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Issue 30, Summer 2005/2006
·
Public Holiday Hours – our opening times over the Christmas/New Year break
·
Staff Training – a list of courses our staff have attended
·
New Clinic Update – delays prevent us from moving before Christmas
·
Staff News – we welcome Corinne and Connie to our full time staff
·
Noise Phobias – does your pet need extra help this thunderstorm/firework season?
·
Product News – get a 2 month preventic Tick collar with every 6 month pack of dog
Revolution
·
Great Big Animal Open Day – a summary and thanks
·
Appointments – please let us know if you won’t be needing your appointment!
·
Heartworm Prevention in Dogs – a reminder about a nasty disease
·
Cranial Cruciate Ligament Ruptures – when dogs “do their knee”
·
Microchipping – remember to update your details when you move
·
I Think My Cat Gave Me…Toxoplasmosis – a potential cause of human miscarriages and birth
deformities
·
Puppy Preschool – our recent graduates
·
Dog Training – What to do when Puppy Preschool is over
·
Ticks/Snakes – its that time of the year again
·
Humour – the Guard Dog
The staff at
We
have several articles and some timely reminders in this newsletter. Feedback
and suggestions are always welcome!
-Alison
Our opening hours will be the same as normal
throughout the Christmas break, with the exception of the following days:
Christmas Day: Sunday 25th December
Closed
Boxing Day: Monday 26th December:
Closed
Christmas Day
10am-12pm
New Year’ Day: Sunday 1st January
10am-12pm
New Year’ Day
10am-12pm
10am-12pm
Phone 9829 1947 for emergencies (however, we will be
referring emergency cases to the
Or phone 9758 8880 for the Animal
Emergency and Critical Care Service in Strathfield, who are open 24 hours
§
Corinne attended a seminar on canine Mast Cell Tumours
and Nutrigenomics (how nutrients in certain foods can prevent specific diseases
by switching genes on or off).
§
Corinne and Alison attended a seminar on Cytology –
the examination of cells under a microscope, to assist in diagnosing different
tumours or diseases.
§
Ros and Nicole attended a seminar on peri-operative
nursing in the ACT, focussing on sterility during surgery, and other aspects of
surgical nursing
There have been some delays in
the completion of our new hospital, which means that we will be unable to move
before Christmas. We are still very excited about the move, and hopefully the
suspense will make it all the more exciting when the time comes! We will be
sending out a letter to all of our clients to advise of the date of the move.
Until further notice, please continue to come to our old hospital. We look
forward to being able to share the new premises with you soon!
§
We are pleased to announce that Corinne James, who has
been working part time with us for many months, will now be working for us
full-time. The new vet roster can be viewed on our website.
§
You may also remember Connie Lam, a 5th
year veterinary intern from
As we head into summer, its
time to be aware of the impact that thunderstorms and fireworks may have on our
pets. Noise phobias can have some dangerous consequences, especially if you
have a dog that likes to escape from the yard during these scary times!
Luckily, there are steps that you can take to minimise the fear felt by your
pet and to prevent any mishaps. Feel free to read our “Fear of Noises” handout
(from our clinic or website), or talk to a member of our staff.
For a limited time, with every
6 month pack of dog Revolution® (a
topical heartworm and flea prevention), you will receive a free Preventic® tick collar, which will repel
ticks (including paralysis ticks) for 2 months.
Great Big
Animal Open Day 2005
As mentioned in our previous
newsletter, Sunday October 9th was the Great Big Animal Open Day.
Numerous vet hospitals across
Here at Ingleburn a great day
was had by all. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank everybody that came
along and joined in the fun. We received a lot of positive feedback and are
pleased to say that the most popular parts of the day were our free sausage
sizzle and our talks and demonstrations. The face painting was also a hit with
the kids, thanks to our face painters: Nicole, Alisha, Evelyn and Tess. Our new
hospital plans were also revealed, and Mark enjoyed showing them off!
