Rochester Veterinary Practice

12/06/2024

Calling all dairy farmers & industry professionals!
The 2024 COTC Program is LIVE, and coming to Nth Vic!
So excited for this one 🤩
Early bird tickets available now 🐣
https://tr.ee/79yg8ooTxM
See you there!
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/FNeoHtdUwpnUKriJ/

06/06/2024

Our practice will be closed Monday 10th June for the King's Birthday long weekend.

Our on call vets are avaliable for emergencies. For emergencies please call the practice on 0354842255.

05/06/2024

This is Oliver. He is 14.5 year old cat who was found as a little kitten and entered his forever home. He was losing weight despite being hungry, drinking a lot and urinating a LOT. He came in for some blood work and we found his blood sugar levels were a whopping 36 (normal being between 5 and 12 in a vet clinic). He has been having twice daily injections of insulin which he tolerates surprisingly well. He also was changed to diabetic food which supports an animals struggling with blood sugar levels. Today, he had a blood glucose monitor placed on his back which he will wear for a week. It didn’t seem to bother him either. This will allow us to see what his levels do during the day at home, rather than in the clinic where cat’s glucose level are often falsely elevated as they are out of their normal environment. He is on a long acting insulin and we hope to get him into remission or even down to more manageable once daily injection.
He is much happier in himself already so his quality of life has improved already. Given he’s getting on, quality is more important to his owners, than quantity. But maybe both will be the outcome! Some cats wouldn’t tolerate the injections so treating is not recommended. But Oliver is cruising along with all the attention he gets 😂
Posted with permission from Oliver’s family.

21/05/2024

Have you been hearing some non animal noises when you’ve visited the clinic lately? We are expanding our clinic! The Rochester Community Church sold us their part of the building and are going to build something more suitable for them on the spare block. We are transforming their old building into something more suitable for us 😃 Apologies for the noises and thankyou for your patience while the many builders and tradies get the work done. Once the build is complete, we hope to hold an open day so everyone can see our new hospital and facilities. It’s a pretty big and exciting project for our small business and we hope to be able to better look after both you and your animals in our new space.

20/05/2024

We have:
1 remaining spot in Thursdays puppy class
2 spots in our Saturday 8:30-9:30, 4-8mth old puppy class
3 spots in our Saturday 9:30-10:30 teenager class.
Please call the clinic to book your spot!

‼️‼️ATTENTION PUPPY AND ADOLESCENT DOG OWNERS‼️‼️
Our next round of puppy school for pups 8-14 weeks is starting Thursday the 23rd of May.
Our teenage and adolescent dog classes are starting on Saturday the 25th of May. See poster attached for more information about these classes.
We currently have places remaining in all 3 classes. Please call the clinic on (03) 5484 2255 to register your interest.

15/05/2024

‼️‼️ATTENTION PUPPY AND ADOLESCENT DOG OWNERS‼️‼️
Our next round of puppy school for pups 8-14 weeks is starting Thursday the 23rd of May.
Our teenage and adolescent dog classes are starting on Saturday the 25th of May. See poster attached for more information about these classes.
We currently have places remaining in all 3 classes. Please call the clinic on (03) 5484 2255 to register your interest.

05/05/2024

VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING CHANGING OF RAM 🐑 SEDATIVE STRENGTH

It is common practice to medicate rams at shearing time with the sedative known as Acepromazine (ACE) to make the process safer for the shearers and the rams.

We have been using ACP-2, which is at a concentration of 2 units per ml. It is common practice in the ram shearing world to use the Acepromazine with a concentration of 10 units per ml, ACP-10. When comparing the two doses, a 100-120kg ram would only receive 1ml of the ACP-10 in comparison to 5ml of ACP-2.

Therefore we will be making the change to supply ACP-10 to our sheep clients from June 2024 (next month).

When using ACP-10 ram sedative please be mindful of this change in dose as overdosing the rams can caused death.

It is a good idea to plan ahead and order your ram sedation early (ideally 7 days prior to shearing) as our staff will require time to prepare your medication.

We will have an up-to-date hand out ready for you and the shearing team and be available to discuss the changes to the rams sedation medication and any other questions you may have when you come into the practice to collect the medication.

24/04/2024

Our practice will be closed for ANZAC day (Thursday the 25th April). Our on call vets will be available for all emergencies. Please call the practice on 03 54 84 22 55.
Lest we forget

12/04/2024

This was found in our car park this afternoon.... does this belong to you?

25/03/2024

Coming up to the Easter Holiday period we wanted to remind everyone of our opening hours over this time and give people time to order medications in advance.

