National Microchipping Month- June 2013
Every year more than 300,000 treasured family pets get lost or go missing and many are not reunited with their owners as they lack any form of identification. Those that are microchipped, however, can be easily identified, greatly increasing their chances of being safely returned home.
What is Microchipping?
A tiny microchip, hardly bigger than a grain of rice, is implanted quickly and simply under your pet’s skin, just like a normal injection. The microchip has a unique 15-digit code which identifies your pet on the Petlog database where all its details and your contact details are registered. Most vets, animal charities and local authorities have microchip readers so, if a lost pet is brought in, they can read the chip’s unique code, identify the owner, and reunite them with their pet as soon as possible. The Petlog database is accessible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Special Offer
Because we believe that microchipping is the most effective way to provide life-long identification for your pet and to maximise its chances of safe return if it becomes lost, we are offering a discount on microchipping during National Pet Microchipping Month in June.
Microchip- any animal £15.00
(Normal Price £18.00)
Microchip and passport Horse £34.50
(Normal Price £44.50)
Stonehouse Show
Avondalevets attended the annual Stonehouse showground on Saturday 18th May. Dispite the poor weather there was a good attendance of people, livestock and horses. Practice staff were available throughout the day to answer ‘vetty’ questions. See our small animal and equine facebook pages for details. Winners of our competitions will be announced this week and details posted on facebook.
Avondale Veterinary Group OPEN DAY 29th June 2013 1- 5pm
Please note we are having an open day on 29th June. Anyone is welcome to come along. There will be guided tours of the facilities and equipment as well as live animals, competitions, demonstrations, fun for kids and all the family.
New Members of Staff
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Lynda Dunbar BVSc MRCVS
Lynda graduated from the University of Liverpool. After 2 years in mixed practice she worked in small animal emergency practice, and is currently studying for the certificate in small animal emergency and critical care. In her spare time she enjoys dog walking, horse riding, going to live music gigs and watching rugby. |
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Paul Andrew Eynon BVMS, MRCVS
Paul graduated from Glasgow Veterinary School and spent his first year working in small animal Practice in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne followed by a busy year at the PDSA in Manchester. He started locuming across the UK to enable him to travel and visit various different practices before heading to Saskatchewan in Canada to complete a years Small Animal Medicine and Surgery Internship. Upon his return, Paul came to work as a locum with Avondale in December 2012 and enjoyed it so much he accepted the position of Senior Small Animal Veterinary Surgeon within the practice. At home has a AGA- loving cat called ‘Boots’ and a little Chihuahua with a big personality called ‘Geoff’. Out of work, Paul is a keen horseman and competes locally and enjoys badminton and the cinema. He is currently working towards the Advanced Veterinary Certificate in Small Animal Medicine. |
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Katy Brown BVMS, MRCVS
Katy graduated from Glasgow Vet school and has worked in the west of Scotland since 2008. She moved to Avondale Vets in March 2012 to pursue her interest in small animal work particularly Cushing’s disease and soft tissue surgery. She is a member of BVA (the British Veterinary Association and BSAVA (British Small Animal Veterinary Association). Katy is married and has 2 cats at home, Spooky and Leroy. Leroy is a 3 legged and was rehomed top Katy after an injury resulted in him losing his leg. Katy likes to go to the gym in her spare times and enjoys eating out. |
Avondale Veterinary Group would like to welcome 3 new members of staff to the small animal team.
Evening Equine Talk– Thursday 16th May 2013 7.30pm
The equine eveing talk on the 16th May at the Strathaven Hotel was a huge success. There was a great turnout of clients as well a new faces. Professor Knottenbelt formely form LIverpoll University gave a hugely entertaing talk on equine sacroids and related skin disease as well as a talk on equine wound management. Clients kindly help raise £455.15 to Prof. Knottenbelt’s chosen charity SPANA ( caring for horses, mules, donkeys and livestock internationally). Picture show the Avondale Equine staff Holly, Kathleen and Ross with Prof Knottlenbelt.
Avondale Equine would like to thank Prof Knottenbelt for his time amd and thank all that attended and generously gave for this great cause.
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Change of Small Animal Emergency Service
We have changed the out of hours small animal emergency service to Glasgow University Small Animal Emergency Service.
What does this mean?
For small animal emergencies, the out of hours emergency service will be located at Glasgow University Small Animal Hospital. (0141 330 7690)
How do I get in touch with the emergency vet?
Outwith our normal opening times, telephone the surgery on the normal 01357 520251 and listen to the phone message for the telephone number of the Small Animal Service or phone 0141 330 7690 directly.
Why does Avondale Vets not do its own emergency out of hours now?
There are a number of reasons why we have changed the service. There are very few practices now do their own on call just like your doctor’s surgery. The working hours of small animal vets are long and the emergency out of hours service was in addition to their full working day. Critical patients requiring attention throughout the night meant that vets sometimes had no sleep and were working well over 48hrs without sleep. This possibly had an impact on the vets’ effectiveness to work and certainly has an impact on recruiting experienced vets, as no vet wants to work out of hours now.
As a result of few practices doing their own out of hours this has meant an increased work load for our duty vets from clients from neighboring practices. Late at night etc., a history is not available to us from the other vet which has implications on treatment for the patient in front of us.
