Newletter Jan-April 2014 reduced

JA N U A R Y- A P R I L
2 0 1 4
N E WSL E T T E R
Ashlea Veterinary Centre
It’s Cold! Outside
It’s wet, windy and cold outside, so time for winter coats and wellies - but
what about our pets? What should we be doing for them?
DOGS
With dark mornings and early evenings it can be
difficult to exercise your dog sufficiently during
daylight hours, but they
need to get out regularly
to prevent boredom and
frustration. There is
now a fantastic array of
fluorescent clothing for
both humans and dogs,
along with flashing collars
and leads. So be seen
and be safe! Short coated dogs will
benefit from a warm,
waterproof coat, as will any elderly or arthritic dog.
With grit being spread on icy roads and pavements it
is advisable to rinse and dry all dogs’ feet after a
walk to remove the dirt which can become trapped in
the hair between their toes
If you and your dog do venture out on our beautiful
Cumbrian fells in the cold then remember to carry
plenty of canine snacks; it’s very easy for them to
become hypoglycaemic (low blood sugar) as they burn
energy both running about and trying to keep warm.
Remember to dry them off thoroughly back at the
car - dogs get hypothermia (too cold) as well!
If you have tiled floors at home where your dog
sleeps then some extra layers of bedding for both
padding and warm will be appreciated in winter,
especially if they are arthritic. Arthritis and
associated stiffness may become more
obvious in winter - if your dog seems
affected then do please
H
talk to us. A course of
TRUT ?
H
YT
anti-inflammatories can
OR M
TO
help many older pets to
NEED
S
NLY
O
TS A
become more comfortable
E
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R P
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!
U
E YO
ENS?
INAT
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!
CATS
To protect our feline friends please make sure that all antifreeze for the
car is safety put away. Antifreeze has a very sweet
flavour and cats will lick it readily, but once absorbed
it causes acute kidney failure which is rarely treatable
and usually fatal.
Whenever there is a hard frost or snow on the
ground there will be cats that get upset with the
frozen conditions and don't empty their bladder as
often as they should. This can make them prone to
cystitis, so we would recommend introducing a litter
tray somewhere in the house for emergency use. An
elderly cat will also appreciate not having to go out in
miserable conditions to go to the loo! Watch what
you’re feeding as it very easy for cats to put on
weight if they decide to go into hibernation and not venture outside at all.
So be prepared to cut back on their food or to switch to a lighter diet.
RABBITS
In the wild bunnies live in underground
burrows where the temperature changes only
slightly between summer and winter. By
keeping our rabbits above ground we subject
them to a greater range of temperatures so it
is vital that we keep them warm and dry. We
would always recommend that rabbits are kept
in pairs; snuggling up to each other amongst
some extra bedding will help to keep them
warm. Hutches should be placed away from
the prevailing wind and properly insulated
(don’t forget to put some beneath the floor!) And do make sure their
water bottles don’t freeze - check them twice a day. Remember that even in bad weather pet rabbits will need to exercise
every day, but they will need access to a covered, warm area should the
weather change quickly. However those rabbits which are very young,
elderly, ill or thin may need additional care and may be benefit from
becoming indoor rabbits for the duration of winter.
Below is a photo of the adorable Bernard getting microchipped. As you can see he doesn’t seem bothered!
A microchip is implanted under the skin on the back of the neck. Now, if Bernard ever gets lost or stolen we,
another vets, the police or a shelter will be able to scan for the chip and then locate his owner, reuniting
them quickly and with minimal stress to all involved. If your pet isn’t chipped get them booked in today!
THE MICROCHIP ITSELF IS ABOUT THE SIZE OF A
GRAIN OF RICE AND IS IMPLANTED USING A
SPECIALLY DESIGNED IMPLANTER.
BERNARD GETTING HIS MICROCHIP - NOT IN THE
LEAST BIT BOTHERED ALTHOUGH THAT MIGHT
HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE BISCUITS!
