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May 2007 edition
1. What's on 2. How a microchip found Bruce on the other side of the world 3. Born Free 4. What's Up Doc? 5. What a team! 6. Is your pet's food letting you down? 7. Puppy Preschool... A great start to life and the beginning of a beautiful friendship 8. AquaDog Swimmer of the Month...celebrates new beginnings and happy endings 9. Its all about Wellness...inside and out 10. Common pet myths busted 11. Is your pet having a bad hair day??... Zoom in for a Groom |
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1. What's on “What's happening for pets down at the vets!” you say? Have you ever wondered what the pets in your neighbourhood are talking about over the fence?? Well down at the vets, as we all recover from the fun of Easter holidays and start to catch glimpses of the approaching cooler months, we continue our celebration of new beginnings and happy endings for all the pets in the neighbourhood. Our “new beginnings” offer for all new Puppy School enrolments this month is 20% off puppy toys - Kong Toys, Treat Balls & Activity Balls. Our Puppy Preschool classes include an exciting swim class for puppies at AquaDog Health & Fitness where your puppy can learn about water safety in a fun, play-filled specialised swimming facility. This month we are offering Half price 2nd swims for puppies at AquaDog for only $6. See our website for more details and photos of this fabulous centre. We are also continuing our “best start to new life” Hills Science Diet offer for Puppies and Kittens. Receive a FREE fun and informative Book about Puppies or Kittens when you upgrade to a larger bag your purchase of Hills Science Puppy or Kitten Dry Food or combine your purchase with two Kitten cans or a packet of Puppy Treats. It never too late to celebrate New beginnings and make Happy Endings. Microchip your pet when they are desexed for only $40. Normally $55. So don't just gossip about it over the fence, get your family down to the vets to make the most of this months specials! Back to top |
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2. How a microchip found Bruce on the other side of the world Bruce, a 16 and a half year old Border Collie cross dog lives in England with his family the Kims. They had moved there from Australia a few years ago. Although a bit stiff in the joints, Bruce still loves his daily walk in the Surrey countryside. One evening in February this year, the Kims were worried when he wasn't at the gate ready for his walk – and they couldn't find him anywhere. It soon become clear that he most likely had wandered and become lost. Fortunately but unbeknownst to them, he had been found in the street and taken to the local vet. The vet had scanned him and found his microchip. To find his owners, the vet traced the microchip to Australia, where the chip was originally implanted. The microchip registry in Australia then called the Kims with the good news. Despite being woken at 4am UK time, the Kims were so happy to hear that their Bruce was safe and it was hugs and licks all round when they picked him up. We strongly recommend microchipping for all pets as it means if you do lose your pet, you are much more likely to be happily reunited. Microchipping is a simple and safe procedure that is performed at the clinic. Celebrate New beginnings and make Happy endings when you Microchip your pet. Young or young at heart, it's never too late to ensure your best friend can find their way home. Celebrate Now! Microchip your pet for only $40 (with desexing). Normally $55 Back to top |
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3. Born Free Recently we reported that 50% of dog owners are not doing the minimum 150 minutes exercise a week to keep healthy. We hope this inspired you to continue your daily walks that you've been doing over summer as with winter approaching, it's easy to let that slide. While walking, try to give your dog some off lead time – it's the most beneficial type of walking. The advantages of off leash walking are: • It allows a dog to follow his or her nose, go to where the smells are and to mix freely with other dogs • Great opportunity for people to socialise. In many off lead parks there are informal groups of dog owners who meet with their dogs • Prevents boredom: free running stimulates the mind and is a great antidote to backyard boredom Getting ready: • Socialise and train new puppies in our Puppy Preschool to ensure they behave well in the park • Take plenty of poo pick up bags and follow any sign posted guidelines Here's a list of off lead parks – we've included a wide variety so you can explore new areas: Brisbane | Caboolture | Caloundra | Gold Coast | Hervey Bay (scroll down to "Dog Off Leash Areas" section and then click on the relevant area) | Ipswich | Maroochy [PDF] | Noosa [PDF] | Pine Rivers | Redland (new trial areas) | Redcliffe [PDF] | Toowoomba Back to top |
