paragon pets june 2012
DESCRIPTION
june newsletterTRANSCRIPT
Lifelong care for petsproviding clinical excellence, knowledge and experience
NEWS
PARAGON VETERINARY GROUP Visit us at: www.paragonvet.com
and please ‘like’ us on our FACEBOOK page www.facebook.com/ParagonVets.Pets
The owner of an elderly Old English Sheepdog bitch emailed me to ask for advice because her dog has started dribbling urine in her bed when she is sleeping. Could this be a sign of something more serious?
The OES may have developed urinary incontinence which, if straightforward, can be treated with daily oral medication.My advice is to take her to the vet for a full clinical examination to let them get more detailed information. It would be useful to take along a fresh urine sample from the bitch for analysis.
June 2012
Contact us:
CALDEW
VETERINARY HOSPITAL Carlisle House, Townhead Road, Dalston, Carlisle CA5 7JF Tel: (01228) 710208 [email protected]
TOWNHEAD VETERINARY CENTRE Newbiggin, Stainton, Penrith, CA11 0HT Tel: (01768) 483789 [email protected]
LONDON ROAD SURGERY 87 London Road Carlisle CA1 2LG Tel: (01228 591005)
ASK THE VETby Laura McKirdy
If you’d like to ask me a pet-related question, email it to:[email protected]
and I’ll do my best to deal with them here so other owners can benefit from the answers too.
24 hour emergency service
LOCKED IN
At this time of year we are often in and out of our garden sheds or outhouses, leaving the door open during the day and shutting it up at night. Often a cat will wander in for a quiet sleep, only to be trapped with no escape.
If they get out in the morning, they’ll probably just be a bit hungry and thirsty. But if they have to go a whole weekend without food and more importantly water to drink, they could get very dehydrated. If they’re shut in for more than two days or so they could die. If it is hot in the shed, they could die from heatstroke within hours.
So - please check your sheds, outhouses and garages before shutting them up for the night. You might just save a cat’s life!
PET OF THE MONTH It’s hard to believe these pictures are all of the same dog, isn’t it? This is Blake the Lurcher, who was found near Dalston with severe facial injuries and brought in to Paragon by a concerned member of the public.
Sam Harding was the emergency on-call Vet that evening. She found he had deep bite marks all over his nose and the flesh had been torn away from his bottom jaw. The injuries had obviously happened some days before. They were swollen with infection and some of the tissue had started to die. This poor dog was in great pain. Sam stabilised him and gave him painkillers and antibiotics. He obviously hadn’t had food or water for some time and was at risk of dehydration but fortunately was able to lap water. Next day, Vets Anne Abbs and Laura McKirdy assessed his wounds while he was under general anaesthetic. The bites on his nose were flushed and cleaned to reduce infection but most wounds were too old and infected to stitch. The flesh under his jaw was stitched back in place but some of the lip edge was too badly damaged to heal and sloughed off later. After recovering from surgery his wounds were treated with regular cleaning and manuka honey. The Vets and nurses all said he was a little star, putting up with all the treatment with barely a whimper.The Animal Welfare Refuge at Wetheral is now looking after Blake until he’s fully recovered and will then try to find him a new home. His bravery and sweet nature have already won him fans at the Refuge, just as they did here at Paragon, and we all look forward to hearing that Blake has a loving new home and family - he really deserves one!
MEET THE TEAMDoes your dog suffer from anxiety?
Does he get nervous and upset over things like thunder, travelling, or being left alone? The picture
on the left shows what happened when Julie Crawford left her Labrador Fizz home alone - and many owners will sympathise! Julie discovered ‘Thundershirts’ -
garments which claim to calm the dog by means of gentle, constant pressure. Julie was sceptical at first - but says the results have been amazing.Another owner says her dog hates to travel in the car, but has been fine since wearing a Thundershirt. We’d like to hear from other pet owners who have tried Thundershirts. Let us know if they worked for your dog. Email: [email protected]
Hello - I’m Graham Lewis. I have been working in small animal practice in Lancashire since qualifying in 2008 and I moved up to join the Paragon team in April. I live with my two cats (Bremner and Oscar) and we are settling into the area nicely. At work I enjoy both surgery and medicine although my special area of interest is Ultrasound Imaging. Away from work I enjoy walking, snowboarding and football as well as the occasional lazy day on the sofa!
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