Parklifesummer edition

for the pets in your life – your vet for life

Here Comes The Summer - page 8

for the pets in your life - your vet for life

• Community Matters - page 6

• New Microchip Regulations April 2016 - page 11

WELCOMEWelcome to the latest edition of Vets on the Park’s practice magazine, Park Life, packed with tips and information on pet health, as well as plenty of special offers for you and your pet.

As always, we have plenty of practical information to help you keep the pets in your life in the best of health. On page six we explain the important role the local community plays in our practice and how we try to give something back. At Vets on the Park, our aim is to treat your pets in the same way we would like our own pets treated and this attitude is at the heart of everything we do; from giving a kitten their first vaccination to major surgery and emergency treatment. We are all pet owners ourselves and so we understand the special place your pet has in your home.

Many of you have been with the practice for some time now, and we’d like to take this opportunity once again to say a big ‘thank you’ from all the team for your continued support and friendship. If you’re new to the practice, then welcome along!

Our website is another good source of news and information where you can request appointments, repeat prescriptions and register online.

Join us on Facebook or Twitter for all the latest practice news and special offers - simply search for Vets on the Park and ‘like’ us!

With best wishes from Alison and the team.

In this issue of Parklliiffe Page 2 Welcome!

Page 3 Useful Information

Page 4 Practice News

Page 6 Community Matters

Page 8 Summer Holidays

Page 10 Case Study

Page 11 Microchipping

Page 12 Get in touch via Facebook or at vetsonthepark.co.uk

Parklife

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Useful informationOpening hoursWe know that many of you have plenty of things to fit into your busy lives, so we work hard to ensure that you can get an appointment with us at a time convenient for you, with late evening opening and Saturday clinics.

Our opening hours are 8am - 7pm, Monday to Friday and on Saturdays we are open from 8am – 1pm. To book your appointment, simply call 01242 517199

When the surgery is closed, the emergency out of hours clinic ChelVets begins. The service is run from the Surgery at Cheltenham Racecourse. Simply call 01242 522022 for help and advice in the event of an emergency.

We also offer free home visits! Coming into the surgery can sometimes be difficult so we are pleased to offer a free Vets at Home service to our clients who live within an 5 mile radius of our surgery. You can find out more on our websitewww.vetsonthepark.co.uk How tto ffiind us::Moorend Grove, Leckhampton, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL53 0EX 01242 517199 www.vetsonthepark.co.uk

Recommend a friend and you both save £5!

If you recommend Vets on the Park to a friend, we’ll give each of you a voucher for £5 off *

Simply fill in your details in part A of the form and pass it to the friend you wish to recommend us to.

All your friend needs to do is fill in part B and hand in the completed form when they register their pet with us.

Once they have been in for a consultation, they can collect their £5voucher* and we will send you your £5 voucher* by post. If you prefer you can donate your £5 to our chosen charity which this year is ‘Medical Detection Dogs.’

*Please see our website for terms and conditions: www.vetsonthepark.co.uk

SPECIAL OFFERS

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Simply fill in your details in part A of

for the pets in your life - your vet for life

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summer edition

Recommend a friend and you both save £5!

recommend Vets on the Park to a friend, we’ll

Babies!, Babies! The Vets on the Park family got a little bit bigger last month with the safe arrival of two new babies for members of our staff.

Veterinary nurse Claire and her husband Mike have had a little boy Archie, a brother for Oscar and our vet Jo gave birth to a little girl called Ella Rose Dawson. As you can see they are both very photogenic and super cute.

We all look forward to meeting them very soon.

Every summer we treat several dogs who have been bitten by adders whilst out on their walks. Here in Cheltenham, adders are found on Leckhampton Hill, Cleeve Hill and Crickley Hill.

It is likely you may not even see the snake and a common presentation is that a previously happy dog runs into the bushes and comes out limping or suddenly appears very lethargic. This is an emergency situation, however it is important that you do not panic.

Firstly, it is vital to reduce movement of your dog, so either carry or quietly walk your dog back to your car, then ring Vets On The Park on 01242 517199 to let us know that you are on your way.

