WATCH: Caithness dog Hugo gets new lease of life
A new bespoke veterinary service in Inverness has given a Caithness dog a new lease of life.
Scottish Vet Referrals opened in early 2017 and was the first bespoke referral service in the region.
It offers an expansive list of solutions including orthopaedic and soft tissue surgery, ophthalmology, dermatology, CT scanning, medicine and oncology, cardiology and acupuncture.
It is believed to be the first vets in the Highlands to also offer spinal surgery.
One of their first patients was a miniature Daschund called Hugo who received surgery for intervertebral disc protrusion (slipped disc) which was causing compression of his spinal cord.
He comes from Caithness and previously would have had to have gone to Aberdeen or Stirling for this surgery.

He has been progressing well since his surgery, performed on October 6, and is expected to make ongoing improvement in the weeks ahead.
He was initially unable to walk and control his bladder and is now able to do both independently.
His owner has also played a significant role in providing ongoing physiotherapy at home.