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4. What's Up Doc? Our veterinary team share some of their interesting stories with you….. We all know good nutrition and a healthy diet play a big role in our pets wellbeing and an article this month “Is your pet's food letting you down?” even looks at some of the things we feed our pets with out realising. What else may our pets may be feasting on without us knowing! Over the past few months our vets have been amazed and slightly concerned by the number of discoveries they have made when pets have come in to see us because they are “just not feeling well”. Yes! We understand “you are what you eat” but…? These recent patients had some very unfortunate experiences with tennis balls, beach towels, furry mouse toys, rubber duckies and fish hooks NOT being good for their health. Jazz, a 4yr old border collie cross recently had surgery to remove a fishing hook, complete with the trace and line, from his intestine. Jazz came to see Dr Tony after he had been a bit off colour and not eating for a few days. The fishing line had gathered up the entire intestine and was close to cutting through it. Dr Tony and the veterinary team at Nerang performed complex and difficult surgery immediately and although Jazz spent many days in hospital recovering, the surgery was a success. Jazz happily went home fully recovered to a very relieved family. Daisy, an 8yr old king charles cavalier, also decided fishing hooks and line were an interesting diet. This resulted in Dr Sonja assisted by our veterinary team performing surgery on Easter Saturday to remove a hook and line from Daisy's stomach. Daisy was doing well after a few days of intensive care in hospital. Not a great way to spend the Easter holidays for Daisy and her family! Not wanting to let his feline friends miss out on the action, our veterinary team at Helensvale recently performed surgery to remove part of a furry mouse toy from Simon, the longhaired moggie's intestine. He also recovered well. Anyone for tennis?? Dr Cary at our Arundel clinic recently had to perform surgery on Misty, a two year old cattle dog to remove part of a tennis ball from her intestine. Misty made a good recovery but we hope she will change her professional tennis career to just catching the balls not eating them. In the past months, Dr Cary and our veterinary team at Arundel have also successfully performed surgery to remove parts of beach towels, soft toys, basketballs and garden mulch, causing obstructions in pet's stomachs and intestines. These seemingly innocent toys and items can easily become a substantial risk to your pet's health if swallowed. Back to top |
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5. What a team! Over the next few months we are really excited about introducing you the newest members of our pet care team. They are already off to a great start getting to know you and your pets, so look out for some friendly new faces when you next visit our clinics! Introducing... another new member of our pet care team! Dr. Sonja Kruyshaar – Associate Veterinarian Sonja graduated from the University of Pretoria, South Africa in 1995 with fellow collegue, Dr. Paul Joubert. Sonja has been working in the UK for the past 11 years, earning a further qualification in General Small Animal Practice from the European Society of Post Veterinary Studies. Sonja has since decided to make Australia home and is very proud to be a new member of the team at The Vets. Back to top |
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6. Is your pet's food letting you down? A recent study in the Australian Veterinary Journal – the leading veterinary journal in Australia, warns about the dangers of feeding pets fresh meat that has been treated with the preservative sulphur dioxide. Sulphur dioxide reduces the levels of the essential vitamin thiamine. This can lead to brain disease and even death. The study showed that this related to some products of the “pet meat” and “pet mince” type found in supermarkets and pet stores. The signs of thiamine deficiency in pets include: · Wobbliness · Walking in circles · Paralysis · Seizures or a combination of the above If your pet is showing any of the above signs of illness, contact us immediately for help. What we recommend: Feed your pet a high quality dry or canned food. The food that we stock is rigorously checked before and after cooking to ensure all nutrients are present, including thiamine. As we continue to celebrate new beginnings and happy endings this month for the young and young at heart, good nutrition plays a big role with special offers for Puppies and Kittens. The food you choose to feed your puppy and kittens during the first year is critical to their adult development, health and growth. Hill's Science Diet is specially designed to provide all the nutrition your puppy or kitten needs. It is complete nutrition, without excesses or deficiencies to help avoid health problems. Hill's offers a complete range of Science diet puppy and kitten foods including treats to meet all your little ones unique nutritional needs and enrich your pet's life. Special Offer this month ………….The best start to new life Hills Science Diet offer for puppies and kittens…… Receive a FREE fun and informative Book about Puppies or Kittens. (See What's On for full details of offer) Back to top |
