Beware of dogs with sickness and diarrhoea

10/09/2008 by Arielle.

My friend (also my childminder) has a lovely Labrador cross called Spud. It was my children who came to tell me that Spud was being sick all over their house that prompted me to quickly visit and help.

She explained how Spud also had nasty diarrhoea when she came down this morning and appeared very weak. She also didn’t do her regular ‘hoovering up’ of the remains of children’s tea under the dining room table. She was a veterinary nurse before having chidren and knew to starve Spud for 24 hours. I then advised a bland diet of chicken and rice for a few days given in a few regular meals.

Just before leaving, I mentioned to my friend to be careful as dogs can carry the same gastro bugs as we get namely E. Coli or Campylobacter. My friend looked at me slightly concerned as I left as she had just started with a really sore tummy!

Posted in Being a Mum and vet | No Comments »

In Memory of Sasha

02/09/2008 by Arielle.

While we were away last month, my husband had to attend the funeral of an admirable and very brave young man. He was a soldier and dog handler who was killed in Afghanistan along with his explosives sniffer dog Sasha (as both seen in the picture).

My husband spoke little about the funeral except to say that this brave young man Lance Corporal Rowe; had said that one day for his funeral, he wouldn’t like traditional English hymns but rather rock songs (It’s My Life) played. My husband found this the most moving as it made you realise just how young these soldiers are.

I have every respect for this young man and his loyal happy companion Sasha - a golden Labrador. The Military Working Dog Support Unit wrote a poem entitled In Memory of Sasha which I thought I would share with you:

My dog is more than my partner you see,

Because she is a very good friend to me.

She’s the nose I don’t have, the eyes I have not,

She’s one of the best partners most soldiers ain’t got.

Day by day we do what we do best,

Her four paws never seem to rest

She always does whatever I ask,

Seeming to enjoy every task.

I know one day her work will be done,

But for now we can only have fun.

For my dog is more than a partner to me,

My dog is my best friend and she always will be.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Back from holiday

24/08/2008 by Arielle.

 

 

What a lovely relaxing 3 weeks we have just had spent with my family in France. They all flew out from South Africa and my children were able to catch up with their Grandparents and cousins. The highlight of their trip was a game of dog Top Trumps. They all played it every day and we are now all experts at every dog breed mentioned!

We returned to a very happy but also very thrilled Slick - our black Labrador. The kennels I usually use let me down and my wonderful friend (who looks after my children as well on the day I work); offered to look after Slick in her home. She also did some pet sitting and visited our home daily to feed Shadow and Buttons. They were all in such good hands.

Back to work now and after 3 weeks away, I am actually really looking forward to seeing all the animals and clients again!

Posted in Being a Mum and vet | No Comments »

How to worm a cat

30/07/2008 by Arielle.

 

I am off on my family holidays until the 24th August so I will not be updating my blog till then. I leave you with this which is so true:

How to worm a cat

 

Pick up cat and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby.

Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat’s mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop in the pill allow cat to close mouth and swallow.

 

Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa, cradle cat under left arm and repeat process.

 

Retrieve cat from bedroom and throw soggy pill away.

 

Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat under left arm holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Prize jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth closed for a count of ten.

Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe.

Call spouse for help.

 

Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws.

Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth,drop pill down along ruler and rub cats throat vigorously.

Retrieve cat from curtain rail and get another pill from foil wrap.

Make note to buy new ruler and mend curtains.

 

Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from under armpit, put pill in the end of a drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.

 

Check label to see side effects if swallowed by humans, make tea to take taste away.

 

NOTE- Cool soapy water will remove blood from fabrics and upholstery.

Call fire brigade to retrieve cat from tree across the road.

Apologise to neighbour who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat.

 

How to give a dog a pill

 

1. Wrap it in bacon

 

2. Toss it into the air

Posted in Being a Mum and vet | No Comments »

I do some Pet Sitting

30/07/2008 by Arielle.

A friend a few houses down the road asked if I would help feed her animals while she was away for a night. They went camping in the Peak District. As the weather was so good, they stayed on a few days longer and she ended up getting more than she bargained for.I had to feed their ferrets, African Grey, canary, stick insects, tortoise and very old deaf dog with 1 ear and no hair (when my daughter saw him she just said - What IS that?!)

