A dermacentor tick found in Harlow which transmits Babesiois
You might have heard the news today that Babesiois has been found in ticks in Harlow and has infected some local dogs. We have more information on what it is, what to look for and treatment to avoid it in our babesia page.
We have just got an ethylene oxide steriliser. Most vets use the traditional autoclave which uses water at high temperature and pressure to clean equipment – but a lot of instruments which have electronics or rubber parts cannot be put into autoclaves. The ethylene oxide steriliser can be used on any material which means at Ark Vets we can sterilise all the equipment used in the operating theatre.
New reception with a partition between the cat and dog areas
We have made some changes to the reception – we are going to give cats and their owners their own little area to wait in. Cats are very often stressed when coming to the vets, so the last thing they want it a strange dog staring at them in their cat carrier. So we have rearranged the reception so the space to the right of reception in front of the window is just for cat owners.
We are going to make some more changes and add more seating, but it could be a few months before we are able to complete the work. In the meantime can you dog owners please let the cats have their own little space.
The area for cats with a table for cat baskets
These are some photos from a recent operation on a kitten
The kitten is on the HotDog warmer, between 2 gloves of warm water, and with socks – all to keep them warm
Even our smallest patients get the full set of anaesthetics monitoring
Patients are kept warm anc closely watched while they wake up from anaesthetics
And fully awake after the operation
We know some cats are stressed when they visit the vets, but there are also some who are very relaxed….
Sinead is now offering acupuncture treatment as part of rehabilitation & physiotherapy.
We can now record in slow motion any animal using the underwater treadmill. This allows the vet to carefully analyse the walking movement and make adjustments to the rehabilitation /physiotherapy plan.
We do not recommend it for all cats but here is proof that some cats can use the underwater treadmill!
On Friday we had a CPD (Continuing Professional Development) meeting with the Tour de Vet team in aid of Cat’s Protection. They talked about anesthesia and how to make the practise more cat friendly – more on that later in the year.
Tallulah on the treadmill
We have known Sinead for many years now and absolutely trust and respect her with our dogs Dolly & Tallulah and cats Jimi & Kiki. Holly’s and Sinead’s advice is always spot on and they always go the extra mile. Tallulah had complex surgery here and I was so impressed at her care. A fantastic outcome and great aftercare – I cannot recommend enough. Nicola (Tallulah’s owner)