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Which of these exotic animals are you legally allowed to own as a pet in the UK? Capybaras Bengal cats Kinkajous (might need to Google that one) Primates including squirrel monkeys, lemurs, marmosets, tamarins and capuchins.
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When I qualified in 1990 I went to a large mixed practice in Cheshire to work in their cattle department. It was during the heights of BSE and there was not a lot of work around. I was supposedly under the tutelage of a vet who thought I would cramp his style on the farm so I was under-worked and left at the practice. There were big projects like castrating and de-horning about 50 wild and over-aged Highland cattle which was fun and frightening in equal measure.
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The microchip legislation kicked in on April 6th and I find myself wondering whether I really understand the vet’s responsibilities towards this legislation. Should we be checking the microchip of every dog as they come through the door? What happens if we don’t find a microchip? Is it then our responsibility to report these owners to some kind of authority or are we supposed to force microchipping upon our client’s beloved pet?
So, you want to be happy, and you want science to help you? Seems reasonable. But what exactly should you do to give yourself the best chance for a happy life? Happiness occurs in the mind on two levels, the physical and the (for lack of a better word), spiritual. In fact, most psychologists find it’s about a 50-50 split – half of your happiness is due to how you feel about your life, and the other half is the physical mental process in your.
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In all honesty, the thought of seeing a goose on my list of consults fills me with fear. Frankly I would rather wrestle a 60kg aggressive Rottweiler than be confronted by a flapping and hissing angry goose. However, I remain faithful to my Thursday night veterinary webinars and decided I really should confront my fears and learn more about treating the pet goose.
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It was only a few weeks ago when the BBC highlighted the suffering endured by some of the increasingly popular brachycephalic breeds of dog as a result of their extreme facial anatomy. I was pleased to see it was one of the most read BBC stories of the day, and I hope it will have educated many dog owners about the problems faced by these ever popular breeds.
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Imagine a scenario, a good client (in fact you could almost call her a friend) recently set up a hedgehog rescue centre and is keen to have a stock of veterinary medicines so she can provide preventative medicine as well as treat any sick hedgehogs. She will bring occasional hedgehogs in for clinical assessment and phone for advice when necessary. What would you do? Is it okay to hand over a bottle of antibiotics, or even a bottle of pentobarbitone to euthanase a hedgehog on welfare grounds?
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The highly respected Professor Mike Herrtage from Cambridge University has legendary status in the veterinary world and can always be relied upon to deliver information packed, relevant and practical veterinary webinars for ‘The Webinar Vet’. It therefore came as little surprise that this webinar covering ketoacidosis in dogs was no exception.
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RCVS and European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery, Alison Moores, led last week’s Platinum Members webinar discussing all aspects of diagnosing and managing urinary incontinence in our small animal patients. Dogs did however feature predominantly as this is a condition rarely seen in our feline friends. Differentiating between true incontinence and other conditions such as UTI or partial urinary tract obstructions can be the biggest challenge, and Alison delivered a logical and practice relevant approach on how to achieve this and then go on to manage these conditions as effectively as possible.
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It can be all too easy to slip into the habit of always using the same suture material and the same technique for specific surgical procedures, forgetting at times why you ever made those choices in the first place. This habitual behaviour can be a positive factor in improving surgical technique according to RCVS recognised and European Specialist is Small Animal Medicine Alison Moores BVSc (Hons) Cert SAS Dip ECVS MRCVS who led this webinar.
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Immune mediated haemolytic anaemia (IMHA or AIHA) may be primary immune-mediated or secondary. In primary IMHA, the cause is not known and there may be genetic influences in certain breeds of dogs, eg Cocker spaniels, Poodles, Old English Sheepdogs.
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West Highland White Terriers (WHWT) in their ‘twilight’ years presenting with a cough and crackles on thoracic auscultation are surely only suffering from one condition, Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis IPF. According to Professor Brendan Corcoran, who led last week’s webinar covering IPF, I’m surprisingly not too far off the mark.