I realised very quickly that the tortoise was not well and took him into work with me. He had a hard abscess on his neck which needed removing so I  sorted him out. One of her ferrets also had a burst abscess under his chin, so I separated him from the other ones and brought home some antibiotic to give him. My friend had chosen the right person to pet sit as when she returned from her holiday, her animals were all sorted!

Posted in Being a Mum and vet | No Comments »

The dangers of my job

18/07/2008 by Arielle.

I had a really bouncy Labrador to vaccinate last week. Her owners did not hold her still and I managed to put the needle through her skin and then stab myself straight in the thumb which resulted in blood dripping on her golden fur!

It was very painful and my thumb swelled up but I did not think anything of it. Suddenly this week, my knee swelled up. It was red and hot and sore so I reluctantly went to the doctor and was put straight onto antibiotics (the ones we use) and she said that it could have been caused by the infection in my finger.

I do feel slightly fluey as well, so yes, my job carries its rewards and its risks!

Posted in Being a Mum and vet | No Comments »

I really need to lose some weight

15/07/2008 by Arielle.

 

Amber is a gorgeous massive 70kg brown Newfoundland. She has epilepsy and her enormously patient owner has been in to see me a number of times. We could not keep her seizures under control so I referred her to the Animal Health Trust neurology unit.

She is on a cocktail of medication. The treatment for epilepsy in dogs is the same as that in humans and the side effects of the drugs are the same. They tend to make the animal put on weight. Poor Amber is now so large from all her dosing that she struggles to pull herself up on her backlegs.

We heaved her large fluffy body onto the scales today and the owners and I were thrilled for her when the scales read 70kgs - she had lost 3 kgs!

I however had a quiet fleeting thought which I did not share with the owner. Amber looks so huge with all her thick coat and I weigh more than she does!! I really need to get my head around sticking to a diet before our summer holidays - wish me luck!

Posted in Being a Mum and vet, A veterinary day | No Comments »

My daughter has an eye infection

11/07/2008 by Arielle.

It was much easier for the Doctor to look at my daughter’s one swollen eye and make her diagnosis, than it is for me when a dog or cat is brought in with a large swollen lid. They tend to wriggle and possibly even bite or scratch!

When the Doctor told me to use the eyedrops and if there was no improvement, then I was to return within a day or 2 for oral antibiotics as eye infections can be very serious; I just smiled to myself.

These words echoed what I would have said to a client about their pet with a sore eye and even the Choramphenicol eyedrops were exactly the same as the ones I would prescribe.

Posted in Being a Mum and vet | No Comments »

When the vet becomes a patient

03/07/2008 by Arielle.

How guilty I felt last night when I got in from treating animals all day at 8pm and my husband asked if I had remembered an antibiotic injection for our own cat Buttons. I had forgotten and felt so bad for him. He had been involved in his first cat fight and not all cat bites need treatment, but this one did as his leg had swelled with the infection.

I was due to go back to work for another few days and the practice I work at is 45 minutes from where we live so I had no choice but to go to a local practice.

What a humbling experience it is. I think every professional should become a patient. I felt the same frustration getting Buttons into his carrier, then listened to him cry mournfully the whole way there. I felt very anxious waiting in the waiting room and struggled to hold Buttons for the young vet as he tried to shave and examine his sore leg.

I then had to feel the same stress of paying for his treatment (which I have obviously never had to worry about before either). So all in all, Buttons’ cat fight was a good lesson for me being on the other side of the table and luckily he is now on the mend.

Posted in Being a Mum and vet, A veterinary day | No Comments »

Some Wordly Advice

02/07/2008 by Arielle.

This has nothing to do with pets or fleas but I thought I’d share it with you!

Hot Chocolate

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired. During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives. Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups - porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the hot chocolate.

When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said: “Notice that all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cup that you’re drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was hot chocolate, not the cup; but you consciously went for the best cups… And then you began eyeing each other’s cups.

Now consider this: Life is the hot chocolate; your job, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The cup you have does not define, nor change the quality of life you have.

Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate God has provided us. God makes the hot chocolate, man chooses the cups. The happiest people don’t have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything that they have.

Live simply.
Love generously.
Care deeply.
Speak kindly.
And enjoy your hot chocolate!!

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »