21/01/2008 by Arielle.

I had a dog in today that I admitted for a wart to be removed from its face. I normally never recommend surgery for warts. They are SO common and seen mainly in older dogs (Yorkies, Poodles and Schnauzers seem to worse afflicted than other breeds). They are caused by a virus and can come and go. They are quite harmless unless your dog can scratch the wart. This tends to make them bleed and they bleed a lot and can become a nasty infected mess.

The dog in today has this problem. He needed a dental too so this will be combined with the one anaesthetic.

I have had warts on my own fingers for the last 8 months! I am convinced that I caught them from the local swimming pool, but being a papilloma virus, they can come from anywhere. I hate having them and feel SO self-conscious about my hands and fingers (especially when at work and the clients watch my hands as they touch their pets!). I also hate shaking hands in church with anyone.

I finally went to have them frozen at the doctors last week and amazingly they seem to be going. I tried all the lotions and potions from Boots but nothing helped except neat liquid nitrogen sprayed onto them by our doctor! What a horrible subject to tell you about!

Posted in Veterinary pet advice, A veterinary day | No Comments »

17/01/2008 by Arielle.

I had a case today of 2 cats that regularly received their program injections and still had fleas. It is common for cats having twice yearly program injections to still get ‘hitch-hiker’ fleas from straying out of their area or other animals may visit their home.  In this case however, the owners had even given Capstar tablets which to me are the ultimate tablets to kill fleas.

Program will actually reimburse these cases and needs to hear about them as it is a very good and expensive product. I was then forced to give the poor cat some more flea drops (Advocate in this case). They are all safe and can be used together but is obviously all very expensive!

Posted in Allergic skin, Veterinary pet advice | No Comments »

24/12/2007 by Arielle.

There are a number of christmas dangers to be aware of with your pets. These are ones that I have seen:
1). An owner had left a huge 2kg chocolate slab all neatly wrapped under the tree. Remember how good a dog’s sense of smell is. Her Spaniel ate the entire contents of the present and spent christmas in the hospital. Cocoa powder or very dark chocolate contain a substance called theobromine that can cause a heart attack in dogs. Milk chocolate just gives them a nasty stomach ache due to the over-indulgence of sugar and fat.
2). The thin tinsel strands that look so pretty on a tree can be lethal. I had a kitten once that had chewed one and they can cause the gut loops to twist and can be very dangerous.
3). Poinsettia flowers as shown above are very decorative at Christmas but can cause mouth irritation and mild vomiting if eaten by your cat.
Other than that, I wish you a very Merry Christmas!

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07/11/2007 by Arielle.

I am writing this post to warn all you dog and cat lovers out there about the dangers of a household gadget that has become more popular in this day and age and can be lethal to your pet - the ordinary paper shredder. We have one which sits in the kitchen. I thought it was a good idea to place it there and shred any envelopes with our address on before sending the junk mail off to the recycling bin (also in our kitchen).

I have moved it now as I have just read a shocking article about a Jack Russell that licked one and quite literally shredded his tongue (the one organ in the body with a huge blood supply). The vet put him to sleep immediately and both he and the staff sounded quite traumatised by the incident. A warning to us all to safeguard our pets from an apparently harmless new household gadget.

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