A nurse beyond borders

I remember the first time I came face to face with a moon bear. It made me cry. 8 years of hard work, all boiled down to them eyes. Eyes that looked deep into my soul and said "its okay, I'm here now". Fur so soft, movements so gentle, noises so soothing, it would be easy to forget that these bears could kill me if they wanted. And who would blame them?

For the love of Bears!

I love veterinary nursing, a real advocate of the career! But when people ask me what made me want to become a vet nurse, the tale surprises and intrigues them. My path into veterinary nurses wasn't the expected path that most people take. In fact it was the opposite of what was expected, although I've always been an animal lover, my closed minded young brain saw the veterinary field as the enemy! Money grabbing, cold hearted, clinical people. I wanted nothing to do with it.

A priceless gift that I highly recommend!

Veterinary nurses are a hardy breed. Our day ranges from cleaning up excrement (a lot), to watching anaesthetics for hours, to assisting clients in their happiest and saddest moments. We carry out blood tests, scale and polish teeth, monitor hospital patients, carry our nurse consults, welcome clients ate reception - you name it, we do it! It is often physically tiring and emotionally exhausting. We go through college and/or university to qualify. We work unsocial-able hours and tell inappropriate work stories at the dinner table. We earn not much over the minimum wage considering our professionalism. And 90% of us wouldn't choose to do anything else :) Veterinary nursing is a labour of love (There'll always be them 10% who are miserable buggars!)

Happy Dental Awareness Month! Common dental problems to look out for!

So, we now know how to examine your pet's teeth, and even how to brush them if we can! But what exactly are we looking out for? Well, let's talk through it. By the way, dental disease isn't pretty, so if you're eating or about to, I'd come back to this post at a later date!

I should really cover what can cause dental disease. This list can be a little long so I'll just cover the basics.

Happy Dental Awareness Month! Time to lift that lip!

During February and March, our clinic is celebrating Dental Awareness by offering free dental checks with us lovely nurses :) I love schemes like this because owners are invited to come and see us so we can check their pets' teeth but most importantly, chat about dental care!

I'm a bit of a dental care enthusiast, and am keen to advertise that prevention is better than cure! Starting teeth brushing at an early age, leads pets down a TOTALLY different dental path. We've had to perform dentals, including extractions, on pets as young as 5 years old! 5 years old?! That's awfully young to take teeth away but if a tooth is diseased, there's no turning back so there's no point leaving it in place or we'll be back to square one in a short period of time.

Why veterinary professionals hate Bob Martins and other pet shop products!

Hate is a strong word. And I don't use it lightly. But its true to say, I hate Bob Martins healthcare products and other similar pet shop brands.

"Why?" I hear you ask. Well, as dramatic as this is going to sound, its a sad fact that I've seen Bob Martin flea treatments kill more cats than fleas. The problem with these pet shop brand flea treatments is that the dog applications contain permethrin as an active ingredient; an ingredient which is incredibly toxic to cats.

Blood tests and drips: upsells or best practice?

I have a massive soft spot for what I call "golden oldies". Senior pets basically. Don't get wrong, I still love puppies and kittens, but senior pets are full of character, a life time of experience and just want a warm home to retire to!

A lot of the animals we operate on at work are over the age of 10 which classes them as "senior". I know that doesn't sound old when I've met dogs at the age of 15 and cats in their 20s, but that's all thanks to a well adapted lifestyle and health regime - pets genetically age quicker than we imagine! Giant breed dogs age even quicker!

"Free to a bad home"

As a vet nurse, you work through a range of emotions on a daily basis. There are wonderful highs, and tear-jerking lows. We think we've seen it all before, but then we come across a case that takes our breath away.

Daisy arrived at a practice where one of my friends, a fellow vet nurse, works. She was found straying round a notorious area of Birmingham. She sits and gives paw and loves having her tummy tickled.  She's sweet and gentle, and was clearly a much loved pet at one point. But somewhere along her timeline, her fortune took a turn for the worse.

Lungworm's growing threat to canine lives

A few years ago, a parasite started filtering through the veterinary grapevine called Lungworm. I have to be honest, I don't think many of us took is serious at first, it sounded a bit like scare mongering to sell parasite protection products! Lungworm was a parasite that was common place in Europe, but rarely seen in the UK.

How times have changed...........

Could the puppy boom be the end of the rescue dog?

I've been nursing for nearly 10 years (already!), so I've seen many puppies in my time! From the large to the

tiny, cute and cuddly balls of fluff that instantly melt my heart when we have a cuddle in the consult room. But within the last couple of years, every tingle of warmth I've felt at meeting a new puppy, has been met with a small sense of dread for the poor dogs that remain homeless as another home vanishes from the market.

New Year, New Price List!

Well, it's only the 7th of January and I'm already exhausted! Vets and vet nurses around the country have little or no Christmas or New Year break! Sadly pets never cease to be poorly so we have to be on call around the clock for the seasonal mishaps!

These mishaps often involve pets either eating things they shouldn't (bones, toys and even a pair of glasses!) and the repercussions of those little "treats" (the runs from too much turkey basically!). It's our responsibility to deal with them all, whenever they occur, night or day.