Have you heard our pets talking about it over the fence?

In this month's newsletter, we continue to Celebrate our Sensational Seniors, with the focus on mobility...getting them moving during these cooler winter days. We have some great information on a special diet that can get dramatic results with arthritis and stiff joints in just 21 days.

Meet Mak, our AquaDog swimmer of the month, that can't stop barking about the results he's achieved with our special diet and swim program.

This edition is packed with information and great advice from the importance of regular vet checks for your pet to how you can never be too careful when it comes to your pet's health. Our resident hairstylist, Lisa has some great advice on how to plan your winter grooming to avoid those Bad Hair Days later in the season.

This month we also celebrate life with some very exciting wedding and birth announcements from our team.

We also remember the wonderfully long and happy life of our very special Senior, Kahlua, our resident cat who passed away recently at the amazing age of 18yrs.

Well, what an exciting month for our team with Katie's wedding and the arrival of a new little treasure for Leah's family.

We're going to the Chapel!
On 24^th May our very own Dr Katie Ross married Dr David Cook in a beautiful ceremony at Maleny.  Katie and David shared their special day and celebrated their life together with all their family and friends. After a relaxing island honeymoon, Dr Katie has returned from her break a very happy Mrs Katie Cook with some exquisite photos to share with the team.

It's a girl!!
It is with great joy that we announce the birth of our team member Leah's new little baby girl, Ava Lily  born at 1.03pm on 23 May 2008, to proud parents Leah and Dean.  At 7lb 10z she is a gorgeous little treasure and baby and parents are all doing well. 

A tribute to a very special, sensational senior.  A Celebration of her 18yrs with us!

If it should be that I grow frail and weak,
And pain should keep me from my sleep,
Then you must do what must be done,
For this last battle can't be won.

You will be sad - I understand,
Don't let your grief then stay your hand,
For this day, more than all the rest,
Your love and friendship stand the test.

We've had so many happy years,
What is to come - can have no fears,
You'd not want me to suffer so,
When the time comes, please let me go.

Sadly our special girl, Kahlua gave in to her old age recently.  As difficult as it was to say goodbye, it was time for her to go.  She will be remembered with such fondness and love by everyone who knew her at our Nerang clinic.  Some of our pet care team at Nerang shared their treasured memories of our special girl...and queen of the clinic!

In & Out all day long...asking for her water cupped to be topped up after only a few sips...you certainly were royalty and thats why I loved you. Lots of cuddles and kisses on hand, when needed.  xJD
Lulu we miss you. Sweet furry stress reliever (whenever required), and our wee front desk supervisor. You were the best cat ever. xLM
You were a kind old soul who stole the hearts of everyone who met you. We miss your gentle affectionate presence...even if it did create a few tech problems for the printing equipment xDC
Pets like you Lulu add years to our life and life to our years...Thanks for your friendship. xC bear.

When Gizmo our beloved dog had to be put down, my son Isaac cried like I have never seen. His grieving was immense for his little pal and it was very difficult to explain that Gizzy couldn't be 'fixed'. My son was very angry and confused and decided that the vet clinic was a big, bad pet black hole from which no dog would come home.

When we finally got a new puppy, it was hard on Isaac when it was time to go to the vet for puppy vaccinations. As we pulled into the carpark, he immediately started getting upset and was worried this one wasn't coming home from the vet's either.

The vet was great and helped Isaac get over this. He involved him in the examination by asking Isaac to hold and pat the pup, and of course, be the lead holder both going in and coming out.

The most valuable lesson he learned was that the pup got to go home. Death is never easy to cope with and now that the 'black hole' vet theory has been de-mystified he is starting to accept the circle of life better, and that the clinic is actually an alright place!

I hope our story encourages other readers to take their children along to the vet's, not just when the pet's health and survival is questionable, but most importantly when everything is ok. This way, the child will also have good experiences and faith in the person looking after their precious buddy as well.

Regards,
Sharnie

In the 12 months since the last vet check, a dog or cat will have aged the equivalent of 6-7 human years. Can you imagine yourself only visiting the doctor every 7 years? Things can go wrong in that time so it is vital that a thorough veterinary examination take place. We call it the Annual Health Check and it's the "nose to the toes" exam. Here's what we look at:

Head – eyes, ears and teeth health. Eyes can develop growths and tear production problems while ears can become infected.
Chest – The stethoscope is used to determine key information about the health of the heart and lungs [cardiovascular system]
Abdomen – We examine the abdomen to learn important information about digestion and the health of organs such as the bladder and liver
Tail – examination under the tail for evidence of excretory and reproductive health

Further tests: Blood and urine tests may be recommended. They can help us identify and, as a result, treat a range of problems including hormonal illness and major organ disease. Early detection of illness means a healthier and longer lived pet.

Our veterinary team shares some of their interesting cases with you...

Sometimes it's OK to sweat the small stuff.
Cody was an active healthy 2yr old Border Collie when his owners noticed a small raised red spot on his eye. As only 5 months earlier he had passed, with flying colours, his annual Top to Tail examination including a wellness test at the vets, his owners were not too concerned about it. It appeared like a small burst blood vessel so they assumed it was probably a minor injury and would clear up itself. Lucky for Cody, his owners continued to monitor the spot. They knew that you can never be too careful when it comes to even little changes in your pet's health. When 3 weeks later it had become larger they didn't hesitate in seeking the expert advice of our veterinarian Dr Sonja.

Dr Sonja decided to investigate the lesion further with our veterinary eye specialist, Dr Mike, who recommended closer examination of Cody's eye for a suspected tumour. After a visit to the Specialist Centre in Brisbane, Dr Mike confirmed the lesion to be a malignant tumour and surgery was performed to remove it from Cody's eye. He made a full recovery and was back to his healthy, happy, active self after a short time. Dr Mike stated that although this type of tumour is more common in older dogs it is also quite common in Cody's breed.

