Conference Leave is an amazing time to reflect in the company of my colleagues what we at Vet HQ do well and what we need work on. Vet HQ has been in existence for 8 years. In that time we have become one of Australia’s top 10% of practices. We employ 22 full time staff and 4 part timers and offer a wide range of services and facilities to you, our clients. We are proud of what we have achieved but are not stopping in our purpose to provide the best, appropriate, and individualised health care and to be part of the bond between you and your pets.

In 2015 we begin a new era in surgery technology offering Key Hole Surgery or laparoscopy. At the end of 2014 we invested in a large amount of equipment to be able to perform Key Hole Surgery and Laparoscopic assisted surgery. The aim is to have a smaller incision resulting in less pain in the post-operative period. As you know we aim to offer the best options for your pet and this is one of them. Tammy has been spending a day a week at North Shore Veterinary Specialist Centre in Crows Nest and I did a 3 day intensive workshop with Dr Eric Monet, arguable the best Veterinary Laparoscopic surgeon’s in the world. If you have any questions about this technology please let me know by email. We will be discussing laparoscopy at the time of surgery should it be appropriate for your pet. I have also brought back with me from America a brand new Ultrasound machine, some state of the art orthopaedic instruments and a wealth of knowledge that will hopefully be brought out of my brain and put into practice.

Some of you may say ‘more toys’. My commitment to myself when I started Vet HQ 8 years ago was to create the best in sub specialist veterinary care in the country. We continue to do that through education, communication, hard work and most importantly investing in the technology to ensure your pet family members get the best treatments possible.

The team remains unchanged this year with the exception of some new receptionists to help with the increasing load. We also welcome Dr Julie Brooks to the Veterinary Team. She will be assisting as a permanent locum to cover the extra days we have available. Kristina Karlson graduated from tafe and is now a certificate 4 licensed Veterinary Nurse. We congratulate her and she will be spending less time in Day Care and more time with the hospital team.

Thank you all for your feedback, testimonials and encouragement over the last year. If you have any suggestions on what we can do better please let me know. Otherwise let’s make 2015 as successful as 2014. We are all pumped for a big year.
 
Geoff Golovsky  

Parvovirus is deadly – are we on the verge of an epidemic in the Eastern Suburbs?

As most of you are aware from our Facebook page, we have recently seen 2 cases of Parvovirus. Parvovirus is a highly contagious, life-threatening viral disease which attacks the gastrointestinal system or cardiovascular system of dogs. Dog are protected from this disease with the C3 vaccination but puppies are at risk because of their immature immune system and because some are too young to be vaccinated.

Until last month, we hadn’t seen a case of Parvovirus at Vet HQ for 3 years and it has become a very rare disease to see around the Eastern Suburbs. However, we were not the only Eastern Suburbs clinic to see cases of this disease in February.

So are we on the edge of an outbreak? It is certainly possible because the virus can survive in the environment for many months and is resistant to heat and disinfectants. It can be spread around on objects and people’s shoes which can make an outbreak incredibly hard to control. Dogs pick it up by ingestion of the virus. Even if dogs do not go outside, there is a small risk that they can still pick it up from your shoes which is why the vaccinations are so important.

Our current vaccination protocol protects puppies against the normal low levels of virus in the environment but in light of the increased risk, we are modifying our vaccination protocol to ensure your dogs have the best protection.

• We recommend that all puppies less than 15 months of age come in for an additional booster of the C3 vaccination. New puppies will now receive this booster at 14-16 weeks of age.
• We recommend that puppies do not socialise until 7 days after their 10 week C3 vaccination.
• Adult dogs who are not up to date with their triennial C3 vaccination should come in for their vaccination as they too are at risk.

If your dog fits into one of these categories, please call us on 93261255 to arrange an appointment.

Please join our Facebook page “Vet HQ Double Bay” to keep up to date with the situation. We will post up any new information which you may need to protect your animals.

