Issue 1: Winter 2009 - Barkers Veterinary Clinic & Hospital

Newsletter
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W i n t e r
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Welcome to Barkers Vet Clinic
Welcome to the Winter edition of the Barkers Veterinary Clinic Newsletter!
Well, the Barkers Vet Clinic team has a new member that many of you have recently met—
Darcy, the Border Collie, is a regular staff member, and is now eight months old. Kaitee is enjoying being a step-mother after a very shaky start, and Darcy is enjoying harassing her as
much as possible, like all teenagers. Another new staff member is Rhiannon Nicholls who is
profiled on the second page of the newsletter.
Darcy at 6 weeks old
Inside this
issue:
Rhiannon
2
Nicholls—Staff
Profile
Special Offers
with Bayer
Animal Health
2
Pancreatitis
2
Other clinic news includes Natalie Iskov returning to us after spending 18 months nursing
in the UK and completing volunteer nursing in Greece and Portugal. Natalie was a nurse at
Barkers before I started here in 2005, so it is fantastic to have her back again. Rohana
Norgate is currently doing some teaching and volunteer work
with Vets Beyond Borders in New Delhi, India. According to
her emails she is loving her time there, although the monsoon
season and high temperatures are just starting, which may
curb her enthusiasm. She will be away for four months, so we look
forward to having her back in September. Information on Vets
Beyond Borders is included in this newsletter.
We have all been attending continuing education events in the last
few months. Rohana and Rhiannon attended a seminar on Reception
Skills for Veterinary Nurses, and Natalie has been to a Pet Wellness seminar. These skills will help all the staff in their general
Darcy at 8 months old
nursing duties and help them expand their skill base when dealing
with patient care such as dentistry, geriatric health care checks,
nutrition and puppy/kitten care. Don’t hesitate to ask for their advice on any health care issues. They are a vastly under-estimated and important part of our health care team. I attended the World Dermatology Congress in Hong Kong late in 2008, which covered a huge range
of current information on skin and ear conditions—many of which are frequently seen at Barkers. Andrew McKay has also been attending dermatology related seminars, specifically relating
to the use of long-acting antibiotics. A new antibiotic injection is available for skin disorders
(and other infections) that lasts two weeks, meaning you don’t have to give tablets twice a day!!
Ask us about it next time you are at the clinic.
See you all soon
Obesity
3
Vets Beyond
Borders
3
Animal Trivia
3
Jane Kohler
New Products
♦
Cat Greenies are back in stock —> great for treats and help keep your cat’s teeth
clean as a bonus! 3 flavours are available—Chicken, Ocean Fish and Salmon
♦
Eukanuba has released two new dog foods aimed at fussy eaters—Salmon & Rice and
Turkey. They both have a money back guarantee on palatability!
♦
Ear medication—for those dogs that are difficult to medicate when they have an ear
infection, there is now a ONCE DAILY ear medication available
♦
STINKIES—the latest “must have” cat toy is full of catnip to keep your cat addicted! We have trialed it on our cats and in the cattery and they LOVE it.
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Staff Profile—Rhiannon Nicholls
Rhiannon joined the Barkers Team just before
Christmas
2008,
and
has
been nursing in
small animal practice for 5 years.
She finished her
Certificate IV in
Veterinary Nursing in 2006. Last
year during a six
month trip to the
UK and Europe,
she also managed
to fit in some
nursing while on holiday!
Educated at St Leonards
College
in
Brighton,
Rhiannon has
recently
become a more local resident, moving to Richmond
in March this year. She
has two cats, Frankie and
Igor, who still live at
home with her Mum, but
are visited very regularly.
Outside of work, Rhiannon is a regular at her
local gym and enjoys
watching
movies
and
travelling. Although not
well advertised, she is a
rugby fan, and has even
admitted to supporting
the All Blacks!.
At work, Rhiannon loves
surgical nursing. She is
planning to study the Diploma of Veterinary Nursing. As her “post-grad”
qualification she will specialize in Surgical Nursing,
Dentistry and Emergency
Care. At Barkers she has
streamlined our surgical
nursing, and is always incredibly organized when
on the surgical roster she has a “system” for
everything!!
Special Offer
Bayer have introduced a special offer for anyone that uses Advocate®,
Advantage® or Drontal®.
If you buy a 6-pack of Advocate® , you will receive a free picture frame.
If you purchase a 6-pack of Advantage® + six months of Drontal® worming (tablets or chewables), you will receive a free retractable dog lead
(complete with a built in torch), valued at $34.95.
Hurry in while stocks last!
Pancreatitis
The pancreas is an abdominal organ that sits close to the liver and stomach. Its two main
functions are to produce insulin and enzymes that break down protein and fat in the diet so
they can be used for energy. Pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas and is a very
unpredictable disease as there is so much variation in its severity.
Don’t accept your
dog’s admiration as
conclusive proof that
you are wonderful.
Animals that are most likely to be affected are overweight or have a recent history of a
high fat diet.
Anne Landers
Clinical signs of pancreatitis range from lethargy and lack of appetite through to vomiting
and serious cardiovascular problems. Mild cases can be treated as outpatients at home, but
more severe cases often need days of hospitalization and intensive treatment. In very severe cases death may occur.
The enzyme that breaks down fat is called lipase When there is too much fat in the diet,
the pancreas is not able to keep up the demand for lipase to break it down, so starts to
produce toxins instead, which make dogs (and cats) feel very sick.
Although all breeds can be affected, Miniature Schnauzers are more susceptible due to a
gene resulting in high levels of triglyceride (fat) in the blood stream that are slow to break
down. High risk foods that I frequently see resulting in pancreatitis include Schmackos,
Good-O’s, fatty off cuts from the meat you are have for dinner or even too many fatty
bones (bone marrow is very high in fat).
