A woman has praised local vets for helping to save her dog from near death.

Michelle McCarthy was visiting family in South Brent with her rescue dog 'Sidney' a weimaraner, when the dog fell ill and required medical attention.

Michelle's call was answered by South Moor Vets who treated the dog at the scene before taking him back to the surgery for further treatment.

Sidney is a rescue dog and was kept on a puppy farm outdoors in Wales for many years until he was put into a rescue centre called Many Tears last year. He is believed to be about ten years old and Michelle adopted him in September 2011.

Michelle was driving down to South Brent from Berkshire last Thursday and had arranged to meet her father on South Brent recreational field to give Sidney a little walk to stretch his legs after the journey.

Michelle said: 'We reached the field and he had a small walk and then was violently sick and collapsed on the field.

'He was panting, he couldn't move and his tongue was blue and his gums had lost all colour.

'I frantically dialled 118 118 to try and find a vet that would help me, and got through to South Moor Vets who were amazing from the minute they picked up the phone.

'Sam the receptionist put me straight through to Richard Walters the vet, who listened to what was happening and immediately started to drive to us. 'He and nurse Laura Farrell reached me within 20 minutes and realised Sidney was in a really poor way.They said his heart rate was over 200.

'We all carried him back to the car and he went to the Ivybridge surgery for a drip and x rays before he was taken by Richard to the Kingsbridge surgery for overnight help.

'I picked him up the next morning and I had more calls from the vet to update me on how Sidney was and how he was showing signs of an enlarged heart, and given medicine.'

Richard Walters said: 'When we found Sidney, he had collapsed very suddenly and he seemed to be an otherwise very healthy dog. 'He was showing signs of a high rate and poor circulation but he responded very well to his treatment.

'It is difficult to establish what caused the dog to collapse but thorough tests were carried out to try and assess whether it was a heart condition or an anaphylactic shock.'

Michelle added: 'The vets also gave me fantastic advice on transporting him back to Berkshire when he was fit enough to do so.

'I have been completely bowled over by the care South Moor Vets showed to Sidney.

'He's very special and having been through such a tough life so far I didn't want him to die out on that field with no help.

'Sidney is now back in Berkshire and my local vet here has read all the notes faxed through from South Moor Vets. He was very impressed at how detailed and informative they were.'

Sidney is now back on his feet. Michelle added: 'I'm pretty sure that if Sidney could talk he would vote with his paws and insist we move to Devon for good, so that we have great vets on hand that understand how important our pets are to us, and that sometimes they do need to come out and help us wherever we are.

'Both Sidney and I am extremely grateful to South Moor Vets for that incredible service.'