THE SCANNER WITH A CHIP NUMBER ON IT AFTER
SCANNING AN ANIMAL. THIS ALLOWS US TO LOCATE
THE OWNERS DETAILS AND CONTACT THEM.
Thank you
were Comic
Cumbria
Palsy,
Trust,
so much for your support
Relief, Hounds for
of our charity
events
this year. Our charities
for 2013
Heroes,
Cerebral
Cinnamon
International
China
Concern and Sponsor a Bed at Eden Valley Hospice. When this went
to print we had
raised £1561.83 and have received some lovely letters thanking us for the money we have distributed. We started last year with a cake and marmalade sale for Comic Relief where we
raised £340, and with the the practice donating £1 for every transaction on Red
Nose Day the total raised came an impressive £400. The Ashlea Vet Quiz took place on the 24th March 2013 and we raised a huge
£730. A great time was had by all, as 26 teams competed for the title and
many gifts were generously donated to the raffle. The winning team was the interestingly named ‘Richard
Gere’s Hamster’. Thank you to all who took part! We were delighted to be able to send £500 to Hounds
for Heroes
Comic relief fun
Despite the heat of June our Cake Bake was a great success raising £250 which
we passed on to Cumbria Cerebral Palsy.
The 2013 Quiz winners have you got what it takes to
beat them this year?
In August Kirsty and son Andrew completed Total Warrior. It’s known as the
toughest 10km race with 25 punishing obstacles. They were part of a team raising money for International China
Concern; it was great to have your encouragement and your sponsorship. We raised £250 for International
China Concern.
Some of our yummy cakes
We were able to give £250 to Cinnamon Trust in October. The Cinnamon Trust is a
national charity for the elderly, the terminally ill and their pets. We heard about Cinnamon Trust when
Team Onswitch stopped by for tea and food on their crazy fundraising trip, cycling from Snowdonia to Fort
William, and climbing Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis. Chris then joined
them for the cycling leg of their trip from Carlisle to Dumfries.
We plan to Sponsor a Bed at Eden Valley Hospice and Eden House Childrens
Hospice with the money raised from our chutney sale together with any funds
accrued from our charity box on the front desk.
Total Warrior
We would love to hear any suggestions for fundraising ideas and for
charities we could support in 2014 and beyond. Put the 2014 Ashlea Vets
Quiz in your diary now, it is booked for Jan 31st at Pirelli’s Social Club - start swatting up now!
It is humbling to realise that we’ve raised £11584.83 in the last 11 years. So thank you, and well done; it’s
only because of your generous donations that it’s been possible.
Chris setting off on
his bike ride.
!
Animals In War
2014 marks 100 years since the start of the First World War. There are going to be lots
of things happening this year to commemorate this anniversary. We thought we would try to
include a small article in each newsletter about animals in war, and for this newsletter we’re
looking at the Dickin Medal.
!
The PDSA Dickin Medal was instituted in 1943 in the UK by Maria Dickin to honour
the work of animals in war. It is a bronze medallion, bearing the words "For
Gallantry" and "We Also Serve" within a laurel wreath, carried on a ribbon of
striped green, dark brown and pale blue. The award is commonly referred to as
"the animals' Victoria Cross".
The Dickin Medal
The medal was awarded 54 times between 1943 and 1949 – to 32 pigeons, 18 dogs,
three horses, and one cat – to acknowledge actions of gallantry or devotion to
duty while serving or associated with any branch of the Armed Forces or
Labrador Sadie, worked as a sniffer dog
Civil Defence Units, during the Second World War.
in places like Afghanistan to find bombs.
The awarding of the medal was revived in 2000 to honour Gander, a Newfoundland dog
who saved infantrymen during the Battle of Lye Mun. In early 2002, the medal was
given in honour of three dogs for their role responding to the September 11 attacks; it
was also awarded to two dogs serving with Commonwealth forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina
and Iraq. The first animal to be
awarded the Dickin Medal a pigeon known as G.I. Joe
The first recipients of the award, in December 1943, were three pigeons, serving with
the Royal Air Force, all of whom contributed to the recovery of air crew from ditched
aircraft during the Second World War. The most recent animal to be honoured is Theo,
a search dog serving in Afghanistan. As of October 2012, the Dickin Medal has been
awarded a total of 64 times.
