Eden Vets December Newsletter
EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT
Sandbach Clinic now open
DECEMBER ADVICE: THE 12 TOXINS OF CHRISTMAS
There are lots of food and plants around at Christmas time that are Toxic to our pets! We need to take care when we have got these in our house to ensure that our pets are not getting their paws on them and eating them, but also to know what to do if they do.
The first thing you should do if you think your pet has eaten anything that may be toxic is contact us!
We have 24/7 care here at Eden so we can see your pet whatever the hour.
When you arrive at the vets your vet may ask when they ate the toxin, this is so that they can form a treatment plan. In most cases if they arrive quick enough, and depending on what they have eaten, they are given an injection to make them sick, so that hopefully they will bring up most of the toxin ingested.
Toxic plants:
-Ivy
-Holly
-Pine
-Mistletoe
-Poinsettia
Festive food:
-Chocolate
-Mince pies, Christmas cake/pudding
-Gravy/Stuffing containing onions or garlic
-Alcohol
-Mouldy food
-Bones
-Food containing xylitol
Meet a member of the Eden Vets team
We would like to introduce you to the nursing team at Sandbach, Bella and Rachael.
Bella – Qualified in 2020 at Reaseheath college. She has worked in a small busy independent practice for 5 years – completing her VCA and nursing diploma before starting at Eden vets.
She has been a part of the nursing team at Eden Vets for 3 years developing her skills in all areas. Theatre being her favourite!
Outside of work she spends her days off with Poppy her toddler and her two dogs Nala & Hattie.
Rachael has worked in the veterinary industry for the past 18 years, starting as a receptionist/ administrator and has now been a qualified Registered Veterinary Nurse for the
last 10 years.
Since qualifying Rachael has worked in first opinion, referral and emergency practices, gaining a wide range of experience.
You may have already met Rachael at our Shavington practice where she has worked for the last two and half years, doing a mixture of day and night shifts.
Outside of work Rachael likes spending as much time as possible with her family and friends.
We would like to wish them both the best of luck in this new venture and look forward to what the new branch will have to offer.
Be sure to pop in and say hello if you are passing.
Eden Vets highlight of the month
Vet Georgina is now an official Respiratory Function Grading Scheme assessor for the Kennel Club!!
This means that we are on the list of official health testing clinics for the followingbrachycephalic breeds: British Bulldog, Pug and French Bulldog
We will be performing RFG clinics for pet owners and breeders in the new year!
To find out more Kennel Club info>>
Don’t Forget….. Last minute Christmas shopping for your furry family, Jools has stocked up our toy stand with plenty of toys and for every toy purchased all the profit goes to charity.
CHRISTMAS OPENING HOURS
Christmas Eve – 8am-4pm
Christmas Day – Emergencies only
Boxing Day – Emergencies only
Friday 27th – Normal Opening Hours
Saturday 28th – Normal Opening Hours
Sunday 29th – Emergencies only
Monday 30th – Normal Opening Hours
Sandbach New Years Eve – Emergencies only
Shavington New Years Eve – 8am-5pm
News Years Day – Emergencies only
January 2 nd – Normal Opening Hours
Eden Vets Star Patient of the Month
This months star patient was an interesting and challenging case a few weeks ago. An owner called saying their farm dog had possibly been accidentally shot.
Our on-call vet that weekend, Gemma Ford, took the call and got the owner to come straight in. The little dog was bright and alert and showed no signs of blood loss. She received pain relief and was started on supportive treatment for shock.
Later in the day, once stabilised, we were able to take some conscious radiographs. If you look closely at the x-rays you can see 6 shot gun pellets. If we just look at 1 view on its own, it is quite hard to find all 6 pellets. This is an excellent example of why we always need 2-3 orthogonal views of an animal’s body when x-raying to create a 2D-3D image.
Luckily, shot gun pellets don’t penetrate the body very deeply. Out of the 3 on her trunk region, 1 had narrowly missed her spine. The last pellet had lodged in her tail. Thankfully, she was showing no signs of spinal/tail injury and her tail was wagging despite all of this!
Pellets are small and hard to find. When they leave the gun they are very hot and so when they enter a body it is in quite a sterile manner. They take a plug of hair and skin into the wound, but despite this we tend to leave them ‘in-situ’ because surgical retrieval can cause more harm than good. She had antibiotic cover to reduce the chance of an infection developing.
24hours later she was comfortable, mobile and feeling a lot better. We continued to provide antibiotics and pain relief for a further week and are pleased to report she is back to her normal self. We will monitor her blood lead levels once a year to ensure this toxic metal isn’t accumulating in her blood stream.
Gun pellets may be incidental findings on routine x-rays- mostly in cats, but sometimes in dogs. A sad situation where we often think it’s been done on purpose, but perhaps more than often they are accidental. If only animals could talk!
