Pet Patter Summer 2011
Welcome to the Summer 2011 edition of our practice newsletter. We have all enjoyed phenomenally dry and warm weather throughout much of the Spring-hopefully a good omen for a great Summer. In April our receptionist Ann Turner-Mitchel gave birth to her third child-Kayla. Congratulations to her-mother and baby girl are doing very well.
Like many veterinary practices we are always modernising and upgrading our equipment. We have just installed two new operating lights in our operating theatres. Our new lighting significantly improves our theatre illumination-enabling us to perform intricate surgery more easily. We are currently assessing a number of different computer systems. We have been using our current system for almost twenty years so its goes without saying that it is time for a change. If all goes to plan the new system will reduce the administrative side of our job
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A Day At Heathcote Veterinary Centre!
We always try to care for your pet as well as we possibly can when you bring them into the surgery for an operation. We thought it might be interesting for you to read about what goes on!
Our nurses admit most of the pets coming in for operations between 8.30am and 9.30am. During the admission consultation they carefully go through the anaesthetic consent form with the pet’s owner to clarify the exact nature of the operation. We also check the owner’s contact information so that we can contact them when the pet is fully recovered from its anaesthetic. Pet’s are settled into their kennel in either our cat or dog ward.
We administer sedative and pain relief drugs to the majority of pets approximately twenty minutes before they are due to be anaesthetised. Sedatives relax pets and lead to smoother anaesthetics and recoveries. The pain relief drugs make the whole operating experience smoother and less painful. We anaesthetise pets in the preparation room. All animals have intravenous catheters placed prior to anaesthetics being administered. These allow intravenous drugs to be administered during operations if required. Animals have appropriate areas of hair clipped and an initial surgical cleanse performed prior to moving into the operating theatre.
In the operating theatre a further surgical cleanse is performed whilst the veterinary surgeon prepares themselves to perform the surgery. Once the surgery is complete all pets are monitored throughout their recovery-initially in the operating theatre and laterally back in its kennel. We phone the pet’s owner as soon as the pet has made a good anaesthetic recovery.
Most pets like to eat some food soon after recovering from their anaesthetic. Prior to going home intravenous catheters are removed, pets are checked and groomed where necessary. Depending on the nature of the operation pets are either discharged to their owners by one of the vets or one of the nurses. It’s always great to see pets looking pleased to be going home!
Chocolate Poisoning
Most dogs will jump at the chance to eat some chocolate. Just like in humans it’s not good for a dog’s waistline. However Cocoa’s active ingredient, theobromine, is poisonous to dogs. High Cocoa chocolates are the most dangerous to dogs.
We have recently seen a couple of dogs who ate significant quantities of high cocoa chocolate. Fortunately in both cases we saw them soon after they had eaten the chocolate. We stimulated vomiting in both cases resulting in the majority of the chocolate being vomited back up. Effects of chocolate ingestion can include convulsions, heart irregularities and occasionally chocolate ingestion can be fatal.
It’s best to keep chocolate well away from dogs. Specifically formulated dog safe chocolate is widely available to purchase.
Don’t Ignore That Lump
Early detection, diagnosis and management of a medical problem is always the best approach. One of the most common problems we see at the surgery is a pet with a lump. Causes of lumps include abscesses, ticks, allergies, infections, hernias, haematomas and tumours. Lumps can be picked up by owners when grooming their pets or by vets at an annual health check.
Once a lump has been clinically evaluated, advice can be given on whether any treatment is needed. Simple causes like ticks can be easily removed and abscesses and haemotomas can be drained. People understandably worry most about tumours. Vets can often glean quite a lot of information from examining a tumour. Based on this examination a decision can be made to either monitor, biopsy or remove the tumour. We will generally recommend some sort of intervention if the tumour is large, is discharging or if we are concerned that it may be malignant. It is always best to have lumps checked out sooner rather than later.
Is your pet carrying too much weight?
Obesity is a problem that affects cats and dogs as well as people. Excessive weight in cats and dogs can exacerbate medical conditions like arthritis, increased blood pressure, diabetes and breathing problems. Ultimately excessive weight can lead to reduced quality of life and reduced life expectancy.
You can assess your own pet for excessive weight by checking that you can easily feel its ribs and that you can still see a waistline. We will help you make this evaluation when at the surgery by weighing and examining your pet.
Just like in people pets can lose weight by reducing their calorie intake and where appropriate doing more exercise. We often use specific reduced calorie foods to ease the weight loss process. The practice nurses run pet weight loss clinics on a regular basis. Contact us for advice on helping your pet to lose weight. We are here to help.
123-125, Heathcote Road, Whitnash, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. CV31 2LX
Telephone 01926 337790
www.heathcotevets.co.uk