Walcha Veterinary Clinic

19/11/2024

A huge THUMBS UP to the beautiful 🌟Polly🌟 for saving a life recently! Polly came in to be a blood donor for a critically ill patient. The patient had ingested rat bait and then came on heat - this meant that she was bleeding uncontrollably and going to die without serious medical intervention. Pollys blood contained normal clotting factors and of course red blood cells that the patient desperately needed to replace all of the ones she had lost. Blood transfusions are not without risk, so we had to carefully monitor her while she had the transfusion. Within hours of the transfusion the critically ill patient was up and walking again. She is home and recovering well with medication. Polly went home a hero 🦸‍♀️

14/11/2024

Over the last few weeks, we have been busy doing artificial insemination (AI) programs in cattle. From program design with up-to-date protocols, program set up and the actual AI itself, we do it all! AI is not only for studs and can have great benefits in commercial herds. 🐂

10/11/2024

This lovely girl is looking for a forever home. She is super smoochy! She has been desexed and is ready to go. Give us a call or come and meet her! Please note there is an adoption fee for these cats we rehome to cover costs of feeding, desexing and preventative care 🐾❤

05/11/2024

This lady had a bit of an interaction with a fence! After some sedation and local anaesthetic, a haircut and a clean-up, we patched her up in three layers (muscle, subcutaneous and skin). With some antibiotics and anti-inflammatories on board, she was back with her calf and in the paddock. 🐂

31/10/2024

Read our October Newsletter here! We cover Brucellosis suis and bloat. Anyone pigging or trapping and shooting should have a read.

30/10/2024

This dog has what we call a slab fracture on her maxillary carnassial tooth. This is often caused by chewing hard things (e.g. weight bearing bones, rocks, sticks etc). These fractures of the tooth often fracture the roots (as this one did). These are painful and often lead to infections. This one was removed under general anaesthetic before any further complications could arise. A great reason to be looking at your pets' teeth regularly - changes like these can be noticed early on 🦷😁.

28/10/2024

Final year vet student Alistair, Mel and Destinee recently went to an Avian Influenza (AI) training evening hosted by the LLS. This consisted of full decontamination training (seen here sporting some very fetching full PPE outfits) and an in-depth Avian Influenza presentation. It is vital that veterinarians and support staff stay up to date and current, and that is why we do continued education. 🦆🐥🦅 AI is a very real threat, and there is every chance that it will become worse with upcoming migratory events. Events like these help us to be prepared.

26/10/2024

With the recent wet weather and warm days, we are seeing a lot of lush, immature and rapidly growing legumes (e.g. clover) and grasses that are high carbohydrates and protein. This means we have to worry about two things - bloat and pulpy kidney. Boosting with a 5in1 is recommended, as is ensuring anti-bloat preparations are on hand and pasture management is in place (e.g. limiting grazing time and having straw available).

24/10/2024

Grab a raffle ticket or ten to support our local pony club!

Walcha Pony Club Monster Raffle

21/10/2024

A case of atresia ani - where something is born without a patent re**um. It is a congenital embryological deformity (or a birth defect) where the end of the intestines fails to communicate with the re**um. This lamb was a stillborn, but if animals are born alive with this defect, they cannot survive more than a few days without major intervention and euthanasia is usually recommended. This condition can be seen in any animal and even in humans!

18/10/2024

With the weather warming up, that means uteruses are too in dogs and cats. We have had a huge number of calls about mis-matings in the last few weeks! This is usually followed by unwanted litters and an increase in pyometras (life threatening infections of the uterus) being seen. Please seriously consider desexing or have a good set up to keep entire animals apart when on heat.

15/10/2024

Did you know we offer grooming services? 🛁✂Clips, nail trims and hydro baths! We also have a range of grooming products in clinic for sale (shampoos, conditioners, brushes and nail clippers).
It is very important for long haired dogs to be regularly groomed. When the long hair matts it is very painful and can even cause problems defecating and urinating (the hair can clump up and literally block the exits). Large matts also inhibit the dog's movement and ability to see! Excess hair also covers up lumps and bumps which may need investigating and provide a lovely nest for ectoparasites (like fleas and ticks) to live on the dog unnoticed. Long haired dogs need regular maintenance! 💅🏼

11/10/2024

This annual event was first designated by the Veterinary Nurses Council of Australia (VNCA) to “raise awareness of the importance of veterinary nurses to the veterinary industry and to the wider community”.
We are very lucky to have great Vet nurses to support Jo and Destinee each day.
Vet nursing can cover a broad range of skills, especially in a small town clinic.
Admission and discharge, emergency, surgical, hospital, medical nursing; administration, finance , grief counselling and pup and kitten cuddles.... who wouldn't want to be a vet nurse?!

10/10/2024

The RSPCA is running a great promotion this month! Please contact [email protected] direct if you are interested in a voucher. Let's all play a part in reducing the number of mis-matings, unwanted litters and the oversupply of puppies and kittens!

06/10/2024

The clinic is closed today for the public holiday! We hope you are enjoying your long weekend. There is a vet on call for emergencies only - please contact 6777 2302 and listen to the message to get their contact details. Otherwise, for non-emergency things, we are back tomorrow morning from 8:30.

04/10/2024

We see a few broken bones in the clinic 🦴. This young dog broke all of her long toe bones in the back leg (otherwise known as the metatarsals) As you can see in the first image it was quite badly displaced. After 6 weeks in a cast, with regular bandage changes the bones have healed very well and straight! You can just see the lines where the bones were broken in the second photo. Casts can only be used in some broken bone cases and the patient in the cast needs to be looked after carefully - when that happens - we have great outcomes like this! This young dog is back to starting her career as a work dog 🐾.

30/09/2024

Read our September Newsletter here :)

30/09/2024

If anyone knows of a lactating mare without a foal please get in contact with Thunderbolt Equine Veterinary Services ASAP!