Springer Spaniel Theo
with his handler Lance
Corporal Liam Tasker.
Abby’s Scabs’
! Viewpoint
If you haven’t been introduced to Scabs yet, she is
the feisty but adorable tortoiseshell cat we have
adopted as our practice cat. Her official name was
Scabby Abby due to her ongoing skin problems
when she was brought in as a stray in September
2012, but we’ve found that Scabs has stuck much
more than Abby! When she was first brought in
she also has severe tendon damage in her back
legs but happily licks her Loxicom from the end of
a syringe each day to ensure she can get about
pain-free! She definitely thinks she’s in charge of things round here
so we decided to let her have her own column to let you know what
going on in the practice...
!
“I don’t have as much to say as normal this time but with it being
winter I spend as much time as possible curled up asleep - so I
think I might have missed some things! There seems to be some new
people around, I’ve tried to trick them into
feeding me some sardines but apparently
someone got to them first to tell them about my
bad skin and special diet - I should have stayed
awake more that day! They seem nice though
despite the lack of sardines - there are two
student vet nurses called Felicity and Lauren
Me taking
and a new vet called Kathyrne. There have been
my loxicom,
some good new toys in the pet shop. I’m waiting to
choose my Christmas toy but need to do it when there it’s yummy!
is no one looking, if anyone asks it wasn’t me! They
seems to have calmed down with all the re-decorating, not that I’m
surprised as there really isn’t anything left to paint, they have a
new office desk with some things on that don’t look fun or edible
but they seem to be using them lots! That’s all for now but I should
be awake more by my next column so I’ll make sure I know what’s
going on and fill you in on all the ‘in-house’ information!”
appearance that is seen with a disease
wasn’t completely normal but the levels
called Cushing’s disease, or
were good and so we advised Rosey’s owner
hyperadrenocorticism. Kirsty decided that it to keep her on the same dose of Vetoryl. A
would be a good idea to run some blood and month later Rosey was continuing to do well
urine tests. While these did not confirm the and her coat was starting to grow back too.
suspected diagnosis of Cushing’s they did
Again, we thought that apart from 3
indicate
that
it
was
very
likely.
To
diagnose
monthly prescription checks and continuing
We first met Rosey when she came to us as
it we need to perform a more complex blood on the Vetoryl, which is a life-long
a tiny puppy in
test called an ACTH stimulation test. This is
medication, we wouldn’t be seeing Rosey a
2002. She came
where
we
measure
the
level
of
cortisol
(a
lot. But we think Rosey just missed us and
with a cold and an
naturally occurring steroid) in the blood,
at her check in August her owner showed us
umbilical hernia but
then we inject the dog with a substance
a mammary lump she had noticed. With
grew fast to be a
that
should
stimulate
the
body
to
produce
many lumps, samples can show whether it is
healthy little dog. more cortisol and re-measure the amount of benign or malignant and whether or not it
She was seen for
cortisol in the blood an hour later. Rosey
will need removing. We would normally do
vomiting and
results were consistent with
this by a procedure called a fine
diarrhoea in 2003, a
Cushing's so Kirsty decided
needle aspirate, where we extract
recurrent ear
to start her on treatment, a
a few cells from the lump with a
infection in 2004
capsule called Vetoryl.
needle and syringe and examine
and a nail bed
When we reassessed Rosey
these cells under the microscope.
infection in 2005.
