Please, get your pets microchipped

I know we have said this before and keep banging on about it but please, if you do one thing for your pet, get it microchipped.

I had a horrid start to the day today. On my way to work, the car in front of me witnessed a young tabby cat being hit by a car – the driver of which, unbelievably, just drove on without stopping. The lady who saw the accident stopped beside the poor cat, who was severely injured and I stopped and brought the cat to Grove Lodge. Very sadly, however, the little guy died on the way here. The vet said he could not have survived his injuries and would have known very little about the accident, but it was a terribly upsetting thing to see.

What makes this incident even more distressing is that this cat was not microchipped and was not wearing a collar, so we have no way to notify his owners that he has been killed.

A microchip costs less than £19 and takes 2 seconds to insert either by one of our Practic Nurses or a vet. This is then a permanent method of identification for your pet in the event they stray or, as in the case of this lovely tabby cat, are killed on the road.

Come on, less than £19 – what’s that? The price of a meal out, or perhaps a trip to the cinema, maybe a couple of bottles of wine? Or permanent peace of mind your pet can be reunited with you?

Good badger, bad cow – is it that simple? by Andrew Ash, Director of Grove Lodge

Why is bovine TB such a problem? It’s a slowly developing bacterial disease of animals and man. In man, the disease may kill up to 50% of those infected and occurs most commonly in immuno-suppressed people. In 2009, 25,000 cattle were slaughtered in the UK to control TB at a cost of £63million to the tax payer.

It has been scientifically proven that badgers spread TB to cattle and cattle to badgers (Krebs 1997). It has also been shown that culling reduces the level of infection.

Why don’t we vaccinate either the cattle, the badgers or both?

There is no licensed cattle vaccine in the UK and vaccination is currently forbidden under EU law largely because it is impossible to distinguish between a vaccinated animal and an infected one. We could trap and vaccinate badgers, but the problem with this is vaccinating an infected badger won’t stop the infection developing or stop the badger transmitting the virus. So to use vaccination in an area where a high proportion of the population have the infection isn’t going to help. However, vaccination could be used to stop the spread from a high incidence area to a low one.

This is a really difficult area for vets: killing one animal to save another. Ignoring the economic arguments hardly seems a 21st Century answer to disease control. We do  need to to do something and provided the badgers are killed humanely and the results are studied, analysed and acted upon, then we should support these pilot projects.

FARM FRESH PUPPIES READY FOR CHRISTMAS by Andrew Ash, Director of Grove Lodge

“Farm fresh” sounds like a good healthy message. So why do puppy farms go to such lengths to hide the origin of the puppies they sell?

I firmly believe that the owners of these businesses are in it for the cash – not for the animals. They know that the British public wouldn’t knowingly support the industry so they resort to internet and FridayAd cash sales.

However, it’s not the puppies that we should be most worried about, it’s the adult breeding bitches that have endless litters in a dull and stressful environment and are then abandoned.

Farmed puppies tend to be sold as soon as they can be removed from their mother. At least they have a chance in their new home to be properly looked after and socialised,  but there are still the concerns about diseases such as parvo virus and campylobacter – often worsened by long stressful journeys from the farm to the cities where they are sold.

Spare a thought this Christmas for the parents of these puppies, getting ready to have yet another litter. Will they have a frosty walk on Christmas Day or some tasty treats with a loving family?

There are basic rules when you are looking for a puppy that you must follow, some of which are detailed below. Check out the Dogs Trust website for a great list of dos and don’ts when getting your puppy:

• ALWAYS see the puppy’s parents, preferably both but definitely the mother. There is no good reason why the breeder will not show you the puppy’s mother
• Always see where the puppy has been bred, NEVER buy a puppy from the back of a car even if both “parents” are supposedly there
• A reputable breeder should be able to tell you the worming products they have used
• A good breeder should have fed the puppies on a high quality puppy food, not scrambled egg, porridge or goats milk!
• If you want advice, please call Grove Lodge – we are always delighted to help you find a new addition to your family