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7. Puppy Preschool... A great start to life and the beginning of a beautiful friendship Live, Love, Listen, Laugh and Learn. Our puppy pre-school is a fun way for puppies and families to learn all the skills required for a rewarding life together. Under the expert guidance of our qualified nurses, families can enjoy being involved in developing their new puppy's social skills to ensure they become polite and well behaved canine citizens. To celebrate New Beginnings and Happy Endings…….. “Friendship really is about bouncing the ball back” JOIN PUPPY PRESCHOOL THIS MONTH AND RECEIVE 20% OFF PUPPY ACTIVITY BALLS & TOYS (see What's on special offers). Classes are held once a week for 4 weeks 6.30 - 7.30pm. Puppy Preschool includes a puppy swim class in our hydrotherapy pool at AquaDog. To join our next class, please call the location that suits your family and ask our friendly staff for more details. Congratulations to our most recent graduates: Nerang Kiki Mikhno Cheeky Micallef Sparkles Latham Sara Hogan Kai McMullen Buddha Hodzic Helensvale Sunny Tenhoopen Kay Powell Noodle Wallace Sam Hall Sky De La Rey Arundel Maggie Hunniford Ruby Jekyll Minki Kalantzis Back to top |
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8. AquaDog Swimmer of the Month...celebrates new beginnings and happy endings Tana really is celebrating New Beginnings and Happy Endings as our swimmer of the month for May. Tana is a 13yr old Cocker Spaniel that has arthritis. Now in her golden years of retirement she has been enjoying her swimming and joint therapy at AquaDog since it opened 18mths ago. Tana's mum Chris, an Instructor at Gold Coast Dog Obedience Club, highly recommends our AquaDog Health & Fitness Centre as an excellent specialised swimming facility for dogs needing joint therapy. “Tana's arthritis has improved considerably since commencing her therapy. It is a weekly treat for myself, Tana and Tana's younger housemate, Amy, to all come to the pool for a swim” explained Chris. It seems Tana's exciting Dog Obedience career may have slowed down because of her arthritis but she now has a new lease of life swimming and staying healthy in her retirement at AquaDog Health & Fitness. Well done Tana and also thanks Chris and Amy. Aquadog is next to The Vets at Nerang. Call our friendly team at Aquadog on 5502-2444 to arrange an introductory swim for your dog. Back to top |
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9. Its all about Wellness...inside and out A simple blood test can make sure your pet's inside looks as healthy as their outside. Even though we'd like to think they can, our pets can't always tell us where it hurts and we can't always see what's happening on the inside. We are often asked how we can tell whether a pet is healthy on the inside. A pet that appears healthy on the outside may be hiding internal signs of disease. A simple blood test is one way of helping detect early signs of disease. Wellness testing includes a complete blood count, tests for liver and kidney function, diabetes and a urine concentration test. If you would like to find out more about your pet's internal health just make an appointment for a Wellness Test for your pet and if possible bring along a urine sample. It's simple & easy. If you require any help just call and talk to our friendly pet care team Back to top |
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10. Common pet myths busted Often we're asked about whether a common myth about pets is true. Here are 5 popular ones and their often surprising answers: • Feeding garlic prevents fleas There is no evidence to support the claim that feeding your pet garlic will prevent fleas. • Cats purr when they are happy Cats do purr when in pleasurable situations. Kittens purr when they are suckling and cats purr when in contact with a familiar person or object. But there is one exception; vets often find cats that are in pain or have chronic illness will purr. This leads us to believe that purring is also about asking for help; as if the cat were saying, “I'm sick, please help me”. • A wet nose means a healthy dog This is the most common and loved myth about pets. The myth says that a hot dry nose means the dog has a temperature and is unwell. The only way to tell if a dog has a temperature is to use a thermometer and a dry nose is not an indication of poor health. • Dogs eat grass only when they are sick It's a natural instinct for a dog to eat grass. Observing dingoes and wolves has shown that they eat small amounts of grass as part of their normal diet. However, if your dog is eating large amounts of grass and vomiting continuously, ask us for help. • Licking is healing Dogs and cats both lick their wounds but like many things in life, moderation is the key. While licking may help initially to clean a wound, the abrasive nature of the tongue means that ongoing licking will damage fragile new cells that form over the wound. Back to top |
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11. Is your pet having a bad hair day??... Zoom in for a Groom The Vets at Nerang and Helensvale is a great place for your pet to get a great new hair style. Our professional pet stylist, Lisa can get even the scruffiest coat looking great and smelling sweet. No more bad hair days...Just call us for an appointment. Wishing, your pets the best in hair care. Back to top |
The Vets Nerang Unit 5/90 Spencer Road Nerang 4211 ph 5596 2322 fx 5596 0549 Helensvale Unit 7/14 Sir John Overall Drive Helensvale 4212 ph 5529 8011 fx 5529 4133 www.thevets.com.au |
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