Nearly half of UK pets are overweight, is yours? If you’re not sure click onto www.hillspet.co.uk and go to their ’Get your pet in shape’ section.  There’s an excelllent adjustable diagram to help you decide on your pets body condition score, and hence whether you need to take any action. Look under the ‘Is your pet in good shape’ and take the ‘Feel the ribs’ test! Obesity leads to a long list of health problems and a reduced life expectancy.  Our free ‘Weight watcher’ nurse clinics, not only keep you motivated with regular weigh ins, but our experienced nurses are able to advise you on a wide range of diets, supplements and other weight loss tools.  Your pet may live up to two years longer if it remains at its ideal body weight through its life.

Just to remind you all that our Hill’s loyalty scheme is still in force. If you by 6 bags of any Hill’s food (excluding prescription diets) you will get the 7th bag free.  Once your loyalty card has been stamped 6 times (for each bag of food), you will be entitled to £10 off a dog neuter, or £3 off a cat neuter, £5 off a vaccination, £2.50 off flea products, £5 off a microchip, £2 off dental products and £5 off a ‘well pet’ blood test.  Ask for a loyalty card at reception.

Hannah has been undertaking her nursing training at Summerhill for the last year, but we are happy to announce that this spring she will become one of our permanent members of staff.  Hannah will continue her training at Eastern College and under the supervision of our clinical coach Nadine, but as she will be spending more time at the practice, many more of you (and your pets) will get to meet her.

Happy new year to all our four legged friends and their owners.  We hope that 2012 is a fun, healthy and peaceful year for everyone.

In order to keep your pet happy and healthy this Christmas, please read our DOs and DON’Ts.

DON’T feed your pet left overs from your Christmas meal. Poultry bones can get stuck or cause perforations, and rich food can cause vomiting and diarrhoea.

DON’T feed your pet chocolate, it’s toxic. (For more information see our winter poisons post in the ‘Did you know?’ section.)

DON’T leave pets unattended around your Christmas tree. Pets love playing and chewing with bright shiny objects, including fairy light wires. Electrocution or gastro-intestinal blockages could occur.

DO ensure that your pets have someone quiet they can take themselves off to, if you are expecting lots of guests.

DO ensure your pets are microchipped so they can be identified. They may get cold in winter weather or scared by Christmas festivities and seek shelter in unlikley places.

DO wrap up short haired dogs, (and those that are young or old), with dog jackets, if you are out walking in very cold weather.

DO wash your dog’s feet if they have been walking on gritted pavements. The salt can be very irritant to their paws.

DON’T allow pets near frozen ponds or canals. However often people are warned of the dangers, nearly every year fatalities (both animal and human) occur.

DON’T GIVE PETS AS PRESENTS! A dog is for life, not just for Christmas.

Summerhill is a subscriber to the Veterinary Poisons Information Service, which is an internationally renowned medical toxicology service which operates from Guy’s and St Thomas Hospital in London.  It is an 24 hour helpline for vets, to give advice on the diagnosis and management of poisioned animals. They deal with over 25,000 cases per year. So you can rest assured that if your pet does come in contact with a toxin or poison we can access the information we need (at any time of the day or night), to ensure your pet is treated appropriately.

Possible winter poisons include;

ANTIFREEZE  As the weather gets colder lots of people add antifreeze to their cars. Most antifreeze contains either methanol or ethylene glycol. Serious poisoning is rare with methanol, however the sweet tasting ethylene glycol is very toxic, especially to cats. Cats tend to lick it up, if it has been spilt or if it is dripping from a car’s radiator. Even small amounts can lead to fatal kidney failure, so if you have any suspicions that your pet may have ingested some, get in touch with us immediately.  The first signs of  anti freeze poisoning are wobbliness and weakness, progressing to a fast heart rate and convulsions. If treatment is started within 12 hours of ingesting ethylene glycol, there may be a chance of recovery.

CHOCOLATE  It’s the time of year when we all tend to have a lot more chocolate in our houses. Chocolate contains a  substance called theobromine, which can cause a variety of signs depending on how much is ingested. Dogs are the usual culprits, who tend to be more likley to steal food than cats! After ingestion dogs tend to drink and urinate more, and they may have vomiting or diarrhoea. If severe the signs progress to panting, muscle spasms and convulsions. Plain chocolate contains much higher levels of theobromine than milk chocolate, and so even small quantites can be dangerous. As a general rule, a 10kg dog requires treatment if it has eaten 12.5g of dark chocolate and 90g of milk chocolate. (These values refer to actual chocolate and don’t include any sweet fillings.) A  dog would have to eat twice it’s body weight of white chocolate before the theobromine caused a problem! Be aware of other products containing theobromine such as cocoa powder and garden mulch made from cocoa shells.