Our opening hours are as follows:
Thursday 28th March: 8:00am - 5.30pm
Good Friday 29th: CLOSED
Easter Saturday 30th: 8:30am - 12:00pm
Easter Sunday 31st: CLOSED
Easter Monday 1st April: CLOSED
Tuesday 2nd April: 8:00am - 5:30pm

We will have vets on-call avaliable for small animal and farm animal emergencies. Please call the practice on 03 54 84 22 55.

Remember chocolate 🍫 is toxic for pets! Chocolate contains methylxanthines theobromine and caffeine. If your pet eats chocolate it may show the following signs; vomiting, diarrhoea, restlessness, excessive drinking and in high doses, seizures and possibly death.
Treatment will depend on the amout eaten and time after ingestion. So this Easter, please keep chocolate out of reach from your pets!

20/03/2024

SUPERSTAR PATIENT ALERT
Meet Bobbie 😍 Bobbie presented to the clinic on the morning of Monday the 11th of March after her owners found her collapsed and unable to move in the backyard. Bobbie was diagnosed with a tiger snake bite and promptly received 2 vials of anti-venom. While the anti- venom saved Bobbie’s life it could not reverse the damage that was already done. Bobbie remained completely paralysed for 6 days. Her breathing was slow and shallow so she required supplemental oxygen via a nasal canula in order to keep her vital organs oxygenated. Bobbie couldn’t swallow so she needed a feeding tube placed in order to give her energy to keep fighting. As she was unable to blink she needed regular eye drops to keep her eyes moist. She required physio sessions 4 times a day to keep her muscles active and prevent her getting too stiff. On the morning of Sunday the 17th she finally wagged her tail and that night she sat up and had a drink. She has come along in leaps and bounds since then, and this morning walked unassisted for the first time.
Bobbie will be with us another few days while she gets her strength back and gets her muscles working. That will take her total stay with us to 2 weeks and we will all miss seeing her every morning! We are so thrilled that Bobbie gets to go home to her very dedicated owners and hopefully live a long and happy life (away from snakes!!)
*see videos in the comments!*

12/03/2024

A local family brought in this turtle after it was accidentally fished out of the channel. The hook was removed under a general anaesthetic and the turtle had a couple of days in hospital to recover and make sure it was able to be released. This is his enthusiastic return to the wild! Thanks to the family who cared enough to let this big guy see another day instead of trying to live with a hook caught in his throat 👏😀

10/03/2024

For all sheep producers in the Boort area 🐑

Sheep producers in the Boort area, come and join us and Rochester vet Dr Frankie Collett for a free interactive workshop on Thursday 21 March, from 9 am to 1 pm.

Participants will discuss local health issues, learn about their prevention and treatment options, and create an animal health plan.

An animal health plan is an important tool for farmers to minimise biosecurity risks and increase animal performance.

To find out more or to register contact Erica Schelfhorst on 0429 807 689 or go to https://www.trybooking.com/CPTEP

08/03/2024

Labour Day Public Holiday
The practice will be closed for the Labour Day public holiday (Monday March 11th). Our on call vets will still be available for small animal and large animal emergencies. Please call 03 54 84 2255.

As the weather is going to be hot over the long weekend, please think about keeping your pets cool 💧.

07/03/2024

‼️ ATTENTION PUPPY AND ADOLESCENT DOG OWNERS ‼️
We have had a last minute cancellation for our puppy class starting Thursday the 14th of March at 6:30pm.
We still have 4 spots in our 8-15 month old adolescent class starting Saturday 16th of March.
Please call the clinic on (03) 5484 2255 if you are interested.

04/03/2024

‼️‼️ ATTENTION CAT OWNERS ‼️‼️
We finally have cat vaccines back in stock!! We will be making our way through the list of people that have requested the vaccine over the coming days. Please call us to make an appointment if your cat is due for a vaccination

28/02/2024

Our next lot of adolescent dog training classes is starting Saturday March 16th. We have spots available in both classes. If you are interested please call the practice on (03) 5484 2255.

19/02/2024

Our veterinary practice has a ZERO-tolerance policy for verbal and physical abuse towards our receptionists, nurses and veterinarians.
Abuse from client's impacts greatly on the mental health of our staff, job satisfaction and can contribute to staff leaving the industry.
We strive to provide the best care for our clients' pets and to create a safe environment for our staff to do so.
Unfortunately, under some circumstances, it may be necessary to terminate the client-veterinary relationship in order to protect our staff and business. Although we do not take this decision lightly, we will no longer service clients who do not treat our staff respectfully.
If you have a complaint, we are happy to have a respectful conversation to resolve the problem, as we are always aiming to achieve a high standard of care.
We understand that people love and care for their pets, and during difficult times, emotions can run high. However, we kindly ask to be treated with dignity and respect as we always try to treat our clients and pets this way.