If you have any concerns then please contact myself or any of the staff for more information. Please read the information we have on our facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vet-HQ-Double-Bay/112499215453574?fref=nf

or on the website at:

http://www.vethq.com.au/blog/parvovirus-concerns-in-the-eastern-suburbs/

 
Baxter’s Parvovirus Story


Baxter on arrival at Vet HQ
 
Baxter is a little Labrador puppy who was only 10 weeks old when she contracted Parvovirus from the pet store she was bought from (not in the Eastern Suburbs). Yes, she is a girl called Baxter – we are as surprised as you but we will just call it “hipster”. The clinical signs take 3-14 days to appear, so her new owners had no idea she was a sick puppy until she started vomiting, had diarrhea and was very lethargic and dehydrated. Baxter had already had her first C3 vaccination but was too young to get her booster vaccine.

We quickly isolated Baxter in our quarantine isolation room. We had to wear gowns, gloves, masks, hats and shoe covers whenever checking on her to ensure that no other animals were at risk. We threw out all of the towels and blankets which she used and bleached all equipment and the floors.
  These affected puppies lose a lot of fluid, protein and blood in the stools and are unable to keep food down for up to 6 days. We worked around the clock to save her and after 2 weeks of intensive treatment include 5 plasma transfusions and 1 blood transfusion, she was strong enough to pull through and survive this very deadly disease.

 
Baxter is enjoying being back at home and being a mischievous puppy

We want to thank one of our day care dogs, Olly, for his generous donation of blood used to help save Baxter. He was so brave and thoroughly enjoyed all the cuddles and treats during and after.

 
Olly helped save Baxter

Humphrey’s Parvovirus story

Unfortunately, we had a second case of Parvovirus just 2 weeks after Baxter was diagnosed. This time, a beautiful little Beaglier named Humphrey who was purchased from a pet shop in the Eastern suburbs. He was very much adored by his family who he brought lots of happiness and laughter to.

Despite our very best efforts and giving him every possible treatment, we are devastated that Humphrey passed away from this disease.  We will never forget the fighting spirit of this little puppy and his passing has broken our hearts.

 
Rest in Peace Humphrey

Written By Dr Nicky Goldberg
 

Sometimes people are tempted to put off their pets yearly vaccination and check up because they are “sooo well and healthy”.  We encourage you to have that check up, because sometimes we can spot things before well before clinical signs occur and this will allow prompt action and correction before ill health occurs.

Take little Bo, an 8year old Siamese cat who lives with his beautiful Burmese brother Felix. He came in for his annual check up and vaccination and I was shocked when I felt his abdomen. There was a swelling in his right kidney that made me worry. On questioning his mum and dad we found that he was maybe drinking just a little more than his brother but was eating well, playing and doing all his normal puddy cat routines.

The first thing that springs to mind with a swollen kidney is unfortunately cancer. An 8 year old cat fits right in the middle of the demographic where this may occur. However there are other less sinister causes as well. All of which may impact on the other normal kidney if left unchecked.

It is these incidental findings in an otherwise well cat  that make the annual check up so important.

An ultrasound found that Bo had a “hydronephrosis” a kidney that has failed to drain urine properly. This will led to fluid build up and crushing of the inside of the kidney caused by increased fluid pressure. This retained urine can easily become infected causing the other kidney to get sick eventually leading to kidney failure. Fortunately this was caught early enough because of the check up and Bo had the diseased kidney removed and blood tests have thankfully revealed that Bo is all ok.

So when you next think that your pet doesn’t need its annual check up because it so well, remember our pets can hide symptoms (think about survival of the fittest in the wild – animals don’t like to show signs of weakness) and some don’t complain, others are slowly getting sicker and we don’t always notice.
 
Written By Dr Caryn Wun 
 

   
 

In the calendar year 2014 Vet HQ donated to the community by way of discounts on our Services.  
 
$2155.00 Through our Adoption HQ program
$2610.00 In the treatment of Wildlife
$587.10 To Guide Dogs Australia
$2343.15 in the desexing and care of Charity adoption organisations
 
We also housed checked and reunited 82 stray animals