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NEWSLETTER
AUTUMN 2015
WELCOME TO THE NEW STAFF!
EMMA - Nurse
Emma joined us at the beginning of August 2015, as a full time addition to our nursing team. Like our other 2 nurses she has a great deal of experience and specifically she has an interest in cardiology. When we allow her any spare time, she enjoys walking with her dog Sam.
LOUISE - Vet
Some of you will have already met Louise as like her predecessor Jason, she has spent many weeks here ‘seeing practice’ during her university career. Having graduated with distinction (blimey!) this summer, we were lucky enough to be in a position to offer her a job and she seemed pleased to accept! During her spare time she likes to wield a cricket bat on the pitch.
AUTUMN AGGRAVATERS
The “season of autumn mists and mellow fruitfulness” is just about upon us. Whilst this can be a lovely time to be out and about with your animals, there are just one or two things to be thinking about.
Conkers – serious cases of poisoning are rare – ingestion can cause marked gastro-intestinal signs - drooling, retching, vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain. The conker's case and conkers themselves also present a risk by causing an intestinal blockage. Dogs usually vomit any ingested conkers quickly and treatment to control vomiting may be needed.
Antifreeze - Ethylene glycol (anti freeze) ingestion is very dangerous. It is sweet-tasting and very palatable to both cats and dogs. Even a relatively small quantity can cause serious kidney damage and can be fatal. Unfortunately the longer the delay between ingestion of the anti freeze and initiation of treatment the less favourable the prognosis. (Basically try and avoid any spillage of this product when using).
Plan for fireworks – If you know that your dog reacts badly to firework noises, then you can try de-sensitising methods if you start early enough (there are CDs available where you build up the volume over a period of time). There are also the plug-in and spray products which give out ‘dog appeasing pheromones’ (and a similar product for cats) which can help combat stress. As a very last resort sedative tablets may be considered for dogs but we always stress that this IS a last resort. Always make sure there is somewhere for your pet to ‘hide away’, a safe, secure environment. Our staff members are always very happy to give advice if you are at all concerned.
REMINDER FOR ANY OWNER WHOSE DOG IS NOT YET ID CHIPPED …..
Legislation for compulsory dog micro-chipping comes into force beginning of April 2016.
BLUE/GREEN ALGAE ALERT
Blue/Green Algae has been detected at Foremarke reservoir (there was a reported case of a dog allegedly fatally poisoned, who had been walking there recently). If you do walk your dog near any bodies of water, please look out for any signage warning of this algae and take necessary precautions.
TALES FROM THE ORPHANAGE
Meet Sumo, our latest ‘waif and stray’ project. His mum rejected her kittens so there was no choice but to dig out the feeding bottles and get stuck in! He did have a brother who sadly didn’t thrive, but with a lot of TLC from his surrogate ‘Surgery Aunties’ he’s doing really well (hence his name, as he does like his milk and it shows!). His eyes are open and his mobility is increasing daily. All the staff have been sharing the feeding duties … it’s a classic case of taking your work home with you! We potentially have a home for him so hopefully that will work out.
VANESSA’S ADVENTURES
Earlier this summer a friend of mine, who lectures at Nottingham University vet school, asked me if I could assist with finding clients who could bring their sick pets to a learning day for the students. However, when she heard that I owned a Guinea Pig with suspected Cushings Disease she was eager to include us.
There was about a dozen owners and their pets all with conditions such as diabetes. We were each allocated a room and groups of students came round and asked questions to try and find out what the diagnosis and treatment was.
Bluebell was a big hit with the students because they didn’t see many small mammals. I also learned from the students and staff. It would seem Cushings Disease in Guinea Pigs is more common than I thought.
Horsley Woodhouse carnival has a fun dog show run by the Neighbourhood Watch and I was persuaded to enter our Cocker Spaniel, Holly, in the cutest puppy class. I thought we might as well enter our Flat Coat Retriever, Fia, in two classes. Much to our surprise we came third in the cutest puppy, second in the prettiest bitch and first in dog in best condition. To cap it all, Fia went on to win best in show. I have been told that we will have to lead the parade next year!
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