Summer 2005

We held an Open Day at the surgery on June 11th.  This was as popular as ever, allowing visitors a chance to see our facilities and meet the staff in a more informal environament.  There were plenty of animals on show, from tortoises to chinchillas.  Cats Protection and the RSPCA had stalls, as did Dogs for the Disabled. 

We were joined by a dog who had been trained by Dogs for the Disabled, together with his owner.  Proceeds from the day went to this very worthwhile charity.  We had an art competition for the local schools, which produced some very commendable pictures.

In the operating theatre there was the chance to see a real live (well, almost) patient under general anaesthetic.  Visitors were able to learn about suturing and put their skills to the test.

There were a couple of rats on site to help desensitise those with a rat phobia

Approved Practice

We recently passed our latest inspection for the BSAVA (British Small Animal Veterinary Association) Practice Standards Scheme. Since this scheme first came out, we have been inspected and approved as a high quality veterinary practice.

The more observant among you will have noticed a discreet brass plaque by our front door with the above logo.

From this year, the scheme will be supplanted by the RCVS (Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons) Practice Standards Scheme. We are an approved practice under this scheme as well. In fact we are the only practice in the Newbury area to be both an approved practice and a Veterinary Nurse training practice.

Kennel Cough

Good news for dogs – our Kennel Cough vaccine now has a 12 month licence, meaning that one vaccination a year will protect your dog from this highly contagious disease.

Kennel Cough, or Canine Infectious Tracheobronchitis, is caused by a cocktail of respiratory viruses and bacteria. The Kennel Cough vaccine protects against two of the most important agents, Bordetella and parainfluenzavirus.

The disease is caught from infected droplets from sneezing or coughing, and can spread like wildfire. Although it has a great opportunity for spreading in kennels or anywhere else where dogs congregate, any dogs are at risk during an outbreak.

Ask at reception for details or to book an appointment for a vaccination.

Pet asthma

Cats and dogs may get a form of allergic respiratory disease similar to human asthma. Often it is due to an allergy to house dust mites, just as in people. The normal treatment for these conditions has been high doses of steroids. Now there is an alternative – our pets can use inhalers much as we do.

'Aerokat' and 'Aerodawg' are purpose made chambers to allow pets to use inhalers. This can allow us to avoid the side effects of oral steroids. Believe it or not, most pets take this form of treatment in their stride

Ultrasound machine

 We have invested heavily in a new ultrasound machine for the practice. We first bought an ultrasound machine in 1995, and our expertise has been growing ever since.

We use ultrasound for many investigations:

~  pregnancy diagnosis
~  examining foetuses
~  heart examinations
~  abdominal organ studies
~  screening for polycystic kidney disease
~  eye examinations
~  ultrasound guided biopsies

Our new machine has better resolution, allowing clearer images. It also has Doppler capability. Normal ultrasound images look at solid and fluid densities, but give no idea of blood flow in the heart or in blood vessels. Doppler enables us to measure the rate of blood flow, visualise turbulence in blood vessels or the heart, and even to see blood flow. This means that we can perform much more detailed heart examinations and detect and measure more defects than we previously could. Not only are we able to perform more examinations in house, but we also take referrals for scanning from other practices.

Ultrasound of canine heart

Parasite corner

Demodex mites by a hair follicle

When we talk about dogs having mange, we mean that they have a mite infestation. Generally this means either sarcoptic mange (very itchy, easily spread by contact, any dog may get it) or demodectic mange.

Demodectic mange is caused by tiny mites of the genus Demodex. These minute creatures live in the skin and particularly the hair follicles. In the picture above you can see three mites next to a hair root. 

Demodectic mange usually affects young dogs. Where it affects older animals, it is usually because there is an underlying skin problem or a problem with the pet's immunity. The dog on the right had Cushing's syndrome, a condition where the patient produces too much cortisone, and this compromises its immunity.

All animals (including humans) will have some Demodex mites living peacefully in their hair follicles. We tend to have them in our eyebrows. In most cases they are inoffensive and you would never know that they were your guests. When the skin is less than perfectly healthy, as in allergic skin disease, the mite numbers may dramatically increase, leading to loss of fur, secondary infection and an unpleasant smell.

In the past, treatment of demodectic mange was a problem, involving the use of strong chemicals and/or substances which were not licensed for use in dogs. Sometimes treatment was not greatly effective and it could be very prolonged. Fortunately we now have an easy to use drop on preparation, licensed to treat this unpleasant skin disease.

Cats and other animals may get versions of this mange. Hamsters are particularly prone to infestation.

                              A Demodex mite

Easy worming for cats

For those of you who suffer an uneven battle with your cat every time a wormer is due, help is at hand.  New from Bayer is a spot on complete wormer.  We have had spot on drugs which will deal with tapeworms, and others for roundworm, but this is the first all in one.  So don't spoil a beautiful relationship with your cat - take  the easy option.

Flurry, Millie and Simba enjoy some autumn sunshine at Inkpen Beacon