Lucky door prizes were drawn
all day and our major raffle winners at the end of the day were various members
of the Biggar family of Ingleburn – taking out 1st, 2nd
and 3rd prizes! (and no, it wasn’t rigged!). Our guessing
competition prizes went to Mr Downes of Ingleburn, Mrs Lamb of Glenfield and A.
Coleman of Ingleburn. Each winner was awarded a 4.5kg bag of Feline t/d
prescription diet, compliments of Hill’s Pet Nutrition. Our colouring
competition winners were awarded games and McDonald’s vouchers, compliments of
Cenvet (our veterinary wholesaler) and McDonald’s Restaurants.
An event like this doesn’t
come together without lots of hard work, time and considerable efforts and
donations from staff, family members, local business owners, veterinary wholesalers
and animal health organisations. In particular we’d like to thank these
businesses for their support on the day:
Mr
Frame, McDonald’s, Pet Barn Campbelltown, Pet Search, Cenvet, Pfizer, Merial,
Novartis, Lyppard, Troy Laboratories, Bayer, R&L Smith Butchers, Bark
Busters, Campbelltown City Council and Macarthur Dog Training Club, IFAW, C91.3
fm, IDEXX, and an especially big thank-you to Ingleburn Rotary Club.
Next year we aim to do it all
again, and we’ll actually have our new hospital to show off too! It’s going to
be a much bigger and better event and we hope to see you all there! We’ll keep
you informed in the new year with all the details.
-
Bronwyn
Our appointment system has
been successful in keeping waiting times as short as possible, however, we do have
one request: if you make an appointment and are unable to keep it, please call
us and let us know. We are booking up fast at the moment and every available
time slot is needed! Thanks for your cooperation.
Heartworm disease is a serious
and potentially fatal disease in dogs. It is caused by a worm called Dirofilaria immitis and is spread by
mosquitoes. Adult worms grow inside the blood vessels of the heart and lungs.
It may only take one bite of a mosquito carrying the disease to infect your
dog, and all dogs, whether living indoors or outdoors are at risk of heartworm
disease. It is therefore essential to provide adequate protection for your pet.
Heartworm is a treatable
disease, but costs of treatment are very high and the heartworm may also cause
permanent damage to your dog’s heart and lungs. Dogs infected with heartworm do
not show immediate signs of the disease, and it may take months to years for
the symptoms to show. These include:
- Coughing
- Lack of energy
- Reluctance to exercise
- Weight loss
Prevention of heartworm
disease is one of the most important aspects of health care for your dog, and can easily be
achieved by using a monthly tablet or topical application, or a yearly
injection – our staff will be able to advise which type is the appropriate
treatment for your dog. If your dog has not been on heartworm prevention
previously, it is important to perform a heartworm test first.
If you have any further
questions about heartworm disease, or would like to book an appointment to have
your dog tested for heartworm disease, please call us and talk to our staff, or
visit our webpage.
- Ros
Cranial Cruciate Ligament Ruptures
Just like footballers and
netballers, our dog’s can “do their knee”. Usually what this means is they’ve
ruptured their cranial cruciate ligament. Cruciate rupture is one of the most
common causes of sudden onset hindlimb lameness in the dog.
There are actually two
cruciate ligaments in the stifle (knee joint), although it is usually only the
cranial cruciate ligament which ruptures. It extends from the tibia (shin bone)
to the femur (thigh bone). The function of this ligament is to prevent the knee
from being extended excessively, and ensuring that the tibia is unable to move
forward in relation to the femur. This helps the stifle, or knee joint, to
remain stable (along with all the other ligaments and attachments to the
joint).
Factors that may contribute to
cranial cruciate rupture include:
-
Age (strength of the ligament decreases over time)
-
Trauma – often after jumping and twisting
-
Abnormal conformation (particularly involving the
tibia, which could lead to increased strain)
-
Obesity
-
Poor development of surrounding musculature which
further help to support the joint
-
Breed (larger breeds such as the Rottweiler are more
commonly affected)
Usually dogs present to us after
a sudden onset of non-weight bearing lameness. Diagnosis is usually attained
through history, physical examination and demonstration of a ‘positive drawer
sign’. This means that when pressure is applied, there is movement of the tibia
in relation to the femur, indicating that the cruciate is damaged. There may
also be some swelling around the stifle joint and often pain on full extension.
