Since the introduction of the Animal Welfare Act a few years ago there is an increased burden of reponsibility on owners to provide a legal duty of care for the welfare needs of their pet. It is therefore vital that should someone acquire an animal w...
I can imagine that there are quite a few readers who have "had their fill" of eggs over the last couple of weeks but spare a thought for one of our most recent patients. Her owners had become aware that she wasn't quite right. She had appeared uncomf...
Some time ago a regular client at the Fairfield Veterinary Centre rescued a badly injured pigeon. The poor bird had become entangled around wires and cables at the factory where he worked. Undaunted by the fact the bird was unable to escape from its ...
I know I must be getting old when I am the only member of staff at Fairfield to have previously seen a rare condition affecting cats! When Rupert, a 4 month old kitten, first presented to my colleagues he appeared to be suffering from ...
"What goes up must come down" is a concept with which we are all too familiar since that apple first dropped on Sir Isaac's head. However, at Fairfield we have had the rare pleasure of proving the opposite theory with a patient called "Harry". To des...
A job well done always leaves a slight glow of satisfaction. I think it should be clear from the photo that this particular cat is licking his lips with some degree of pleasure. Rescued as a mature Tomcat from an inner city rescue centre he is now "e...
Whilst I was in Sicily earlier this year I had the rare pleasure of 2 unforgettable experiences. Firstly, I was on the side of Mount Etna whilst this active volcano was erupting. Standing only a few yards from the lava flow and listening to the main ...
"Frank" the Lionhead rabbit was presented at the surgery by his owners because he had suddenly stopped eating. A clinical examination by myself failed to reveal anything too obvious so I asked my colleague Agnieszka for a second opinion. Rabbits are ...
Whilst playing golf in Scotland earlier in the year I had an unexpected surprise. After hooking my tee shot into the woods on the 7th hole (not unexpected!) I ventured into the undergrowth to search for my ball when I came upon a red squirrel, the fi...
There are only a very few of my patients who actually earn their living and I consider it a great privilege to look after one of those, Police Dog "Mabon". He was rescued by the Leicestershire police force as having the potential to be...
In August I was presented with a quite unusual patient. Tia, a Minorca chicken, had been brought in by her owners because she was straining, and they were worried she might be egg bound. On examination a large red mass was visible at her backend, ind...
It is often the case that when a feline patient is presented to our surgery with traumatic injuries that we are required to guess at how these injuries were sustained. Given their often clandestine and nocturnal activities the list of options is usua...
Despite what a lot of people think we do, our patients recover through an inherent ability of the body to heal itself. We simply help to create an environment in which that healing process can occur. If a patient has lost that ability to heal or reco...
Most people will have no doubt heard or read about the current concerns regarding avian influenza. This is a highly infectious disease affecting many species of birds, including commercial, wild and pet birds.It may also affect people and other anima...
The world wide web was borne out of a desire to share information quickly and accurately with other scientists around the globe in an effort to accelerate the dissemination of knowledge. This noble concept has been astonishingly successful and whilst...
Spring is in the air and that fact has become all the more apparent by the increasing number of fledglings which are being brought to our surgery. In a large number of cases these are young birds which have fallen victim to that remarkably efficient ...
The only lucky thing about "Tex" Barnes of Park View, Sharnford is the fact that he has a very dedicated owner. Having only graced this world for 10 months he has managed to break a hind leg (which healed successfully), succumb to a heavy lice infest...
I will often try to explain to owners when their pet is unwell that the treatment we provide, whether medical or surgical, is all about trying to create an environment where the patient can heal itself. The concept of altering an unhealthy environmen...
This week I examined a Syrian hamster named Betty. Her hair coat looked ruffled and she had lost hair. She had a little patch of dry scaly skin on her back. There are several diseases that can cause hair loss or baldness.Dermatophytosis or fungal dis...
Back in May 2008 a lady walked into our surgery carrying a bundle of three tiny kittens. She had found them, abandoned on waste ground, whilst walking her dog. They appeared to be around 1 week old, with eyes not yet opened and umbilical cords still ...
