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April Newsletter
It's been a very busy month with quite a number of dogs who have eaten bones and then needing surgery to help remove the obstruction(s) from their intestines. No bones are safe in our opinion. Read Katie's story of what happened when she ate a large cooked pork hock.
Next is Hunter's story, who started off as a stray kitten with pretty bad ringworm.
Then, we revisit Jen to see how her ears have healed a few months after surgery to remove the tips due to cancer.
We have sad news this month, as we will be saying Goodbye to our vet Veronika who has been with us for 5 years. She has written a lovely Farewell message below for all her clients.
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No Bones are Safe - Katie's Story of Two Surgeries After Eating A Bone.
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Katie came to our clinic lethargic, off her food, and with vomiting and diarrhoea. She also had a very sore stomach. We suspected it was due to a large cooked pork hock that she ate yesterday. In an xray, we saw an obstruction in her intestine, so we went straight into surgery to remove it. During surgery, we found many pieces of bone that had welded together to create a large hard mass. This bone mass caused inflammation and bleeding in her gut, and was impossible to move through. So, Katie had to have part of her gut removed that held the rock-solid bone mass. After spending a few days in our clinic on a lot of pain relief and antibiotics, we re-evaluated Katie's bloods, and saw that there was a severe toxic change, and probably would need surgery again to investigate what was going on. During the 2nd surgery, Dr Mark saw that she needed even more of her gut removed, due to the severe amount of internal bruising caused by the previous bone mass. She was placed on a lot of antibiotics and pain relief again after her surgery, and went to the After Hours for intensive care over the weekend.
By Monday, Katie was a bit brighter, walking around, and eating some chicken. We were very happy to see that she was doing so well, so we decided that she could go home to rest and heal. A week later, Katie is back to her normal self, enjoying liver treats, sniffing around the garden, and not eating any more bones!
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Hunter's Story - Of being a stray kitten with ringworm.
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It was a bit of a rough start for this wee kitten who arrived at our clinic as a stray, skinny and covered in fleas. As nurse Becky was combing the flea dirt out, she noticed bald and flaky patches of skin on the top of his head and around his neck. Suspecting ringworm, we scanned him with a UV lamp, and voila! he glowed blue in many areas around his body from the ringworm fungus. As ringworm is very contagious to humans as well as other animals, we had to place the kitten in isolation and started treating him with medicated washes as well as anti fungal medications. We felt very sorry for such a young and energetic kitten to be in isolation, so we tried to contact a few cat rescue centers, but unfortunately they were already full and couldn't take him in. Becky put up a post on facebook to ask if anyone would be able to look after and medicate him at home. Despite the risk of contracting ringworm, a lovely lady called Paula came forward and took him into her home. She followed all the safety precautions of handling and housing a ringworm cat, and she has now decided to keep him. Hunter recently came in for his vaccinations and a checkup, and has been cleared of ringworm. His fur has re-grown very nicely. He is a very energetic and playful kitten, and we are so happy that he has found a great family to care for him forever.
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Jen is a very sweet senior cat who had both the tips of her ears surgically removed in December last year, as they were affected by cancer. This is the great result 4 months later, they are beautifully healed, and the fur has grown back to cover the tops of her ears. Her owners have even had people asking if she's a special breed! Well, we think she is pretty special and a very brave cat.
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A Very Sad Goodbye From Veronika
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My dear clients,
I'm very sorry to announce that I'll be leaving At The Vets. After 11 years in Christchurch, Jonny and I decided to move back to his hometown in Hawkes Bay to raise our two boys closer to their grandparents. I'll miss you all.
I feel very grateful and fortunate to meet you all and be able to assist you and form a bond with many of you to a point that I want to take you to Hawkes Bay with me (the furry ones).
I'll be around for another couple of months, so I hope to discuss it with you in person and have a goodbye hug with as many of you as possible.
Thank you for being so lovely to me, it has been an awesome 5 years working at At The Vets along with Heather and the best staff ever.
Lots of hugs and kisses,
Veronika Pipe.
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Congratulations to Robbie Pearce and Sir Ice Cube for winning Pet of the Month! They win a bag of premium (rabbit) food and a free Pet Portrait photo shoot by Emily Nicholls - photographer.
www.emilynicholls.co.nz
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FREE Vaccination and Health Check!
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Here's how! Download our At The Vet's app to collect one loyalty point each time you visit and spend over $50 (on anything in our clinic, including medical treatment). When you have 12 Loyalty Points, you will receive a free vaccination* and health check for your pet!
Scan the QR code or go to https://atthevets.appsme.com to get the app.
*core vaccinations only - Dogs - Distemper, Hepatitis, Parvovirus, and/or Kennel Cough. Cats - Feline panleucopaenia (or infectious enteritis), feline herpesvirus and feline calicivirus (both causes of “cat flu”).
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At the Vets is now open 7 days - with no weekend surcharges!
You can always book an appointment with us and don't forget to like us on Facebook.
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