People generally love their pets, but we’d be lying to say there isn’t an inter-species discrimination. How many fish owners do you know who’ve been with their goldfish to a veterinarian? Not that many, I presume. Certainly, number-wise it pales in comparison to dogs or cats. The story of a Scottish goldfish named Star which had its cancerous eye removed by doctors thus serves as a noble example of respect and responsibility that all pet owners should bear.
The operation was performed at the Fife’s Inglis Veterinary Hospital by specialist Brigitte Lord under an anesthetic. According to Discovery News, the team also included a veterinarian who kept Star under sedation and a nurse in charge of monitoring the fish’s vital signs.
“This is a highly specialist field,” Lord said on the Inglis Vets Facebook page. “Using anesthetic on a goldfish carries a very high risk, and I’m delighted for the owner that everything went okay and the owners are happy.”
Star is owned by Janie Gordon, and her daughter Abby who won Star at a fair 12 years ago. In the same day, their other pet goldfish who shares a tank with Star was also under surgery to remove a lump. The two operations cost nearly 500 pounds (about US $755).
“I know it seems like a lot of money to spend on an operation for a goldfish,” Janie Gordon said. “But what was the alternative? I think we’ve a social responsibility to look after our pets and I know my daughter would have been distraught if anything had happened to the goldfish.”