BATTERIES  At Christmas time, we also tend to have more batteries lying around, for all those new toys! Again it’s dogs who tend to swallow them, with button batteries and triple As being the most commonly ingested ones.  Most batteries contain either strong acids or alkalis, as well as significant metal content. Usually batteries pass uneventfully through the gastro-intestinal tract, however if they become lodged, they can either leak corrosive material, or cause a blockage.

CARBON MONOXIDE  As the weather gets colder we all turn up our heating, and so cases of carbon monoxide poisoning are more common. Cats and dogs (as well as children) have a faster metabolic rate than adults and so are more susceptible to posioning, and may show signs first. Pets may be exposed by sleeping close to a faulty heating appliance. Signs include drowsiness, vomiting and wobbliness, and may progress to convulsions and coma.

If you are worried about your pet coming into contact with any of the above hazards please call the practice at any time for advice.

Saying goodbye to a much loved pet is something we all dread. However there is now a really good website to help at this difficult time. ‘The Ralph Site’ was set up this summer by vet Shailen Jasani, after the loss of his beloved cat Ralph, who was involved in a road traffic accident. The website covers many different topics connected to pet bereavement. It deals with preparing for euthanasia, the actual process of it and the after care options. It discusses grief emotions and management with a special section on helping children.  There is lots of information on helpful books, and places where you can get additional support. The site also has links to crematoria and cemeteries, including the crematorium we use, Peaceful Pets in East Rudham. To find out more click onto www.theralphsite.com

Some of you may be surprised to hear that Steph is expecting as she has kept her bump very well hidden. However over the last few weeks, more of you have started to spot it under her uniform!  Her baby is due in early January, so very soon Steph will be starting her maternity leave.  We all wish her lots of luck and can’t wait to meet her baby.

Natalie has been working hard over the last year to finish her veterinary nurse training. It has been particularly challenging as she has been one of the ‘transitional’ students, changing from the old nursing course to the new one. She has put an immense amount of hard work into her studies, and along with a lot of input from her clinical coach Nadine, she qualified this Autumn. The more observant of you, will have noticed that she is now wearing the dark green uniform of a qualified nurse. Sadly after Christmas Natalie is moving on, to a new practice. We have all appreciated the amount of care she has shown to all our patients and wish her the best for this new phase of her career.

 

SMALL FRIENDLY PRACTICE

Our receptionist, nurses and vets are all friendly and approachable (in person or on the telephone), and work as a team to make your visit run as smoothly and comprehensively as possible, so you and your pet both feel ‘cared for’.

Our practice is privately owned and not part of a big corporate group. This means the partners are able to reinvest in the practice as they see necessary (with staff training and state of the art equipment), so we can provide you and your pets with the best possible service.

COMPLETE VETERINARY CARE

Our vets and nurses have a wide range of knowledge and skills, which along with our extensive equipment and facilities means we are able to carry out a wide range of diagnostic and surgical procedures, which include:

- Routine surgery eg. Neutering

- Specialist surgery eg. Fracture repairs, heart, lung and spinal surgery

-Diagnostic imaging eg. X-rays, ultrasound scans, fibre optic cameras.

This means that whatever treatment your pet may need, we can provide it.

SINGLE SITE

With have a single centre with no branch practices, so everything your pet requires is met on the one site, be this a particular test or the expertise of one of our vets or nurses. 

OUR OWN 24-HOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE

We run our own emergency service, so you can directly telephone our ‘on-call’ vet, and are not put through a call centre. This saves time when you are worried, and more often than not you will speak to a vet that knows your animal. In addition if you need to be seen, you will be seen at OUR practice by OUR vets.

FREE NURSES CLINICS

Our comprehensive range of free clinics covers a wide variety of health topics, giving you peace of mind that your pet is as healthy as it can be.

IN HOUSE LABORATORY

Nearly all the blood tests we take can be processed in our own laboratory, giving us fast accurate results (within 15 minutes), so we can diagnose diseases and then treat them immediately.

ALL DAY CONSULTING

Our consults run through the day from 9am to 6pm, so you can visit us at your convenience. All appointments are for a minimum of15 minutes, ensuring your pet receives a thorough examination. This enables us to do the best for your pet.

IN HOUSE ANIMAL BEHAVIOUIST

Nadine Fletcher our head nurse has a certificate in applied animal behaviour and a diploma in canine psychology. She sees dogs, cats and rabbits with behavioural problems, and advises their owners accordingly.

PUPPY SOCIALISATION PARTIES

A fun informative course for you and your puppy, run by our head nurse who is an animal behaviourist.

STRONG LINKS TO SPECIALIST VETS

We have strong professional links to several multiple discipline referral centres. Meaning if we need specialist advice or need to refer your pet for specialist treatment, we can arrange this as quickly as possible. This ensures your pet receives world class treatment when it really matters.

ACTIVE IN THE COMMUNITY

We have students of all ages at the practice undertaking work experience, and our vets and nurses frequently do talks to nurseries, schools and youth groups, to promote animal welfare.