Rutland House Referrals

Rutland House Referrals A multi discipline Referral Centre based in St Helens, Merseyside, offering a National Veterinary Referral Service. " Your Pet - Our Pet "

Our team of specialist veterinary surgeons and nurses are committed to proving gold standard care our patients. We are a Referral Centre based in St Helens, Merseyside, offering a National Veterinary Referral Service. Based in St.Helens, Merseyside we have been serving the community’s pets for over 50 years. We are a Veterinary Hospital offering care to patients not only locally as our Referral Service also treats patients nationally. We have an experienced, caring and enthusiastic team of Veterinary Surgeons with special interests and expertise in a wide variety of companion animal conditions. Our aim is to provide the best possible health care for your pets in a pleasant friendly environment. We are committed to keeping up to date with the latest developments in modern veterinary practice, providing high-quality treatment at sensible prices.

The handsome Bobby was awarded a bravery certificate today after his check-up with Ellie, one of our amazing RVNs! 🐾
11/12/2025

The handsome Bobby was awarded a bravery certificate today after his check-up with Ellie, one of our amazing RVNs! 🐾

🎄 Christmas Jumper Day Success! 🎄A huge thank you to all our amazing staff who joined in the festive fun for Christmas J...
11/12/2025

🎄 Christmas Jumper Day Success! 🎄

A huge thank you to all our amazing staff who joined in the festive fun for Christmas Jumper Day! Together, we raised money to support Save the Children, helping make a difference for children in the UK and all around the world. ❤️ 🌎

Meet Annie, a brave Golden Retriever who’s been on quite a journey recently.Annie is almost 12 years old and came to see...
09/12/2025

Meet Annie, a brave Golden Retriever who’s been on quite a journey recently.

Annie is almost 12 years old and came to see us after her family noticed she was just a little “not herself” — slightly lower energy, a bit off her food, and the odd mild vomit. Nothing dramatic.

During her routine check-up at her primary vets, a large mass in her liver was found, so she was referred to us for further tests.

💛 What we found Annie’s examination was mostly normal, except that her liver felt enlarged. A CT scan showed that her liver had several abnormal areas, and there were also a few small changes in other parts of her body.

To learn more, we took a tiny needle sample from her liver. This showed a type of abnormal cell called plasma cells. Further tests on her blood and urine confirmed that Annie has a condition called multiple myeloma — a cancer of plasma cells that can affect different parts of the body.

💊 The good news Annie has now started oral chemotherapy, and she’s tolerating it really well so far. She’s comfortable, bright, and her family reports she’s feeling more like herself again. We’ll continue to monitor her closely, but she’s doing wonderfully at this stage.

Annie’s case shows that chemotherapy doesn’t have to be debilitating, and animals can tolerate it well. She also serves as a reminder that even subtle changes in our pets can be important.

Please join us in wishing Annie lots of strength as she continues her treatment. 💛🐶

Meet Marvin, a gorgeous11-year-old Cocker Spaniel who came to see us after his owners noticed that on occasion, he would...
18/11/2025

Meet Marvin, a gorgeous11-year-old Cocker Spaniel who came to see us after his owners noticed that on occasion, he would suddenly start drinking several times more water than normal. These episodes came and went, and in between them Marvin seemed completely himself.

Marvin had a full health check, including blood tests, urine tests and blood pressure, but everything looked normal with no explanation for his clinical signs.

An ultrasound scan of his abdomen showed a small section of his intestine that looked abnormal and thicker than it should be. At first, the samples suggested this might be a type of cancer, although the rest of the intestines only showed mild changes. A CT scan confirmed the abnormal area but thankfully didn’t show any signs that it had spread elsewhere.

Marvin had surgery to remove the affected piece of intestine, and the detailed lab analysis brought surprising, good news: it wasn’t cancer after all. Instead, it was a rare inflammatory condition affecting that part of the bowel, known as focal lipogranulomatous lymphangitis. . Marvin was put on a special hydrolysed-protein diet, and his symptoms disappeared for a while.

About three months later, Marvin started drinking excessively again and also vomited a few times. A repeat scan showed that another patch of intestine was starting to look inflamed. This time, we added antacid and immune-modulating medication alongside his diet — and the response was almost immediate. Marvin’s symptoms completely resolved.