Treatment will depend on the severity of the symptoms, Most dogs make a full recovery in about 5 days.

Parklife Practice news

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ADDER ALERT! ADDER ALERT!

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A New Face Whilst Jo is on maternity leave we are lucky to have veterinary surgeon Clare Spencer back with us two days a week to help us out. Clare lives in the Forest of Dean and will be working every Thursday and Friday. Alison and Clare have been friends for over 20 years and used to work together for Hill’s Pet Nutrition

for the pets in your life - your vet for life

summer edition

Those of you who have visited us over the past few weeks will have noticed we have been squeezing into our small consulting room whilst we have our main room refitted and redecorated. As we go to press we are not quite ready for photographs of the new room but we can see light at the end of the tunnel and hope to be back in there by the end of June. Many thanks for everyone who has been patient with us during the work. We think it will be worth it!

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

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As an independent family-run veterinary practice we understand the vital part the community plays in our survival, after all, that’s where our clients come from, our local Cheltenham community. As such, we take great strides in trying to give a little back to the community at large.

We are keen supporters of local sport and education and our staff are often in one of the local primary schools talking to children about many aspects of pet care and animal ownership.

Parklife

Community Matters

Leckhampton Harriers U11’s - spornsored by Vets on the Park

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Here are a few other things we do:

• Provide support, guidance and work experience for would–be vets and nurses

• Sponsor a player at Gloucester Rugby Club

• Sponsor a player at Cheltenham Town Football Club

• Provide an annual bursary of £1000 to a local secondary school to allow an under-privileged child to attend an overseas trip

• Sponsor Charlton Kings Cricket Club

• Sponsor Leckhampton Lemurs Football Team

• Provide waterproof coats for all the coaches of Old Pats Junior Rugby Teams

• Provide kit and equipment for Leckhampton Harriers U11s Football Squad

• We also have a practice policy of using local businesses whenever possible and this includes our office supplies, our accountancy, our printing and our paper supplies. We have been offered cheaper services by several big national companies but we take pride in investing in our local area.

for the pets in your life - your vet for life

summer edition

From left to right: Ollie Thorley - our sponsored player at Gloucester Rugby for the 2014/15 season, Bliss the Charlton Kings Cricket Club Mascot and Lee Vaughan our sponsored player at Cheltenham Town.

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ParklifeWe’re all going on a Summer Holiday!

With the recent good weather, many of us will have started thinking about welcoming the summer and along with it the summer holidays! Every year we have many owners come to us asking for recommendations for kennels or pet careers in the local area.

Boarding Kennels and Catteries

Boarding kennels are the most popular option for many but they can vary in quality, which is why we recommend visiting several kennels well in advance of your holiday – the more popular ones will be booked in advance. Use the Internet to check websites, you should find testimonials and photographs of the kennels.

First impressions are important, when you arrive look around, if the entrance or office is in a poor state of repair then it is likely that the kennel space will be too.

How are you greeted by the staff? They should be friendly, helpful and knowledgeable, if you have bought your dog with you then notice whether or not they interact with him.

Living areas should be clean, odour free, draught free and have adequate lighting and ventilation. Generally they will be partially walled between kennels, beware of kennels separated by mesh fencing, pets can touch each other and possible cause injury, not to mention the increased risk of spread of disease and stress.

Have a look at the other animals already in there; do they seem happy and relaxed? They will bark at first but should settle down after a time. When you visit the kennels remember to ask about the dog walking facilities, is there facilities for off lead exercise, how often and by whom.

Remember all reputable kennels will require your pet to be fully vaccinated, if they do not then they should be avoided.

They may also offer extra facilities such as dog spas, grooming, massage, and hydrotherapy or even help brush up on your dog’s training!

Beware though just because a website uses the words luxury or deluxe does not necessarily mean that it reaches these high standards.

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for the pets in your life - your vet for life

summer edition

Pet Sitting

This allows your pet to stay in their own environment, which avoids the stress involved in kennels. The sitter will visit the house during the day to feed and spend time with your pet. They can also be asked to open curtains, turn off lights and remove post to improve security whilst you are away. Some companies will offer a service where a person will live in your home whilst you are away.