Cheeky little Rosey
a couple of weeks later she
This doesn’t work with mammary
We removed a cystic posing for the camera! was much brighter in
lumps because they can be both
mass from the
herself and she was now
benign and malignant at the same
underneath of her tail in 2007 and she had
drinking normal amounts. So
time in different parts of the
an eye infection and ulcer in 2010. Her ear
we planned to recheck her
lump! So our usual
Rosey in October 2013 with recommendation is to surgically
problems returned with vengeance in 2010
a few weeks later, but
her coat back to normal, just
but once again responded well to drugs
Rosey had other plans!
remove any mammary lumps
before her lump removal.
carefully selected for the type of bacteria
before they reach a significant
For a couple of days later
in her ears. In 2011 she had a seizure but
size, but as the lump had only just appeared
she
was
back
as
a
lump
had
appeared
under
all her bloods were fine and as this was her
Rosey’s owner agreed to monitor it for a
first seizure we didn’t initiate any treatment.
her right jaw. It appeared to be something
month in case it was simply a swelling or
called a sialocele, which is an accumulation
cyst. The lump did grow and so Rosey was
In 2012 we noticed her coat was looking
of saliva under the skin with a surrounding
admitted for surgery again in November of
thinner than normal but her weight was
tissue reation. There was an area of
this year. We neutered (spayed) her at the
stable and apart from the need for a dental inflammation in her mouth so we admitted
same time to prevent a potential pyometra
she was doing well. We scaled and polished
her to examine her mouth under an
(infection of her uterus) after future
all her teeth under anaesthetic and
anaesthetic. There was not only
seasons. Rosey recovered amazingly from
extracted two teeth. After this she was
inflammation in her mouth but a mass or
her operation and when we last saw her in
back to her normal bouncy self!
growth that appeared to be blocking the
mid-November to remove her sutures she
salivary
ducts.
We
woke
Rosey
In early 2013 vet Kirsty,
hadn’t managed to find any more problem
up and discussed the options
noticed Rosey's coat looking
and her Cushing’s Disease appears to be well
and the risks with Rosey’s
thinner still and she had
under control with her daily medication. But
owners. A week later when
gained weight. She also had a
knowing Rosey she’ll be back to see us
Rosey was admitted for her
‘pot-bellied’
before long!
operation - the mass in her
Rosey in February 2013
with her thin coat
mouth was smaller and so we
Rosey has been registered on our in-house
were able to remove it and
Healthcare Plus scheme since 2006 so her
re-establish normal drainage
owner has only had to pay a first
of the salivary gland into the
consultation for each condition as well as
mouth without having to remove the gland
her monthly payment of £24.50. Last year
as well. This was back in February 2013 and
alone that saved her £2073.37 - definitely
so far there is no evidence of any rea good decision and a worthy investment!
growth….a good result all round!
Lovely Little Rosey
With Her Not So Little
! List Of Problems!
!
!
!
!
!
!
We repeated her ACTH stimulation test a
week later and it was much better. It still
Ashlea Vet Centre Ltd
Unit 2b
Port Road Business Park
Carlisle
CA2 7AF
Tel: 01228 549177
www.ashleavets.co.uk
www.facebook.com/ashleavets
Reba the Savannah
!
Reba first came to us
in 2011 as an adorable
14 week old kitten. She
was a house cat but
started venturing
outside at the end of
last summer and all
seemed well.
!
Surgery Times
Mon, Tues & Thurs 9am - 6.30pm
Wed & Fri
9- 6pm
Saturday
9am - 3pm
Consultation by appointment only
For emergency advice or attention
beyond these hours phone the
practice on 01228 549177 and listen
to the message for the duty vets
number
!
Veterinary Surgeons
Chris Barker MRCVS
Kirsty Barker MRCVS
Morag Liddon MRCVS
Laura Askew MRCVS
Kathryne Hodgson MRCVS
Receptionists
Christine Coulthard
Karen Steele
Nurses
Rowena Batey RVN
Katy Clarke RVN
Rachael Scholes RVN
Lauren Batey RVN
Student Nurses
Ruth Asquith
Hannah Mason
Felicity Clegg Lauren Bowe
!
