Get Chipped!!

Does your cat wander for days? Does your dog do Houdini impressions and try to escape at any opportunity?

Even if the answer to these questions is No, one day they may not come back when they're called, the workmen might leave your gate open, a shed might look like an interesting place to explore.... Any of these situations can happen to our pets at anytime and its always worrying when we dont know where they are. One easy solution to help reunite you and your favourite furry friends is to have them microchipped.

A tiny microchip - the size of a grain of rice - is painlessly inserted under the animal's skin with a needle (just like an injection). Once in, the microchip cannot move or be seen, but can be read by the scanner. This chip has a unique number which is logged in a central database along with the owners contact details.

If a stray or injured animal is found to have a microchip, the Local Authority, Vet or animal

welfare organisation contacts a national database to find the owner's details. The owner then can be contacted and reunited with their pet.

Note to remember - If you move house you MUST contact the database company to advise them of the changes or we may not be able to get you and your loved ones back together again as quickly

This is Otto, an 8 week old weimeraner owned by the Fairweather family. He has just started his vaccination and worming course and will be back in a fortnight to complete the course. He will then have to wait a week before he can run on the floor where other dogs are, i.e; parks, the stray etc. It is important to protect him against canine diseases as they can be fatal. We vaccinate against Distemper, Hepatitis, Parvovirus and Parainfluenza. An annual booster is needed after the initial puppy course. It won't be long before Otto can run and play free and no doubt cause some mischeif on the way! Look at those ears!

Jess Kerwin

Meet Jess Kerwin

Here she is with Sarah Kitwood feeling a bit sorry for herself. Jess has a history of eating things she's not supposed to and is a bit accident prone,especially with her paws!

At the moment we are investigating a possible liver problem as she has not been herself and was even ill on her trip to the Lake District! We have looked at the possibility of a liver biopsy and have done tests to try to work out the exact problem. She has been given a drug to help improve the antioxidant levels in the liver which are essential to maintain and protect its function. Along with this she has been given a special Sensitivity Control diet. She will be monitored to see how she progresses with a biopsy as a further possibility. Of course such a test is quite invasive and we hope will not be necessary.

Meet Ulrick, a 6 week old guide dog to-be. He is feeling a bit peeky in the picture where he is on the consulting room table, as you can see. He came in with a history of vomiting and diarrhoea with slight blood. He was given some initial treatment but didnt respond as well as we would like ( upset stomachs are quite common in puppies) so we hospitalised him and put him on a drip as a suspected parvo virus case. A faecal sample sent to the laboratory confirmed this.

The other pictures show him after he started to recover his appetite after being on the drip. He was barrier nursed which means using disposable gloves/aprons when handling him and keeping him isolated from other dogs. As you can see he is eating now and feeling much better. He is one of the lucky ones with a milder form of the disease, as many dogs die from parvo virus which is why vets always stongly recommend regular vaccinations.

I am Hannah Cooper, I went to Shamrock Vets for a week's work experience. I really enjoyed all the jobs I was given and found it very interesting whilst in the consultation room. All the staff that I meet during my visit were extremely friendly and made my experience exciting and fun. I hope to return and see everyone again when I bring my animals for their check up's !!!!

This is Sue who has been with us for 9 years now and is extremely experienced. Of more recent times she has worked mainly part time for family reasons and does a lot of reception work.

She is always friendly and smiling, helpful to clients and always tries her best to sort out any queries or problems our clients may have with regard to their pets.

Multi-purpose worm/flea treatment: Advocate

Isn’t this cute?

But not when it turns into this!!!!!












Even if you are not a gardener you are probably not all that fond of slugs and snails but did you know they pose a great risk to our pets? Unfortunately, as with many conditions, it is the parasites carried by the host animal that cause the problems. In this case it is the lungworm which causes the damage. It is actually a nematode worm Angiostrongylus vasorum and it is spreading from “hot spots” such as Surrey further north and if an animal is infected it works it’s way to the heart and can cause symptoms such as coughing, depression, weight loss, fits, vomiting, diarrhoea, weakness and paralysis.
As animals play in the undergrowth or drink from puddles they are liable to accidentally ingest the parasite and frogs can also harbour it.
The good news is that the sooner it is treated the better the prognosis, but as ever prevention is better than cure and although conventional worming tablets do not treat this parasite, treatment is relatively simple and a prescription-only spot-on product can be obtained from us. This treatment also controls other worms, fleas and mites, which means it is possible to address lungworm and a number of common parasites in one application. It is called “Advocate” so you know what to ask about on your next visit.