A ‘clunking’ sound can sometimes be heard on manipulation of the joint and this
may indicate meniscal damage. (The menisci are ‘shock absorbers’ which lie on
the surface of the tibia). Sedation may be required to gain full appreciation
of the extent of joint laxity if the animal is very painful or tense. When
tense, the contraction of the muscles surrounding the joint may cause it to
appear more stable than what it actually is.
So what happens if we diagnose
a ruptured ligament?
If the dog is small,
conservative treatment may be considered. This involves rest and medications to
help protect the cartilage and promote joint fluid production as well as to
provide immediate pain relief. In larger dogs, a successful outcome with
conservative treatment is not as likely, and surgical repair is recommended in
these animals (as well as those smaller dogs which have a poor response to
conservative treatment). The surgery allows the damaged ligament +/- menisci to
be removed and the joint is restabilised by way of placing a permanent suture
to act as a fake ligament.
Cranial cruciate surgery is
normally very successful, however even with the best stabilisation technique,
the initial damage to the joint will result in arthritis, which may require
pain relief or other management down the track. It is also important to note
that a dog that has ruptured the ligament in one knee may well also rupture the
other one! -
Corinne
It is compulsory to have your
pet microchipped (as long as he/she was born after 1998), and registered with
the Council. However, did you ever wonder how the microchip works? Basically each
chip has an electronic bar code or number that we can identify with our special
scanners. This number is stored in a state database with your contact
information and your pet’s details. All of these details are not stored on the
microchip itself! This means that when you move, it is important to update your
contact information with the council, so that if your pet goes missing, you can
be reunited!
I Think My Cat Gave Me… Toxoplasmosis
For many years, cats have been
accused of infecting women and causing miscarriages and congenital abnormalities
through the transmission of Toxoplasmosis. However, cats are rarely the cause
of these problems.
Toxoplasma
gondii is a common intracellular parasite of animals, including humans. Cats
are the primary host for this parasite and become infected when they eat
infected meat (from wildlife or raw meat). The parasite replicates throughout
the cat’s body, and eventually eggs are passed in the faeces. Other animals are
then infected by ingesting these eggs, which grow into cysts inside the muscles
of the body. When a cat eats these muscles, the cycle then starts again. Most
cats that are infected with toxoplasmosis show no symptoms of the disease.
Humans can become infected by
ingesting the eggs from cat’s faeces or more commonly, by eating undercooked
or raw meat, or unwashed vegetables. Like cats, most people who become
infected show no signs of the disease. However, this is not the case for
pregnant women. If a pregnant woman becomes infected during pregnancy, there is a 40% chance that she can pass
that infection on to the foetus, and 10% of these babies may be born with eye
or neurological abnormalities. Interestingly, 30% of the adult population have
already been infected and carry antibodies against the disease, so women that
have been previously infected are not at risk.
Therefore, to prevent the
infection from occurring, we recommend pregnant women take the following steps:
- Cook all meat thoroughly
- Wash hands, benches and cooking utensils thoroughly after handling
raw meat
- Wash all vegetables
- Wear gloves when gardening (soil may be contaminated by cat faeces)
- Have someone else empty and disinfect the litter trays daily.
- Discourage pets from hunting
-
Alison
Congratulations to our recent
graduates:
Pablo
Ganguly, Nala Dowell, Milli Pupovac, Kobe Crotty, Max Savanah, Sebastian Smith,
Bella Lauc, Mimi Pacione, Saffy Faux, Scout McCormick, and Cindy Loxley
Puppy Preschool is an early
socialisation and basic training program for young puppies (under 12 weeks of
age) and their owners. We recommend it
for all pups.
Please
note: Puppy preschool will be taking
a break over the Christmas period, and classes will resume early in the new
year. For more information regarding puppy preschool or alternatives, please
call us for advice.