N e w s l e t t e r
Diagnosis is made on the patient’s history, clinical signs and a blood test, that can be performed at Barkers Vet Clinic, with results within 30 minutes.
A faster diagnosis and
treatment has a much better prognosis for your pet, so if you are worried, please make an
appointment as soon as possible.
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Obesity in Pets
The obesity epidemic is not just
limited to people in Australia, but is
frequently seen in our pets as well.
Podgy pooches and portly pussies
are a common sight at the clinic,
and most owners do not understand the repercussions in having
an overweight pet in their household. Too often we see people
“killing” their pets with kindness—one titbit here, a few table scraps there, a bone, a
Schmackos, a pig’s ear - they all
add up to calories above and be-
yond what should be included in
your pet’s daily food allowance.
So, what should you expect having
an overweight pet?
A substantially shortened lifespan
and an increased chance of getting
cancer are two very important reasons not to over-feed your pet.
There is also a much higher
chance of developing arthritis
(and at a younger age), diabetes, heart disease and pancreatitis. These conditions also
hit the hip pocket hard, as they
will require life-long monitoring
and medication once diagnosed.
(Continued on page 4)
Vets Beyond Borders
Vets Beyond Borders is an Australian-based, not-for-profit incorporated organisation established by
veterinary volunteers in 2003.
They co-ordinate and run veterinary based animal welfare programs in developing communities of
the Asian and Pacific region. By
working with local governments and
organisations they are able to establish programmes such as the
Sikkim Anti-Rabies Programme and
the Ladakh street dog sterilisation
schemes, and aim to help train local
veterinarians and nurses to work
and become self-sufficient in main-
taining the infrastructure of
these programmes in the future.
Rabies is a huge problem in
India, with over 20,000 human deaths per year due to
rabies, of which 96% are due
to dog bites. With a dog
population of between 25—30
million, of which many are
stray, the vaccination and
desexing of these dogs is a huge
part of controlling the spread of
the disease within the communities.
In the areas that Vets Beyond Borders have implemented the vaccina-
tion and desexing protocols, there
has been a dramatic decrease in
rabies and human deaths, but there
is still a great deal of work to be
done.
(Continued on page 4)
Animal Trivia
♦
It takes a lobster seven
years to grow to a
weight of 500g
♦
A duck’s quack does not
echo, and no-one knows
why
♦
A woodpecker can
peck 20 times per
second
♦
The penalty for killing a
cat, 4,000 years ago in
Egypt, was death
♦
♦
You are more likely to
be bitten by mosquitoes
if you eat bananas
On average, pigs live
to be about 15 years
old
♦
Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds, while
dogs only have about
ten
The only domestic animal not mentioned in
the Bible is the cat
♦
♦
The bones of a pigeon
weigh less than its
feathers
♦
Ants don't sleep
♦
An ostrich's eye is bigger than it's brain
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Barkers Veterinary Clinic aims to provide excellent professional services and veterinary care to
your valued family members – your pets. Our
team offers a comprehensive service to you and
your pets to ensure they are healthy and happy
for as long as possible.
Our clinic not only treats dogs and cats, but
birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, rats and mice. We
also offer a free wildlife service.
37 Church Street
Hawthorn VIC 3122
Phone: 03 9853 3990
Fax:
03 9853 3992
www.barkersvet.com
We also offer a wide range of other pet-related
services, such as dietary advice and specialised
pet foods.
All of our staff members are kept up to date
with current therapies and procedures by regular
in house seminars and education programs and by
attending conferences.
When your pet has a specific health problem, we
have many veterinary specialists available for any
referral work. This includes soft tissue and orthopaedic surgery, behaviour, internal medicine,
natural therapies, exotic pets and bird medicine.
E-mail: barkers37@bigpond.com
“The more people I meet the more I like my dog”.
- Unknown.
Vets Beyond Borders ctd from p.3
Obesity ctd from p.3
VBB relies on donations from the public and help
from local communities and government to implement these schemes.
You should be able to tell if your pet is overweight by
running your fingers along the ribcage. You should be
able to feel the corrugations of your pet’s ribs without
pushing your fingers into their skin. When viewed from
above, you should be able to see a narrowing of their
waist behind the rib cage. Overweight
cats often have a “paunch” or “beer belly”
hanging down between their hind legs.
Rohana is currently working as part of Project Vet
Train in New Delhi, which delivers clinical training on
a wide range of topics in order to improve the
health and welfare of
animals under very
challenging conditions.
Rohana is part of an
instructional team of
vets and nurses from
around
the
world
teaching 120 vets and
para-vets over a three-month training period. Part
of her job is teaching how to monitor anaesthetics,
assisting in surgery, basic pathology (diagnosing
parasites in blood and faecal samples) and general
animal welfare in a clinic situation (monitoring hospital cases, pain relief, nutrition) - much of which
western vets and nurses take for granted.
For more information about Vets Beyond Borders,
or
to
make
a
donation,
contact:
www.vetsbeyondborders.org
Weight loss in pets is no easier than for
us! It involves less calories in and more
calories out. In other words, less food
and more exercise. Not many pets feed
themselves, so it is up to us to monitor
their food intake and weight. Life is much
easier if you use a prescription diet food such as Eukanuba® Restricted Calorie (dry food and cans) or Royal
Canin® Obesity - as we can calculate daily rations for you
and you don’t have to worry about feeding anything extra. Often just a general reduction in calories makes a
difference. Some of the highest fat foods you can feed
your dog include fatty bones and Schmackos®—so try and
resist the temptation for “just a little treat”. Feel free
to come into the clinic for a chat with the staff and a
weigh-in to get started on a healthy eating programme
for your pet.