These companies will all need to be insured and the employees will need to be police checked.

Home from Home Boarding

The final option is taking your pet to stay with someone in their own home. This is usually only offered for dogs. People that

offer this service will be dog lovers so your pooch will no doubt be spoilt rotten. However it is a good idea to make a few checks before hand including if they already have their own dogs, Will other dogs be staying at the same time and will children be in the house at the same time. All are important things to know especially if your dog is slightly nervous. If you do choose this route then it is courteous to ensure that your dog is de-fleaed and wormed before arrival.

We realise leaving your pet behind can be a daunting prospect. Hopefully this information will help you to make the right choice, leaving you with the peace of mind to enjoy your summer holidays.!

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ParklifeAn Interesting CaseWarm summer weather means barbeques and parties outside long into the evenings. But here’s a little warning as to what can happen if you don’t keep a careful eye on your pets during outdoor summer parties.

Boris the Border Collie was playing outside in the garden whilst his owners were hosting a barbeque. Family, friends, fun, food and a few drinks were flowing. A guest placed his wine glass on the grass and started playing ball with Boris. As Boris brought the ball back he stumbled and ran into the glass, which shattered and cut his leg. His owners quickly realised Boris had cut his leg and cleaned the wound and applied a dressing.

However a few weeks later Boris had a swelling appear on the leg that had been cut. They took him to their local vets who gave him pain relief and antibiotics thinking it was an infected wound.

When after a few weeks the swelling was no better Boris’s owners decided to seek a second opinion and came to see Alison at the surgery. Alison quickly decided that the most likely cause of the swelling was the presence of glass under the skin from the broken glass. The staff at Vets on the Park sedated Boris and took a radiograph which clearly showed several large pices of glass under the skin. Alison removed this glass surgically and cleaned and stapled the wound. We are delighted to say that Boris has made a complete recovery.

OUCH!

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for the pets in your life - your vet for life

summer edition

The Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2014New microchipping regulations for England were announced in October 2014 and the new law comes into effect on 6th April 2016. From this date the keeper of any dog (and keeper means the owner of the bitch that gave birth or the person with whom the dog normally resides) must ensure their dog is fitted with a microchip and the chip details must be registered with a database that is compliant with the Governments regulations.

So all puppies must be microchipped by the age of 8 weeks old (usually before they leave the breeders) and these details registered with the appropriate database. Failure to comply could mean a fine of up to £500.

Most microchips are produced to the approved ISO standard, but the way in which they are manufactured can vary. The legislation states clearly that the microchip must be ISO 11784/11785 standard microchips. All the microchips we use at Vets on the Park will meet this new standard. Each chip is individually programmed with a unique number, the first 3 digits showing the country code.

Microchips come in various shapes and sizes with special mini-microchips available for tiny puppies and toy breeds.

So if your dog is not currently microchipped please call 01242 517199 today and make an appointment to see one of our nurses. During June, which is National Microchipping Month we are offering a very special price of just £10 inc. VAT. However, if you bring this article in with you after the end of June we will honour this special price up until April 2016 when the new legislation starts.

Parklife

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ONLINE ALL THE TIME!

At Vets on the Park we work hard to ensure that you always have access to help and advice when you need it - we offer evening opening and Saturday clinics, as well as 24 hour emergency cover through our partnership with ChelVets, so that you can organise your pet’s care to fit in with your busy life.

However, we know that sometimes you might remember the appointment you meant to book, or the repeat prescription you needed to arrange, just as you’re putting the children to bed, or washing your hair. Or is that just us?

If so, you’ll be pleased to know that you can book appointments, order repeat prescriptions and so much more on our new website: www.vetsonthepark.co.uk

We also have a facebook page where we add news and special offers that we think might be of interest to our friends. You can share photos and funny stories, as well as ask for advice, so don’t forget to ‘like’ us at Vets on the Park.

Vets on the Park Moorend Grove, Leckhampton,

Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL53 OEX 01242 517 199

www.vetsonthepark.co.uk

Follow us on www.facebook.com/vetsontheparkTweet us on www.twitter.com/vetsonthepark

for the pets in your life - your vet for life

summer edition