The outcome for Cody could have been quite different if it wasn't for his family's vigilance in seeking professional veterinary advice and treatment. Cody's family is thankful that they did "sweat the small stuff "this time. Their advice to other pet owners would surely be to keep a good eye on your pets for anything unusual and if in doubt have it checked out by a vet.

We recommend regular urine and blood testing for senior pets as an important part of keeping them healthy. These tests can pick up problems early, which can then be treated and this often means a better result for the pet.

One of the most common of these conditions we detect is Chronic Renal Failure [CRF], especially in older cats. It involves the gradual deterioration of the kidney leading to a poor ability to concentrate urine, toxin build up in the blood and resulting ill health. Cats with CRF show the following signs:

1. Drinking lots of water
2. Weight loss
3. Poor coat condition
4. Vomiting

The earlier the condition can be detected and treated, the better the outcome for the cat. That's why we may recommend the blood and urine tests for older pets - even if they are not showing the above signs.

Treatment of CRF involves the use of medication and a special food. The medication reduces blood pressure to slow the progression of the disease, helps with water retention and protein losses. The food limits the load on the kidney with low sodium levels and high quality protein.

Hill's* Science Diet* and Prescription Diet* offer a range of foods designed by veterinarians to prevent and manage diseases of the urinary tract. For more information click here

Makita is a 12yr old Rotti cross Shepherd and for those avid readers of our AquaDog articles his name may sound familiar. Mak was also our swimmer of the month back in September 2006.  He had been swimming with us for just one month back then and had impressed us with his immediate response to hydrotherapy. He still continues to impress us and can be proud of his title of AquaDog swimmer of the month again two years down the track.

When Mak first visited us at AquaDog 2yrs ago, he was suffering from osteoarthritis in his hips and knees and was finding it difficult to get up and down. With his veterinarian's advice and a carefully designed program by our AquaDog team, Mak started gently swimming only 7 laps on lead with the assistance of a floation vest. Over the next few months this was slowly increased under the watchful eye of his owner and the AquaDog vet nurse and swimming coach. Two years later, Mak is now so fit he is easily able to do up to 35 laps without a life vest. Mak's fitness and mobility has improved outstandingly thanks to the special Hills prescription diet j/d and his weekly swimming program. Mak's proud owner Kirri said " If it wasn't for the j/d diet and swimming his road to recovery would have been a lot slower. I think it is wonderful that he is getting around so much better. I love the program" And Mak certainly enjoys it too. Its not just therapy, but lots of fun too.

Get in the Swim with fun and fitness for your mature dog. Call our friendly team at Aquadog on 5502-2444 to arrange an introductory swim NOW.

Hill's* Prescription Diet* Canine j/d has a unique formula for the management of arthritis in dogs. For more information click here.

The Vets at Nerang and Helensvale is a great place for your pet to get a "cool" new hair style. Our professional pet stylist, Lisa can get even the scruffiest coat looking great and smelling sweet. 

As the "cool times" commence, Lisa's advice is to ensure your pet will spring into spring and not be left with a winter mess. She advises a full clip at the beginning of winter, a good cozy coat for warmth, and then a regular bath, brush, blow-dry or even "the express" top to tail trim and tidy throughout winter. Even though the coat doesn't grow as fast in winter warm baths and brushing is important to maintain a good healthy coat. Matts and knots are painful, collect dirt and foreign matter and if left unattended can cause skin infections.  So...no more bad hair days for your pet this winter...Zoom in for a "cool times" Groom. Just call us for an appointment. 

Wishing your pets the best in hair care.

Puppy Preschool is where we "Love, Listen, Laugh and Learn".  It's 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. Classes are held once a week for 4 weeks 6.30 - 7.30pm at our Nerang, Helensvale and Arundel Clinics. To join our next class, please call the location that suits your family and ask our friendly staff for more details.

Our 4 week program includes a puppy water safety class at our indoor swimming facility, AquaDog Health & Fitness Centre.  For more information click here.

Congratulations to our recent graduates of our Puppy Preschool classes. Thank you to all the enthusiastic puppy preschoolers and their dedicated parents for sharing the experience with lots of love and laughter. :
At Nerang: Class commenced 28.5.08
Buddy Featherston, Alfie Sealey, Neo McLeigh, Poppy Lister, Kirah Gore, Missy Nicholas, Walter Stewart
At Helensvale: Class commenced  12.5.08
Bale Kachel; Daisy Field; Turbo Wild; Lucy Douglas; Benson Cresswell
At Arundel:
Khan Williams; Max McLachlan; Martin Dean; Rani Connolly; Bonnie & Clyde Lawrie; Muffy Emerson; Bella Kyriakides; Shilo Jones, Lucy Doughty, Chiffon Chosa.

NO PHOTOS???!
We know you are thinking where are our class photos????  Would you believe the dog ate them? Or the puppies move so fast they are blurred? No! No excuses. Unfortunately our cameras (and/or operators) did not behave anywhere near as well as our puppies and parents. Seems we have experience a technical hitch with both the cameras and regretfully the photo quality is too poor to include in this newsletter as intended.

Nerang class photo: will be posted in the next newsletter.
Helensvale class photo: Instead we would like to offer each family an individual photo of you and your puppy to fill your photo frame and as a momento of your puppy school experience. If you would like to accept this offer please contact Michelle at the clinic 5529 801 or email us to arrange a photo shoot.

In the meantime, we will be attending photo school to improve our skills with moving targets and acknowledge that our expertise is definitely with pet care not cameras! Thank you for your understanding.