We’re very happy to share that Marvin has now been healthy and symptom-free for three whole years, with no further problems at all.

Meet Lola who has been in remission from cancer for three years! This is Lola, who was first diagnosed with Lymphoma bac...
05/11/2025

Meet Lola who has been in remission from cancer for three years! This is Lola, who was first diagnosed with Lymphoma back in September 2022; she was originally referred over from our sister hospital, having been investigated there for lameness in her back legs - scans had identified big lymph nodes in her abdomen and sampling of these made the diagnosis of lymphoma, an aggressive cancer that is treated with chemotherapy.
She underwent chemotherapy for six months, overseen by clinician in medicine and oncology Dr Chrisopher Saul, and took all of her treatment extremely well with minimal side effects. Since then, she’s been off all treatment and living her best life. We saw her for a check-up today as she reached the three-year mark, and she remains all clear!
Cancer is never a good thing to encounter but treatments don’t have to be debilitating. Not all of our patients survive as long as Lola has, but we can in many cases buy our furry friends and their humans some worthwhile time together.
If you feel your pet might benefit from seeing one of our clinicians, feel free to talk to your local vets about a referral to Rutland House.

We’re delighted to share that our Clinical Director, Duncan Midgley, has been invited to speak at the prestigious VMX No...
04/11/2025

We’re delighted to share that our Clinical Director, Duncan Midgley, has been invited to speak at the prestigious VMX North American Veterinary Conference next year.

If you have a case which you wish to refer or discuss with Duncan, call us on 01744 853 510 or email referrals@rutlandhousevets.co.uk

Meet Jocky! Our lovely snuggly patient that we all love. Jocky was first presented to Clinician in Internal Medicine and...
04/11/2025

Meet Jocky! Our lovely snuggly patient that we all love. Jocky was first presented to Clinician in Internal Medicine and oncology Dr Christopher Saul with weight loss, loss of appetite, dullness and lethargy. He was also dehydrated on presentation. Initial blood samples revealed high blood calcium levels. Jocky was admitted for fluid therapy and other supportive care, as well as investigations including various different blood tests to establish the cause behind the high calcium levels. A CT scan was also performed. None of the tests established a cause, and so Jocky was diagnosed with ‘idiopathic hypercalcaemia’, a condition that results in high calcium levels but where no cause can be found. He was initially treated with chia seeds – these have been shown to reduce calcium in some cases – and this did lower his calcium initially, but subsequently his calcium levels rose again, and it was decided to treat him with a steroid called prednisolone, which he takes orally once daily.

Since starting the prednisolone Jocky has been living his best life, his appetite is normal, and his calcium levels are normal. He comes back to Rutland House regularly for cuddles and blood tests. Well done Jocky!

If your pet has unusual or unexplained symptoms and you think he or she may benefit from further investigations, please feel free to ask your vet for a referral.

Meet Bella, a gorgeous 3-year-old border collie who was seen by our Clinician in Medicine and Oncology Dr Christopher Sa...
06/10/2025

Meet Bella, a gorgeous 3-year-old border collie who was seen by our Clinician in Medicine and Oncology Dr Christopher Saul for investigation of seizures (fits). The seizures had started suddenly and without warning about 3 months earlier and occurred in clusters, usually of only two seizures but on one day she had 6. The clusters occurred every 1-2 weeks. In between seizures, Bella was completely normal and happy and had no other symptoms. Her referring vets had prescribed some anti-seizure medications which had not stopped the seizures. She hadn’t had any injuries or access to anything she shouldn’t have.
Tests for any metabolic (body system) or infectious diseases to account for her symptoms; none were found. Though Bella’s owners were unfortunately not able to consent a brain scan at this time, her symptoms and presentation lead Dr Saul to suspect epilepsy. He started treatment with a new protocol of medications and since then her Bella’s seizures have stopped completely. Other than being slightly sleepy just for a small number of days after starting, Bella has had no side effects to her treatment at all and hasn’t looked back; she’s now living her best life! We continue to see her periodically to monitor her treatment. Well done, Bella!
If your dog sadly has seizures and your vet is struggling to control them, consider asking for a referral – there are usually plenty of options for us to try to help stop them or make them less of a problem! 🐾

Please meet Ruby!Ruby, a gorgeous 7y8m “Cockerpoo”, was referred to Clinician in Internal medicine and Oncology, Dr Chri...
30/09/2025

Please meet Ruby!