12/02/2024

Anthrax has been detected on property north-east of Shepparton.
Below is a link to the latest media release from Agriculture Victoria.

Vets and animal health staff are responding to the detection of anthrax on a single beef property in the Shepparton region – where five beef cattle have died.

04/02/2024

Summer ☀️ is here and today we are expecting a high 30 degree day!
On hot🌡days please think of your pets and animals and have plans in place to keep them cool. Heat stress can happen quickly!!!

🌞 Always have fresh, cool, clean water available.
🌞 Never leave your pets in parked cars or on the back of utes.
🌞 Don't work or exercise your pets in the hottest period of the day.
🌞 Provide shade and plenty of water for livestock.
🌞 If you can leave a bird bath topped up or a sprinkler on for chickens and wild birds.

If you are worried that your pet may have heat stress please contact the practice on 03 54 84 22 55

03/02/2024

We would like to let all of our clients know that we have our staff Christmas party this evening. We have a lovely local vet covering us for the evening. For all veterinary emergencies please call 03 54 84 22 55.
Our on-call vets will be back on deck tomorrow morning.

30/01/2024

Sheep Scanning!

Now is the time to book in! The season is underway and it is not too late to be scheduled in. Not only will you have your sheep scanned but you will also have your results analysed and the opportunity to discuss any other veterinary matters whilst on farm!

Cost:
- Yes/no: 70 cents per head + mileage
- Singles/multiples: 90 cents per head + mileage

We have a three-way draft gate system and lead up raceway supplied.

*** Please note due to the time involved for setup/packup and cleaning of equipment a minimum call out fee of $250 is charged if the total number of sheep scanned does not add up to this.

Ring us the day you put your ram in with the ewes for optimal timed scanning.


For all enquires call Rochester Vets today on (03) 5484 2255

29/01/2024

These keys were found in our carpark. Please contact us if they are yours!

26/01/2024

Contact the practice on (03) 5484 2255 if you wish to join T90 with Dr Frankie.

23/01/2024

Our practice will be closed Friday 26th January, for the Australia Day public holiday. Our on call vets will be avaliable for emergency consultations and farm visits. Please call 0354842255.

The practice will reopen Saturday 27th January from 8:30am to 12:00pm.
Our on call vets will also be avaliable for out of hours emergency consultations and farm visits over the weekend.

10/01/2024

We have had a last minute spot become available in our Puppy school starting tomorrow night at 6:30pm!
We also have one spot remaining in our Saturday morning 8-15mth old class.
If you are interested in attending please call the practice on (03) 5484 2255

We are thrilled to have our positive reinforcement trainer returning in 2024!
Sarah’s classes have been so popular that we have decided to add an extra Saturday class for puppies between 4-7 months of age that may need some extra guidance.
We have a couple of remaining spots in both Saturday morning classes starting 13th of January.
We still have 4 spots remaining in our Thursday night puppy class starting Jan 11th.
Please call the practice on (03) 5484 2255 to book your spot!

02/01/2024

‼️ PROBLEM
RESOLVED‼️
We currently only have one working phone line. If the phone is engaged when you call please try calling back. We apologise for the inconvenience.

01/01/2024

We still have 4 spots left in our Thursday night puppy class. If you have a puppy between 8-14 weeks of age please contact the clinic on (03) 5484 2255 to enrol!

We are thrilled to have our positive reinforcement trainer returning in 2024!
Sarah’s classes have been so popular that we have decided to add an extra Saturday class for puppies between 4-7 months of age that may need some extra guidance.
We have a couple of remaining spots in both Saturday morning classes starting 13th of January.
We still have 4 spots remaining in our Thursday night puppy class starting Jan 11th.
Please call the practice on (03) 5484 2255 to book your spot!

24/12/2023

Just a reminder about our opening hours over the holiday period. We wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a safe and happy New Year.

21/12/2023

We are thrilled to have our positive reinforcement trainer returning in 2024!
Sarah’s classes have been so popular that we have decided to add an extra Saturday class for puppies between 4-7 months of age that may need some extra guidance.
We have a couple of remaining spots in both Saturday morning classes starting 13th of January.
We still have 4 spots remaining in our Thursday night puppy class starting Jan 11th.
Please call the practice on (03) 5484 2255 to book your spot!