Supervet Noel Fitzpatrick “hit rock bottom” after the “love of his life” died, his relationship broke down, and his mother, Rita, was dyring. The 57-year-old says it was Keira who inspired him as he developed Fitzpatrick Referrals. He says every animal that passed through the doors would be treated in a way that he would want Keira to be treated.
Fate took a cruel turn in September 2020 when Keira was struck by a van outside his Surrey practice, suffering life-threatening injuries such as a ruptured abdomen and pelvis. Despite fearing the worst, Noel, known for his pioneering veterinary surgeries, opted to fight for her survival, holding her as she was “dying in his arms”.
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Noel Fitzpatrick with border terrier Keira (Image: Noel Fitzpatrick Twitter)
Noel made the decision to treat Keira. She underwent extensive internal repairs, two blood transfusions, intricate surgery and a custom implant.
The repairs appeared to give Keira a new lease of life. But she died in September 2021, reports .
Speaking on the High Performance podcast, Noel recalls her devastating death. He said: “Keira, the dog who was the love of my life, had a very bad accident and she was dying in my arms and I had to either fix her or let her go.
“I tried to fix her, which worked, for a while but then she had a cardiac arrest, and there’s very few people I suppose have felt the heart of the being they love actually stop in their finger, as I cut down on her chest my finger was on her heart when it stopped.”
To make matters worse for Noel, he says Keira’s death came as his relationship broke down and his mother was “dying” at home in Mountmellick, Co Laois. Rita died aged 92 in 2022.
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Noel Fitzpatrick says his relationship broke down around the time his dog died (Image: BBC)
He added: “Mammy had died, my relationship had split up, and I was at rock bottom. I realised that no matter how hard I tried, with what I do, or the practice I built, it was never, ever going to fill the void. So I went home, it was during and you had to get a vaccine to go to Ireland, but I knew I had to go because Mammy was dying.”
Noel’s dad, Sean, the man he still called his hero, died in August 2006 after collapsing on the family farm in Ireland. The Supervet will be appearing on James Martin’s Saturday Morning at 9.30am on One.
He will be appearing alongside Ryan and Liam Simpson-Trotman, Sabrina Gidda and Tony Singh. Topics will include food, the great outdoors, and chef James’s love of fast cars.