Clients, even locally, have insisted their pet must be seen as a matter of urgency but yet, have taken up to an hour to arrive at the surgery or not even bothered to turn up. This is clearly an abuse of the service and raises concerns about vets on their own.
Non Payment for services out of hours has dramatically increased. This has increased our costs of legal and debt recovery services.
The cost of running this service with blood and haematology analysers running/on standby 24hrs a day, nursing staff etc. is not cost effective.
What’s the benefit to me for this change?
We will increase the number of small animal appointments in the evenings and Saturdays. These are times when we have had many requests for additional appointments out with the normal 9am-5pm working day. We will be able to offer approximately 60 additional appointments per week due to the small animal vets working longer as they are not doing on call work.
The cost of the service is cheaper than what we can offer our service. There is still an out of hours emergency charge and procedures carried out at unsociable hours do cost more but we believe the Glasgow University Emergency Service offers the best value for money under the circumstances.
The care provided by dedicated small animal emergency vets who specialise in emergency critical care is of world class standard. The Small animal vets you will see will be experienced, fully qualified vets not vet students. These vets have access to specialists in every field, such as cardiology, orthopaedics, soft tissue surgery, medicine, intensive care etc. Rapid access to these specialists can make a difference to the outcome and speed of recovery of your pet.
Travelling to Glasgow
Our client base is large ranging from Strathaven, Lesmahagow, Hamilton, Motherwell, Wishaw,Carluke etc etc. For most clients, there will be little in the way of time for most clients to travel to Glasgow especially with the new M74 open now. The journey time from the Strathaven rural centre to Glasgow University small animal emergency service is approximately 40mins.
This decision was not taken lightly and we believe we can provide a better small animal service as a result of this change. Hopefully this letter explains why we have made this decision to change. Only a small percentage of registered clients require the out of hours service. The farm and equine departments will continue with their respective emergency service. The equine and farm vets will not be able to assist you with your pet as they have responsibilities and duties elsewhere. If you are unsure if you need a vet or not phone 0141 330 7690 for advice not the farm and equine vets.
For more details on Glasgow University Small Animal Emergency Service, how to get there etc go to www.glasgow.ac.uk/sah
We have directions to Glasgow University Small Animal Emergency Service in PDF format below for you to read and print.
For directions click here | To view a map click here
For clients with transport issues please contact Dr. Doolittle Pet Care at www.drdoolittlepetcare.co.uk or PAWS-ITIV at www.paws-itiv.co.uk Both provide 24/7 emergency pet transport should you require them.
**Puppy Parties**
We are pleased to be able to now offer our clients and their new puppies the chance to come along to our puppy socialisation courses.
These run for three weeks and are free to our clients.
It is a chance for you to ask any questions about your puppy’s development as well as hear from our small animal vets and nurses about aspects of your growing companion’s needs, both now and in the months and years ahead.
Please phone the surgery or pop in to book your place.
(Puppies must have had their second vaccination and be under 4 months old).
**Why…? ‘why vaccinate your dog and cat?’**
Many dog owners diligently bring their pet in every twelve months to receive their annual booster. So why do we do this and what are we protecting our furry companions against?
There was once a time in this country when the diseases we now vaccinate against were common. After several decades of diligent vaccination of pets by owners, thankfully these diseases are seen far less often. However, that can lead to a false sense of security as the diseases are still out there in the environment and so allowing vaccinations to lapse will increase the risk to your pet.
At present the percentage of vaccinated dogs is likely to be around 50%, for cats it is probably less. In the UK we vaccinate our dogs against six common disease agents. These are Parvovirus, Distemper virus. Adenovirus, Leptospirosis, Bordetella Bronciseptica (a bacteria) and Parainfluenza virus (the last two being what is commonly called ‘kennel cough’)
For our moggie companions we vaccinate them against Calicivirus and Herpes Virus which both cause ‘cat flu’ as well as Coronavirus (which causes enteritis) and Feline Leukaemia Virus.
For both our dogs and cats, at least some of these vaccines need to be given every 12 months and it is important to try and stick as close to that time frame to give the booster vaccine the best chance of continuing to provide year round protection.
Gift Vouchers
Gift Vouchers are available to buy. Ideal for pet owning families and friends registered with us. £10 and £50 vouchers are available Please see reception staff for further details.
Spread the cost of your pet’s health care with interest free monthly payments by direct debit
The plan provides your pet with :-
Full clinical examinations, twice per year, to include:
- General health | Ears | Eyes | Skin and coat | Heart and lungs | Weight | Nail length | Dentition | Anal glands | Joints and muscles
- Annual vaccinations
- Worming treatments (sufficient for 12 months)
- Flea treatments (sufficient for 12 months)
- Treatment planning
- Dietary advice
- 10% discount on the normal costs of spaying, neutering, medicines, diets and sundries purchased at the practice
- 10% discount on the normal costs of other services provided, including: consultations, x-rays, emergency call-outs, blood sampling, surgery
- 10% discount on the normal costs of additional vaccinations, worming and flea treatments, kennel cough vaccination.
Plus £1 discount per month for every additional pet registered
Click on the following pdfs for full details. View Brochure | View Avondale Vet Group Fee Guide Poster
Pensioners Day (small animal)
Every Thursday 10am to 4pm. £5 off small animal consultation charge and £20 off small animal operations. Operations booked at these times are entitled to £20 off. Discount applies to 2 animals per registered pensioner. Proof of eligibility is required.