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Sonny's Staff Spotlight! With Trish Rich - Practice Manager

   

Trish is the Practice Manager for Casula Veterinary Hospital and Elizabeth Drive Animal Hospital and has just celebrated 11 years of being a veterinary nurse at the clinics.  Let's get to know a bit more about Trish!

 

Outside of work, Trish loves spending time with her little family! Together they go travelling and visit play centres, as well as going to the park and the beach! 

 

Trish's favourite part of working here is being able to establish great relationships and liaise with our clients and their pets. She also loves team building which is a big part of her role as practice manager. Trish also really enjoys medical nursing, and caring for our hospital patients. 

Trish has loved animals since she was a child, and as such has always wanted a job where she can work with them. She started off doing work experience in year ten, and knowing this was the career for her, joined the Casula team full time as a vet nurse as soon as she finished school. Over her 11 years here, Trish has gained vast experience in all aspects of nursing, and worked her way into a senior role in the practice. 

Trish is a cat and dog person, and has a number of pets as home. Kelly the 14 year old Golden Retriever, Tabitha (11 years) and Shaela (3 years) both domestic short hairs, and Gary the fighting fish. 

Stay tuned for more Staff Spotlights in the coming months, so you can get to know all my wonderful friends at Casula and Elizabeth Drive!

Love and Licks, 

Sonny

Anal Gland Disease

   

Anal glands or anal sacs are pretty much what the name says. Glands just under the skin on either side of your dogs anus that naturally express when they defecate. They are located at the 8 and 4 position on either side of your dogs anus, as shown in the above picture. They produce and store a dark and smelly fluid, and, yes, it is as gross as it sounds. They are similar to the organs that a skunk uses to scare away their enemies. However because most dogs don't need to use them for this purpose the fluid can build up, and this can cause some problems.

We see three types of issues with dogs' anal glands; impaction, infection and abscesses.

Impaction is caused by the fluid building up and becoming thick or solidified. To treat impaction the anal gland is manually expressed (squeezed) to removed to clean out the solidified fluid.

Infection is caused by a build up of bacteria within the fluid, and can result in yellow or bloody pus. This is again treated by expressing the glands, and also with a course of antibiotics.

If this infection is not treated an abscess may occur within the gland, where the sac swells, and eventually overflows at which time the sac rupture or burst. This will require antibiotics, and also surgical treatment in some cases.

Some signs that your dogs anal glands need to be expressed include, scooting (dragging bottom along the ground), trying to excessively lick or chew at bottom region, pain or discomfort around tail area, swelling either side of the anus, or discharge from either side of the anus.

Regular visits to the vet to have their anal glands expressed can significantly reduce the chance of your dog having any of this unpleasant issues.

What to do with Lost or Stray Animals

If you ever find a stray dog or cat, here is a little guide as to what to do with them. 

There are different guidelines to determine if a dog or cat is a "stray" or "lost" animal. 

Any dog is considered a stray if it is wandering around without it's owner present, is in a prohibited area, or needs to be seized for the safety of the animal or nearby people. 

Cats on the other hand, are permitted to roam, which means that even if they are away from their home, they are not considered to be a stray. A cat is only to be seized if it they are in a prohibited area, such as a wildlife reserve, or in a place where seizing the animal is reasonable and necessary for the animal's welfare. 

If you find a stray animal, and it is injured, it should be taken immediately to the nearest vet for treatment. If the animal is not injured, the animal is then the responsibility of the local council. Though it is common practice to take strays to the vet to have them scanned for a microchip, the vet clinic is not obligated to accept the animal. It is however, the responsibility of the person who has seized the stray to return it to the owner or the council pound as soon as possible. Not complying with this can incur fines of up to $2200. 

If the stray is microchipped, authorised people within the clinic can look up the animal's owner and contact them directly. These details cannot be given to the finder, however if you bring a stray in we can collect your details so we can contact you with the result of finding the animal's owner. 

If the stray is not microchipped, or we are unable to contact the person listed on the microchip, we are under obligation to send the animal to the pound. 

Some people may be disinclined to take an animal to the pound for fear of what may happen to them, but sending the lost animal to the pound gives them the best chance of being reunited with their owner. The council pound must hold all non-microchipped animals for a minimum of 7 days, and all microchipped animals for 14 days. They also list the animal on their website and their Facebook page, and if they cannot find the owner of the cat or dog, the animal then becomes available for adoption, or can be taken in by rescue groups.

In case your own pet ever goes missing it is very important to ensure that they are microchipped, and that the microchip details are always kept up to date. Even if you have updated these details with the vet clinic you still need to update them with your local council. Animals can be microchipped from 8 weeks of age. 

You should also ensure your pet has a collar with a name tag with your contact number. Some people also put their vets contact number on the collar, in case your animal is injured it can be taken directly to your vet.

Sonny's Staff Spotlight! With Lisa Corkin - Head Nurse

   

Lisa has been a veterinary nurse since 2002 and has been working at the Casula Veterinary Hospital since 2005. Lets get to know a bit more about Lisa!

 

Outside of work, Lisa loves to get out and be active. She snowboards in winter and wakeboards in summer, and enjoys playing her guitar all year round!

 

The best part of her job is getting to see pets go home healthy to their families and having the opportunity to aid them in their recovery. She also loves being involved in surgical procedures, and especially orthopedics!

When I asked Nurse Lisa why she pursued vet nursing, she told me a lovely story about when she was young and her dog had ongoing treatment at a veterinary hospital. The vet nurses were so lovely when she visited her dog, and made such a strong impression on her that she decided to pursue the career herself as soon as she finished school and she hasn't looked back! 

Love and Licks, 

Sonny

Vet Talk with Dr Betty! Beware of Pancreatitis this Christmas!

Pancreatitis means inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas produces lots of enzymes to digest food that we eat. The enzymes in the pancreas are usually inactive and only become activated once secreted into the intestines. However, in pancreatitis these enzymes become activated while they are still in the pancreas and start to digest the pancreas itself. Several risk factors cause pancreatitis including obesity and fatty food. Fatty left-overs should be avoided all year round but people tend to share more fatty treats to their dogs at Christmas time.

Pancreatitis can potentially be very serious and life threatening. In some severe cases,  it can cause systemic inflammation and multi- organ failure or even death. Dogs with pancreatitis will look like having bad tummy upset with clinical signs such as lethargy, inappetence, vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain. Blood tests are often required to make the diagnosis. Treatment usually includes supportive care in the hospital with intravenous fluids, anti-emetic drugs, pain relief and prophylactic antibiotics until the pancreas recovers itself.

The best way to prevent pancreatitis is to avoid very fatty meals. Some dogs that have had pancreatitis are probably more prone to it and may need special low fat diet for the rest of their lives to decrease chances of recurrence. So don't be tempted to load fatty treats into your dogs' bowel and just keep them to yourself.

Introducing William! Elizabeth Drive's New Blood Donor Cat!

      

Thank you to everyone who helped us in choosing a name for this little cutie! It was a tough choice with so many wonderful suggestions, so in the end we pulled a name out of a hat! 

Little William is settling in so well, and loves playing with his big brother Edward and getting attention from all the girls at Elizabeth Drive.