News

The Vet
Phone 01254 53622 (fax: 01254 679233)
The VETerinary Health Centre, Daisy St.
Blackburn, Lancashire, BB1 5EW

News

VAT No. 174346162 Clients' Thanks

USA: U.S. Dermatologist Lowell Ackerman has discovered and used pictures from this website in his new book on Veterinary Dermatology book (extract)

Australia Parts of our website are now being used for teaching vet nurses on Gilles Plains Campus

JAPAN: Our Firework Phobia leaflet is now in use in Japan!!
(Download Japanese version)

Heaven for Pets

The VET Health Centre - News >other veterinary news below <

Check out you pet's annual budget!	Your Dog's Annual Budget Your Cat's Annual Budget
Prac-Tic Spot-On Flea & Tick Control for Dogs	One application gives 100% effective flea and tick control for a month. Use all year round. The cost of 12 months flea and tick prevention is £66 -£86 depending on the size of the dog <Flea and Tick Prevention in dogs - pdf>
New Anti-Stress Medication Zylkene Capsules	Zylkene is a natural product that helps dogs and cats cope with stressful events or situations. Reduces house soiling, sleep disturbances, depression and anxious behaviour.
Slimming Aid for Dogs	A new medication are now available that reduces a dog's appetite and aid long-term slimming. If your dog needs to slim but you're not making progress ask about Slentrol. A daily dose gradually lowers appetite and reduces fat absorption resulting in a gradual healthy reduction in weight.
Arthritis in older cats	<Click here> and check if your cat has signs of arthritis.
£25 Home Visit for routine vaccination	If your pet is a reluctant traveller it may be that a home visit could be the answer. Home visits are made between 9am and 5pm (weekdays) and we generally require a few days notice. Dogs and cats that are likely to be aggressive or nervous of visitors are better vaccinated at the surgery. Phone reception and ask for a home vaccination visit (£25 + vaccine cost)
*Subscribe NOW* for our email newsletter Vet Health Update** which provides up-to-date information on current pet health problems and solutions, general chat, a bit of fun and the occasional special offer. Available for clients and friends of the Veterinary Health Centre.	How to receive *Vet Health Update* P If you are a client please contact us by email at daisystreet@btinternet.com write the subject as "newsletter" and include in the text your name, address, postcode, phone number and pet’s names, so we can add your email to your pet's record. P If you are not a client we are still happy to add you to our emailing list. Please email daisystreet@btinternet.com. Tell how you heard of the practice, a little bit about yourself and your interests. There is no charge for this service. You'll receive the next mailing.
	Fleas love central heating! Download our updated leaflets on Flea Tick and Worm Control in Dogs and Flea and Worm Control in Cats

> NEW < Full antibiotic course with just 1 injection! Great for cats!	Now, at last! We can give a full 2 week course of an effective antibiotic (cefovectin) in just 1 injection!! No struggling to give tablets! No twice-a-day dosing to remember!
New Routine Medication to prevent E.cuniculi in rabbits Panacur Rabbit	Encephalitozoon cuniculi is a parasite which affects up to 50% of rabbits and can cause head tilt, cataracts, hind limb paralysis, urinary incontinence and sometimes death. We now have a medication that treats E.cuniculi, and can be used routinely as a prevention. Panacur Rabbit is a new palatable paste that is an aid in the control of *Encephalitozoon cuniculi* and intestinal worms. It is easily administered as a paste into the side of the mouth daily for 9 days. Dosing is recommended 2 -4 times a year.




	Teacher's Pet Research carried out at Warwick University has shown that pet ownership is significantly associated with better school attendance rates. Tests revealed that pet-owning children had more stable immune systems and appear better able to fend off illness.
TV is good for puppies!	Studies have shown how pups from 3 - 5 wks of age exposed to video images of traffic, other dogs, children, vacuum cleaners and busy urban environments for 30 minutes each day were less fearful of the same stimuli a few weeks later than pups that didn't watch TV. This could help pups to grow up better able to cope with our busy changing world.
	At least 3 million U.K. dogs are more than 4 years behind with their boosters. Distemper and hepatitis have become less common in the last 20 yrs as a direct result of effective and regular vaccination of dogs. Complacency in the absence of recent outbreaks has led to a fall off in vaccine boosters. Once sufficient dogs are under-protected these diseases are likely to return in epidemic proportions.
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ULTRASOUND SCANNER	Our ultrasound scanner gives us images of structures inside the body, safely and often without sedation. Ultrasound is useful for examining soft tissue masses, lumps and bumps, organs in the abdomen such as liver, spleen, bladder and kidney, and for checking the progress of pregnancy.

