News
Tina and Donna are here to stay!
Dr Tina Missen and Dr Donna Pyke have made a long term commitment to Burke Road Veterinary Clinic and have become partners in the clinic with Dr Cathy Jennings. This is great because not only are they dedicated to provide the best in veterinary care, it also means continuity of care for you and your beloved pet.
New equipment
The clinic has just upgraded the diagnostic facility. We now have a new improved x-ray machine and automatic processor and diagnostic ultrasound machine for even more high quality diagnostics. We strongly believe in keeping up to date in all aspects of pet care. The vets are constantly attending conferences to learn about the latest in medicine, surgery and diagnostics.
New Puppy Vaccine- Allows
Earlier Socialisation
A new puppy vaccine is now available at Burke Road Veterinary
Clinic. The final vaccine is given to puppies at 10 weeks of age. It has
been successfully used in the UK and USA for a few years. Puppies can be
fully protected and ready to go to the park at 11 weeks of age. This is
much earlier than the usual 17 weeks. Ask our friendly team for further
information. Puppy School Microchips-
New Laws As of May 2007 all new council pet registrations
require the pets to be micro chipped. Micro chipping enables permanent
identification if your pet is lost or escapes. Some councils may require
all registered pets to be micro chipped (not just new ones). We
recommend you check with your own council. Internet We all agree the internet is a great source of
information. However, there is a lot of unsolicited information and
advice given that may not be validated. As each individual case/animal
is different the information you read on the internet may or may not be
relevant. If you have any concerns about what you have read, and your
animal’s well being, please do not hesitate to call so you can discuss
it with one of our highly trained staff. Acupuncture Donna Pyke is available for acupuncture sessions at
the clinic. Donna has studied and passed by examination the
international veterinary acupuncture course. Acupuncture is a safe
natural alternative for many disorders especially musculoskeletal /
joint pain. It is especially good for older pets that have arthritis as
it may help reduce their medication requirements.
Puppy School is conducted by Penny Everson. Penny is a vet nurse and has
completed courses in dog behaviour and training. Penny loves conducting
the puppy parties. Ask a team member if you need more information.
Furry Feline Friends Can Now Have Extra Protection
A relatively new vaccine is now available against FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus) FIV is spread cat to cat via bite wounds and their saliva. The disease is potentially fatal. Numerous positive cases have been diagnosed (and becoming more frequent) at Burke Road Veterinary Clinic. The vaccine can be given at the same time as the routine F3 vaccination. Burke Road Veterinary Clinic recommends the implementation of this vaccine.
Ask the team for an information handout that discusses the disease and also the vaccination program.
Helpful Hints
Worming your pet
It is highly recommended that adult Dogs and Cats are wormed every 3 months for intestinal worms. With all the products now on the market for heartworm prevention fleas and worm control it can be very confusing knowing what to use and when. See the table below which may help clarify what to use and when. They need more regular worming as pups/kittens- ask the Team if you need more information. Drontal Allwormer now comes as a tasty chewable treat for dogs making worming much easier.
There is also a new topical wormer for cats that
treats ALL intestinal worms called Profender- great for those felines
that protest against tablets! Type
of Heartworm
Prevention
Frequency Other
parasites to Treat
Frequency Proheart Injection Annual* +All wormer +Flea control** Every 3 months Monthly Advocate Topical Monthly + Tape wormer Every 3 months Revolution Topical Monthly +All wormer Every 3 months Sentinel Oral Tab Monthly NIL Monthly Heartgard Plus Chewable Monthly +Tape wormer + Flea Control Every 3 months Monthly Interceptor Oral Tablet Monthly + Flea Control Monthly *Proheart injection for puppies is given at
3 and 6 months of age then annually. **Flea control in the table above refers to
a topical such as Frontline or Advantage. All wormer refers to oral tablet/chew such
as Drontal. Tape wormer refers to oral tablet Thunderstorms/Fireworks If your pet becomes very anxious with thunderstorms
it will often get worse with time. There are a few things we can do to
help: Desensitise by playing a specific noise CD when you
are home- please ask if you want us to order one in for you. Some pets need medication to help settle them. Ask
the Team for further information. Repeat Prescriptions
Many pets are on long term medications. We are happy to provide repeat
prescriptions if we have seen your pet within the last 6months. If it
has been longer than 6 months since we examined your pet and you request
more prescription medicine we are under LEGAL obligation to examine your
pet and discuss the case first. This law protects the well being of your pet so
that we can regularly monitor your pets’ condition and modify
medications as needed. This may mean a decrease or increase or complete
change of medication. If you do need repeat prescriptions within the 6
month time frame please call 24 hrs in advance so they can be prepared
for you and you do not have to wait. All prescriptions have to be
checked by a Veterinarian before they are dispensed. Blood Tests- Why does my
pet need them? Many of the animals that are on long term
medication are 8 years or older. Medications have to be metabolised by
the liver and /or kidneys. Regular blood tests allow us to monitor organ
function so that we can monitor disease status and also to make
sure medications are at appropriate levels and are helping not
harming your pet.