Thanks to all the team for putting on a great day!

On May 3rd 2015 we celebrated 30 years since Dr Green started Heathmont Veterinary Clinic (now Heathmont Animal Hospital) as a full-time practice with a Client Fun Day. Hundreds of people enjoyed the Animal Farm, sausage sizzle, market stalls, roving magician, fairy floss, donuts, coffee cart, children games and activities and DJ as well as the CFA Firetruck. A big thankyou to our team for working so hard to bring it together and to our clients who have supported us over the past 3 decades! For lots more photos check out our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.812513062119367.1073741838.119910904712923&type=1&notif_t=like

In addition we have launched a Bug Pack where we will post out your pet’s flea and worm treatment every month. What better reminder than to receive it in the post? All for around 20% less than if you bought the 6 month packets separately!

To find out more, check out the link.  VIP Club

Tickets only $15 ea or less if you book a table. Supper provided.

Book at http://www.trybooking.com/BTED

For more information, click on the link. Battle of the Breeds Trivia Night

We are also excited about our upcoming Battle of the Breeds Trivia Night to raise funds for both Animal Aid and Southern Cross Kids’ Camps.

For more details and to read more about the clinic  check  out our August Newsletter.

Feeding raw bones to pets is a controversial topic and as it is Dental Month I thought I should tackle this issue.

On one side are the RMB (Raw Meaty Bones) lobby who preach both the virtues of a raw diet, popularised by the BARF diet and the evils of commercial food. At the other end of the spectrum are, not surprisingly, the pet food manufacturers who espouse the wonders of their product and the dangers of feeding raw meat and bones. Who is right?

My belief is that, like most things, the truth lies in the middle. The RMB lobby claim too much for the virues of raw food. There have been studies to show that there is no difference in the nutitional value of raw and cooked meat. The other factor they fail to grasp is that many, if not most people in today’s society want convenience when it comes to feeding their pets (and themselves) and are not prepared to do the necessary preparation to ensure their pet receives a balanced diet. In other words, they don’t want to reinvent the wheel.

Feeding a natural diet requires a knowledge of nutrition if nutritional imbalances are to be avoided. It can be done and we have a number of clients with dogs on natural diets that are very healthy. We also have had a number that developed nutritional diseases because of an unbalanced diet.

We recommend raw bones only because they are a practical way of keeping a pet’s teeth clean, not because of their nutrional value. In Nth America, most vets do not recommend bones at all because of the risk of both fractured teeth and bacterial intestinal infections. However, they seem to be better at persuading owners to brush their pets’ teeth than we Aussie vets are so we still recommend the judicious use of raw bones in most (not all) cases.

The commercial pet food industry, on the other hand is not there just to ensure the well being of your pet. They are there to make a profit for their shareholders. There are lot of questionable products used in some pet foods and we would see many more diseases attributable to pet food than to raw diets. (Of course many more pets are on commercial food). Many additives such as colourings (obviously not for the dogs as they have poor colour vision), preservatives and miscellaneous chemicals are responsible for skin and intestinal problems. Fortunately, there are some very good commercial products available which are scientifically balanced and good quality.

One problem with commercial foods is that they do not provide enough abrasion to keep the animal’s teeth clean (except for a few dental diets) and so they need to chew on something else. Our longstanding recommendation has been to feed a good quality commercial diet along with raw bones or rawhide to keep the teeth clean. If in doubt about what bones are suitable, give us a call

The first article is on the human factors involved. Click on the link below to find out more.

Food Facts 1

Blossom happy to be back on ground level

The last thing that Rebecca thought would happen while she was away was that one of her cats goes missing and the other finds herself stuck up a tree for 4 days!! However, while Rebecca was in England, her husband rang worried about the two cats. Blossom, the 18 mth old black cat, who usually resides inside. managed to find her way out the back door and up the tree in the back yard. Jason was quite worried about her after she refused to come down so he rang the fire brigade. When the fire brigade came out, they tried getting Blossom down but as she was scared of them, she ran further up the tree out of reach. The Fire Brigade could no longer help so Jason then contacted the RSPCA, SES, the council and even tree removalists to seek help but no-one could help. On the morning of the 4th day, Rebecca phoned us from England very distressed about Blossom. We then phoned Jason and gave him Nigel’s Animal Rescue‘s phone number who, when he heard how long Blossom had been up the tree,  came out straight away to rescue Blossom. Two hours later, she was home and safe.

As for the couple’s other cat Buddy, well he still hasn’t returned home. The couple are hoping someone may have taken him thinking he was lost. It is in Buddy’s nature to wander off meeting new people. the 2 children especially miss Buddy so if anyone sees him in the Heathmont area, please phone the clinic. Buddy is a neutered male, 2 yr old ginger and white  Domestic Shorthair.

Nigel’s Animal Rescue is a 24 hr service. Tel: 0427533083.