Liquid Nitrogen at -196 degrees is applied to the tumour by spray or by pre-frozen probe.	We have a fully operational Liquid Nitrogen Cryosurgery Unit at The Veterinary Health Centre. Cryosurgery is the use of freezing to destroy and remove tissue. It's ideal for small tumours in awkward places such as the feet, mouth, ears and anus. It's also effective in chronic deep ulcerative disorders such as anal furunculosis. The act of freezing the tumour causes ice crystals to form inside the tumour cells causing then to die. The body then rejects the dead tissue and heals the area over the next week or so.
	ECG We regularly use an ECG machine to assess our heart cases and to monitor higher risk anaesthetic patients.
	Timothy Hay We stock top quality Timothy Hay, and most rabbits love it! See "Healthy Rabbits" for a detailed explanation of why we recommend a quality hay. We get our supplies of Timothy Hay direct from West Wales Willows (click for their website, If you'd like a bulk supply you can order direct)

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Veterinary News

l New Animal Welfare Act The RSPCA are enthusiastic about the new Animal Welfare Act as it gives more powers to their inspectors. The previous act (1911) gave power to act only where cruelty could be proved. The new act obliges owners to ensure basic welfare needs of their animals are met. <download summary leaflet>	Five essential freedoms are identified. 1. For a suitable place to live. 2. For a suitable diet. 3. To exhibit normal behaviour patterns. 4. To be housed with, or apart from, other animals as appropriate. 5. To be protected from pain, injury, suffering and disease. Anyone who is cruel to an animal, or does not provide for its welfare needs, may be banned from owning animals, fined up to £20,000 and/or sent to prison. >>>>> for more about the Act <click here>

Vaccination is Vital

Responding to concerns expressed on the Today Programme
the BSAVA and BVA issue this statement regarding concerns
about the over-vaccination of pets.

First and foremost, vaccination has provided the single greatest contribution to the health of our pets over recent decades.

It is absolutely necessary if we want to prevent major epidemics of disease in this country and the issue raised regarding over-vaccination of pets is simply not justified.

Furthermore, as a highly trained and responsible professional, the veterinary surgeon has one priority, the health and welfare of animals that visit the practice.

As such, the profession is duty bound to adhere to the best scientific information available to them at any given time.

The Veterinary Products Committee (VPC) - an independent, expert advisory group reporting to and advising both the licensing authority and the Government – has emphasised the safety and value of vaccination, and presented data on the extremely low prevalence of adverse reactions to these products in dogs and cats.

The VPC recommended that at this time there was insufficient justification to alter current data sheet recommendations for companion animal vaccines. To date the veterinary professional bodies have seen no justification to deviate from the VPC’s advice.

Veterinary surgeons must ensure that as many animals as possible are fully protected against killer diseases such as parvovirus, hepatitis, distemper and leptospirosis and that this protection is maintained throughout their life.

The fact remains that we still do not know enough about the true duration of immunity in individual animals but we do know enough to be able to say that not all vaccines necessarily provide lifelong protection.

The degree and duration of immunity can vary greatly between different individuals and many external factors also have to be taken into account. Without actually testing the immune status of the animal for every disease, one cannot know the level of immunity it possesses.

Whilst this testing is possible it incurs extra expense to the owner and may well serve only to demonstrate that the animal does indeed require a booster vaccination. We have no problem with discussing this issue with our clients.

If, after consultation with their veterinary surgeon, a client decides that they wish their pet to have less frequent vaccinations, we are happy for the vet to do so – this represents informed consent on the part of the owner – but we see no reason to vary from the legal requirement to follow data sheet recommendations otherwise.

Given the proven safety of companion animal vaccines and in the light of the best scientific evidence presented to practitioners in this country from independent bodies such as the VPC, we see no reason to change vaccination policy at this time.

Should new information appear that proves differently, then our profession will respond accordingly.

BSAVA President, on the Radio 4 Today.