Saturday, February 13, 2010

Worse and worse...

Three calls asking for help with the cost of treatment at private vets today. One I didn't feel that bad about as the owner knew about our clinic and had had the dog in question for several years, so there's no real excuse for not getting him registered. I'm reasonably happy that she did get the dog to the private vet and, while it may have left her painfully short of cash, nothing awful is going to happen because we couldn't help her.

One I felt very bad about — a hamster which had been dropped and almost certainly had a damaged spine, as he was dragging his back legs. In that situation there would be little that a vet could do other than put the hamster to sleep, and it's debateable whether spending £100 to get that done this evening rather than wait until the morning would be a good use of charity funds even if we could afford it. Still, in an ideal world this is something that wouldn't be delayed, even though spinal injuries aren't usually painful.

The third was one of those situations that really make you despair: a couple with twelve dogs, six of them not vaccinated, one with a litter of puppies. Last week one of the un-vaccinated dogs developed parvo-virus and was put to sleep. Today, the bitch with the puppies had diarrhoea with blood in it, which is one of the symptoms of parvo-virus infection. If she'd been registered at our clinic she could have been seen as an emergency — although even then there's a very limited amount that could be done to improve her chances. All I could suggest was that the owner should speak to the vet who treated the first sick dog to at least get some advice, and then take the bitch to our clinic on Tuesday (leaving her in the car so that she didn't mix with any of the other dogs).

Monday, February 8, 2010

The Good Life?

We periodically get requests to take in pigs and chickens (particularly cockerels which have caused fallings-out with neighbours), so I hope this is not a portent of things to come.

RTFM (or better, get personal advice from an expert, such as a vet), applies even more to living things than to computers.



They'd mostly be better advised to stick to fruit and veg (although my Mum says growing your own doesn't actually produce cheaper produce; just fresher and tastier; and the real benefit is the exercise you get).

And a quick plug for local rabbit (as pets, not potential lunch!) and gardening expert, Twigs Way's latest book, Allotment and Guarden Guide, a historical study of the wartime "Dig for Victory" campaign.