Practice cat
‘Scabs’
!
Reba having a Then at the end of
cuddle with Morag
September 2013 she
was brought in having been attacked by
a dog. Her temperature was low, she
was pale and in shock but there were
no obvious external injuries.
Unfortunately we have seen several
cases of dog attacks on cats where
while there are no obvious external
injuries (like wounds or fractured legs)
there are ‘hidden’ internal injuries,
which can be life-threatening and even
fatal.
right kidney. There was also a lot of
bleeding and swelling close to the
kidneys and we had to warn her owners
that we couldn’t be sure that there
wasn’t damage to the ureters (the tubes
going from the kidneys to the bladder).
Morag carefully suturing Reba together,
inserted a drain to help prevent fluid
building up while she was healing, then
slowly woke her from her anaesthetic.
Before she was fully awake we put her
on a special combination of pain relief
called a MK infusion. This is useful for
pets in extreme pain and is a
combination of morphine and ketamine
in a bag of fluids given as an
intravenous drip that can be controlled
by a electrical pump.
!
The next day Reba’s temperature had
come back up to normal and she
seemed comfortable. But she wasn’t
interested in eating, an essential part
of any recovery. The MK infusion, while
Knowing this and
brilliant at controlling pain, can make
seeing how ill Reba
the patient feel nauseous, so we
was, we admitted
weaned her off the drip, making sure
Diaphragm
her to investigate
she had an alternative form of pain
further. An x-ray
Reba’s xray showing us relief. Her temperature went slightly
showed that her
her diaphragm was intact higher than it should have done so we
diaphragm (the
gave her an additional antibiotic. layer of muscle between the abdomen
The following day she was still very
and thorax) was intact but there was a
tender in her abdomen and not
lot of bruising to her skin, mainly on the
interested in food, so we use the
right side. Hidden beneath her intact
ultrasound scanner to check how her
skin were multiple holes + haematomas
organs and abdomen were looking.
(large blood blisters) in her muscle
Everything looked good! However she
layers. Vet Morag stitched these holes
was still very scared and so we sent
together but needed to look inside her
her home to see if she would be more
abdomen for any further damage.
relaxed there. It worked!
Unfortunately she found that the
We spoke to her owner
ligament between her spleen and
the next day and she had
stomach had been completely torn apart
started to eat some
and the spleen was moving freely about
chicken and was
in the abdomen. Her only option was to
managing to urinate well.
remove Reba's spleen, but animals can
We removed the drain a
tolerate this well. Further damage was
few days later and the
evident around the kidneys which are
skin sutures a week after Reba’s abdomen
usually covered by the smooth lining of
that. Everything healed
after the
the abdomen - the peritoneum. This
drains had
very well and she has
has also been torn in the attack and
been removed.
never looked back!
through it could be seen part of the
!
!
You might have
noticed a change in
staff… Laura will be
on maternity leave
from the middle of
January, although
she’s planning to
return at the
beginning of 2015. Laura and husband Phil are excepting their first baby
in February. We’ll let you know on Facebook when he/she arrives!
Kathryne Hodgson joined us in December and although initially is here to
Kathryne with
her rabbit Bart
cover Laura's maternity leave, is planning on staying after that to join the
Ashlea Vet team as a permanent staff member. Outside of work Kathyrne is
a keen competitive swimmer including braving open water swimming in Windermere!
RECOMMEND A FRIEND AND WE’LL GIVE YOU BOTH £5 OFF!
Once your friend has registered with us we’ll give you a £5 credit towards your next visit, while your friend
will get £5 off their first transaction of £15 or more. !
This credit can be used for such things as neutering, vaccination, flea and worm treatment. Full terms and conditions can
be read on our website. To claim your £5 credit fill in your details on a card available from reception then pass the card
onto your friend. All they have to do is bring the completed card with them when they visit us to register. There is no
limit to the number of friends you can recommend but each friend may redeem only one voucher.
AS H LE A V E T C E NT R E