Ruby, a gorgeous 7y8m “Cockerpoo”, was referred to Clinician in Internal medicine and Oncology, Dr Christopher Saul for investigation of episodes of abdominal pain as well as vomiting and gurgling noises. Extensive blood samples did not identify any causes for the symptoms. A CT scan identified some gas in her small bowel. A trial of a special low allergy diet was only partially sucessful, with some symptoms improved but with her also needing antacid medications to completely control them.

An endoscopic examination (using a flexible camera) was performed to examine the stomach and small bowel; this revealed significant inflammation.

After a second, similar diet trail also failed to control the symptoms, treatment was started with budesonide, a mild steroid given in tablet form. Ruby’s symptoms have resolved altogether; she’s had some very mild side effects to the drug but the dose that we’ve been giving her has been reducing slowly and as it does so, the side effects will also resolve.

Now Ruby’s back to living her best life- well done Ruby!!

Meet Luna, our very own “Pocket rocket”! She’s a miniature pinscher, who can (and regularly does) jump chest high, who w...
19/08/2025

Meet Luna, our very own “Pocket rocket”! She’s a miniature pinscher, who can (and regularly does) jump chest high, who was first referred to Clinician in Internal Medicine and Oncology Dr Chrisopher Saul in June of 2024 for investigation of a number of lumps all over her body. These were identified enlarged lymph nodes. Sampling of these nodes lead to the diagnosis of lymphoma, an aggressive cancer that is treated with chemotherapy. Luna took her treatment extremely well indeed, with no noticeable side effects, and the nodes had disappeared rapidly.
She finished all treatment 6 months later at the end of 2024. Since then, she has been living her best life, as well as coming in for periodic rechecks. Unfortunately, however, enlarged nodes were again identified in June of 2025, one year after we first saw her. Her owners were keen to attempt another round of treatment, and this was started shortly afterwards. We’re pleased to report that her nodes have disappeared again, and she appears once again to be in remission! We’ll continue her chemotherapy for another full course and we’re very sorry we have to do this to her, but she takes it well and loves coming in for a fuss! Well done Luna! 🐾
Cancer is never a good thing to encounter but treatments don’t have to be debilitating and we can in many cases buy our furry friends and their humans some worthwhile time together. If you feel your pet might benefit from seeing one of our clinicians, please talk to your local vets about a referral to Rutland House 🏠

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15/08/2025

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💙 A Little Thanks Goes a Long Way 💙Our lovely vet Chris received some gifts! Behind every wagging tail, purring kitten, ...
15/08/2025

💙 A Little Thanks Goes a Long Way 💙

Our lovely vet Chris received some gifts! Behind every wagging tail, purring kitten, and healed paw is a team of veterinary staff who work long hours, give endless love, and carry the weight of tough days with grace. 🐾

A small thank-you gift from a client isn’t “just a gift” — it’s a reminder that their care, compassion, and dedication matter. Whether it’s a handwritten card, home-baked cookies, or a little treat for the break room, these tokens of appreciation can truly brighten their day.

Let’s remember — kindness is contagious, and in vet clinics, it’s the best medicine. ❤️

Address

Abbotsfield Road
Saint Helens
WA94HU

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 6pm
Tuesday 9am - 6pm
Wednesday 9am - 6pm
Thursday 9am - 6pm
Friday 9am - 6pm

Telephone

+441744853510

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Rutland House Referrals is a multi-discipline veterinary referral centre, where high quality care is provided by experienced and enthusiastic veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses. The centre has recognised specialists in the following disciplines: Dermatology Orthopaedics Opthalmology Oncology Soft Tissue Surgery Cardiology Diagnostic Imaging Many of the qualified veterinary nurses are diplomates or qualified via the degree route, and they are responsible for the nursing care of the patients. The centre has auxiliary nurses who take care of the day to day needs of the patients and work alongside the veterinary nurses to provide high quality care. The team at Rutland House Referrals keep abreast of advances in veterinary medicine, surgery and nursing and this is reflected in the standard of care given to the patients. The team is committed to providing high quality care in a comfortable environment and at sensible prices.