakin